Layoff Response: What I Did Differently Then
Reactive Strategies for Activating Resilience in an Uncertain Job Market
March 26 2025
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N.B.: This is not financial or career advice. Invest money - and in yourself - at your own risk.
Layoffs have been top of mind for many in the corporate world, and having gone through one myself I am constantly asked about concrete strategies and advice to prepare for and in response to a layoff.
Last week I talked about building resilience through preparation for a layoff (you can read it here), and today I am focusing on activating resilience in response to a layoff.
Remember: Resilience exists both in the form of preparing for a disruption, and in how the system reacts to and recovers from said disruption. Think of forest fires: resilient fire preparedness could mean controlled burns, investing in detection systems, or setting up regulations for fire hazards; resilient fire response could mean deploying firefighters for fire extinguishing, evacuating areas, and providing aid to displaced citizens.
Having gone through a layoff, I have learned a few things that truly helped me activate and persist in my resilience, and minimize the impact such a shock had on my life - as a reminder I was on a work visa and on medical leave when this happened, but I do not (for example) have dependents or debt.
Here are 3 things that I did to resiliently respond to a disruption such as a layoff:
1. Prioritized my health - physically, emotionally, mentally
While it may have felt pressing to “solve” the layoff by looking for a job, the truth was that I was entering a phase of big unexpected change and uncertainty, while still not doing well physically. I was also re-entering a job market that was suddenly flooded by some of the greatest tech minds (my peers, my juniors, my seniors) and I knew things were not going to be easy.
What would have made it even worse? Trying to write applications and do interviews without being my best. The first way in which resilience could be activated effectively would be by ensuring I was a well functioning system.
So I kept doing what I had been doing:
I went to sleep and woke up on my regular schedule
I ate my regular meals, at my usual times - and I kept cooking as I had, mostly organic and whole foods
I exercised and kept walking my dog, which also guaranteed getting fresh air and sunshine
I kept up with my self-care and joyful routines (whether it was journaling, boxing, reading, going to the beach with my dog, cooking, those things still had a space in my life)
I continued to be surrounded by people in meaningful ways (I remember going to a Lunar New Year celebration the day after the layoff news, and having such a wonderful and present time)
And I rested. Different from sleeping, resting meant having awake time in my days to relax and replenish, and time that was not filled with goals, deliverables or productivity - aside from productive rest
This was the most foundational piece to moving away from what put me on medical leave, and it was what got me in my healthiest state of the past decade. It, in fact, is so incredibly foundational that it should arguably be a first priority at all times. Yet what came easy to me was not as natural to others (some friends closed themselves to the world, others were skipping meals or missing sleep, and some engaged in more unhealthy behaviors), and this is why I always like to call this out first.
What’s more, with a newfound freedom in mind and time management, I was able to practice moving and exercising more consistently (consistency was always a struggle for me), and returned to some physical activities that I loved but was not prioritizing (such as boxing).
I didn’t do any of these perfectly, by the way. But they were tools that I practiced persistently, and it is in that resilient practice that I found my results.
2. Leaned in on my network
It was perfectly clear to me (and evidence backed) that I had been laid off with brilliant minds with careers marked by promotions, bonuses and glory, so I never took this layoff personally or as a sign of my worth or impact; literally no one who was involved in this decision knew me or my work.
But even without any major blow to my ego or self-esteem, having a big decision made for me is never my favorite place to be. This meant that some of the emotional rollercoastering was still expected - I had ecstatic days and I had days filled with insecurity.
I also had a lot of questions regarding my future, a lot of actions to take, and a ticking clock on my visa.
One major way in which I got things done was that… I didn’t - we did.
While a friend redid my CV and my husband researched visa requirements (and did much much more that would turn this article into a love letter), others connected me to immigration experts, some offered career expertise, and others scoured the internet for roles that fit my profile or took out their metaphorical Rolodex to connect me to their network. And of course my family, as always, provided constant support and were very happy to have this eternal immigrant home for a short while.
One of the most crucial aspects of resilient systems is their ability to respond in adaptable and interconnected ways. Just as I leaned on my network for support, it's important to recognize that human communities, much like natural ecosystems, thrive through interdependence. In fact, did you know that much of resilience research started with the natural world, and how trees share information and resources with other trees to help each other thrive and survive? (1).
What made my transition from corporate employment to healthy and resilient (eventually-)solopreneur after an unexpected change such as a layoff so smooth - all things considered - was my ability to respond in community and as part of a larger system, rather than try to do it all myself.
3. Got my brain to slow down so I could figure out what I wanted
Being in a space of shock can put our brain into problem solving mode, like I mentioned before, but in a way that is survival based.
Don’t get me wrong, I love surviving; surviving is my jam; according to all my mental health professionals I am always in survival mode, so… yeah… we could say I’m, like, an expert in the field.
Yet, the shock had already happened. I was already out of balance, out of the status quo and not in a stable system. Survival mode meant bringing stability back to the system as quickly as possible.
And while re-stabilizing a system quickly is indeed a mark of resilience, I wanted a dividend to come from this effort of resilience. I wanted to bounce forward rather than bounce back.
Instead of thinking about “what is the job that puts me exactly where I was before?” (i.e. in the safe space of having a job I know how to do, so I can get a salary), I reframed it to “now that there’s effort involved anyway (because I don’t have a status quo: a job or a salary), where do I want to put this effort?”.
I could afford this process of figuring things out because I had a period of adjustment of immigration status, which prevented me from working at all (for over a year - not by choice). Since I couldn’t work on anything, I could explore, and as I looked at jobs online, I started pinpointing what was calling me and what was making me hesitate (IF I could apply, which, again, I couldn’t). And in my case (which won’t be the same for everyone, and it won’t be the best for everyone) that ended up meaning building my own business.
I’d like to call out 2 bonus actions I took, which may not be available to everyone.
These were available to me as the layoff cut my corporate access, but fortunately I had more than two months of garden leave, which meant I was still on payroll and had access to benefits such as health care.
4. Intentionally reviewed my financial strategy
I was lucky enough to have worked in jobs that offered pension funds and 401ks with contribution matching. While I have always made sure to always contribute at least as much as the employer matched, I didn’t necessarily go much above that.
Given that I had already created an emergency fund to support me through a moment like this (preparation) and another salary coming into the household through my husband (privilege), I maximized my contribution to my 401k with the salaries I still had left to receive, to take advantage of this incredible financial tool while it was available to me.
I also looked at my expenses to review what was essential, what was flexible in amount, and what was superfluous. This was especially important as we knew there were some big expenses that were important to us (like traveling to see family, as they all live in other parts of the country/world). This allowed us to adjust going from two salaries to one, while still feeling confident in our ability to save - and ensure we were always living below our means.
The financial planning and adjustment was both resilience by preparation as well as resilience in action, through adapting to new circumstances.
5. Scheduled all appointments and maxed out all the benefits while I had them
I booked all the doctor’s appointments, ran all the check-up tests, and updated any prescriptions I still needed. This was especially important as I had been spending the past months being closely monitored by a doctor, and was unsure about continuity of care once I was no longer covered by my regular health insurance, so we created a plan that allowed me to continue getting better.
I also communicated with HR to understand all the services I still had access to (and for how long), and from therapy, to immigration support and career advisory, I signed up for all of these and got as much guidance as I could from different professionals.
Share in the comments on Substack:
If this two-part layoff piece was helpful, I’d love to hear from you! What was most valuable? What more would you like to read?
Going forward, what's one concrete action you'll take to build or maintain your resilience in an uncertain job market?
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References
1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4497361/