I just got laid off, WTF now?

According to a Financial Times report, we’re in the best economy we’ve seen in a long time. So how the heck are people losing their jobs right now? Unfortunately for some, this is a very real (and uncommon) circumstance. Think about it, you’ve been a “head’s down” employee for the last 5, 8, 12, 15+ years, and one day you walk home unemployed. Talk about a punch to the gut….not to mention the ego.

This is the first of a 3-part series of articles I’ll be publishing based on a situation that a lot of people are in, but not many talk about. 

Here are just a few examples of situations that I see causing layoffs in the current market.

1.      Consumers buying behaviors - Definitely the most obvious and talked about transformation. Brick and mortar locations are struggling to compete with online retailers. This is creating a less of a demand for traditional retail and more demand for online and logistics experience.

2.      M & A’s - Serial entrepreneurs starts companies for the sole purpose of selling them. Often one company will acquire another in order better position themselves in the market by diversifying their product portfolio. Other times a company will acquire one of the competitors to increase market share as opposed to compete. Either way, these scenarios typically create a redundancy in the organization, and not everyone needs to stay around.

3.      In-Demand skills are changing - One of my favorite movies of all time is Hidden Figures (if you haven’t seen it, you’re doing yourself a disservice). In one scene a NASA executive walks into a room of women mathematicians, and tells them they’re all going to be replaced by a computer. Octavia Spencer’s character then decides to find the computer manual and taught herself computer programming. Right or wrong, the jobs that we’re in-demand 25 years ago, aren’t the same jobs that are in-demand now. You can either complain about it, or make yourself irreplaceable.

Don’t panic

Ha! Easier said than done, right? I just lost my job, and you’re telling me not to panic?

Consider this – a small child (maybe 16 months old) is waddling around the living room only to lose their balance and fall down. Now the fall didn’t really hurt. They didn’t break an arm or a leg. The fall probably surprised/scared them more than any actual pain they felt. So what do you do? Yes, make them laugh. I’ve learned that the last thing you do with that child is look surprised or scared….if you look scared, so are they. If you’re a toddler, falling down happens. According to Forbes, 1 out of 10 Americans will lose their job each year. So if you’re an adult, getting laid off happens. If you make it a big deal, everyone else will too.

Build your story

Some of you are probably confused that this bullet point isn’t, “update your resume”. That’s because your resume is only one part of your story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very important part, but there’s so much more to building your story than your resume. Update your resume, LinkedIn profile (which is basically your personal website), get recommendations, and put together a portfolio that highlights your best work, are all things you need to do to build your story. Think of yourself as a widget, and it’s your job to sell that widget. Oh, and by the way – there are hundreds of other similar widgets and only a handful of buyers, so your widget better stand out.

All that said, the most important part of building your story is (mind-blowing statement coming…), actually BUILDING your story. If someone asks you why you’re interviewing for their role, what are you going to tell them? “Well, I worked at XYZ Company for the last 5 years, and they recently changed their market positioning so my entire division was eliminated.” Yes, I understand that’s what actually happened, but all you’re doing is telling your story….not building your story. The interviewer probably assumed all of those things without talking to you, so if you don’t give them any new information you’re not adding value.

Think about what separates most great movies or TV’s shows from bad ones – its character development! When you think of Mad Men, you think of Don Draper. Breaking Bad = Walter White. The Sopranos, etc…you get my point.

You need to develop a story that will create both empathy, and intrigue, with the interviewer.

 Start buying coffee

Not because you’ll need to stay up all night applying to jobs, but because coffee and networking go hand in hand. Clichés are clichés for a reason, and the biggest cliché in business is one we’ve all heard: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Take a page out of every good college’s business program and start reaching out to people for 1 on 1 networking. The more people who know your story, the better. However, don’t use the meeting as a one-way conversation talk “at” that person. Listen. Ask questions. Use the meeting as a platform to better understand what they (and their company) are doing. What are some good wins they’ve recently had? How are market conditions in their industry? What are upcoming challenges they see? The better you understand someone’s business, the easier it is to construct a value proposition as to why that company needs your expertise.

At the end of the day, don’t be ashamed you got laid off. If you make it a big deal, or try to dance around the topic, the interviewer is going to start asking questions. You got laid off. I know it sucks, but it happens. Just be prepared.