How to deal with being laid-off? 11 pieces of advice

This week a combined 24,000 people lay-offs in Microsoft and Google were announced. A sudden loss of a job is a shock and a great stress. If you were affected, I’m here to help!

Let’s start with 11 things to consider during such a drastic turn in life:

1) It’s OK to feel hurt and angry — Being laid off means a lot of negative, hurtful emotions. Feel free to let it go and feel them. You are most likely being wronged for reasons that you don’t deserve. Don’t try to hold them back, otherwise, they will stay inside and hurt you. A part of your identity just died — it’s OK to mourn it.

2) Don’t panic — Your status quo just shifted big time. However “Everything in life is only for a while” [Avenue Q] and it’s not the end of the world! Panicking right now is another extreme of the emotions mentioned above. Don’t let your imagination run wild with the unlikely risk of losing your place to live or hunger. There is much you can do to prevent that long before it’s even close to being real!

3) Understand what happened — get closure — Talk to your manager one more time. You will most likely hear that there was no choice and the firing came from upper management. You are probably still needed in the company and team, but sometimes it’s just not enough. Accept the thank you for your services and appreciation for your hard work.

4) Don’t blame yourself — What’s done is done. As always, you did the best you could in the given circumstances and time travel is not on the table. Feeling guilty is not helping and it’s time to move on! You are hurt enough, no need to add to this.

5) Give yourself time to rest — You will likely get some paid leave, probably several months of your salary. You have time to regenerate and relax. You deserve it!

6) Leave on your own terms and leave a good impression — You might hear you are on garden leave and you don’t need to work anymore. However, if you are given enough access. just try to hand over your projects and open threats. Help the people behind pick up where you left off. It’s a sign of professionalism! Who knows, perhaps when the economy is better, this will pave the way for you to be easily rehired.