It happened to me three times in my career, and if you work long enough, there’s a good chance it will happen to you too.
One day you’re heads down, working diligently on a project. Then suddenly — sometimes without warning — your project is canceled, your position is eliminated, and your job disappears overnight.
You sit there trying to understand what just happened.
Layoffs happen for all kinds of reasons: downturns in the economy, mergers, reorganizations, leadership changes, or a company abruptly deciding to change direction. Whatever the reason, the result feels the same. Something you invested your time, energy, and identity into is suddenly gone.
The first time it happened to me, the company abandoned the product I was working on. I was out of work for nearly a year and a half.
At first, I did what most people do — I worried. I replayed conversations in my head, wondered what I could have done differently, and spent too much time trying to make sense of a corporate decision that was never really about me personally.
Then I changed my approach.
I called my customers and told them, “Just because the company doesn’t need me anymore doesn’t mean you don’t.”
That decision changed everything.
Over the next several months, I worked roughly twenty weeks doing consulting work for former customers and earned more than I had made in a year and a half of regular employment. During that same period, I studied for and passed my PMP certification exam.
The experience taught me an important lesson: losing a job does not mean losing your value.
The second and third layoffs were different because I saw warning signs earlier. Leadership changes, shifting priorities, budget tightening — after a while you learn to recognize the signals.
This time, I prepared.
As a project manager, I treated finding my next role like a project. I built a work breakdown structure, identified priorities, and created daily tasks. My full-time job became finding a full-time job.
The first priority was stabilization.
I carefully reviewed the layoff package, severance terms, healthcare coverage, and unemployment options. Before losing access to company systems, I saved copies of performance reviews, documented accomplishments, and gathered contact information for coworkers and professional references.
Then I turned to finances.
Layoffs force you to look at your financial reality quickly and honestly. Non-essential spending had to go. Emergency savings became critical. Most financial advisors recommend having three to six months of living expenses available, but many people discover too late how difficult that can be to build.
If retirement accounts, insurance coverage, or severance packages are involved, professional financial advice can be worth the investment.
Professionally, I focused on staying active instead of discouraged.
I updated my resume with measurable accomplishments instead of job descriptions. I refreshed my LinkedIn profile and turned on the “Open to Work” setting. I reached out to former coworkers, mentors, customers, and friends. Most opportunities still come through relationships and reputation.
I also invested in myself.
Certifications like CAPM or PMP can sharpen your skills and demonstrate commitment, but even beyond certifications, learning matters. A layoff can become an opportunity to strengthen areas that are easy to ignore when you’re consumed by day-to-day work.
The hardest part of a layoff often is not financial — it’s psychological.
You lose routine, momentum, familiarity, and sometimes part of your professional identity. It’s easy to become isolated or discouraged, especially after weeks or months of job searching.
That’s why structure matters.
Get up early. Set goals. Track applications. Continue networking. Treat the process seriously, because consistency creates momentum even when results are slow.
Most importantly, remember this: layoffs are often corporate math, not personal failure.
Good employees lose jobs every day because markets change, companies restructure, products fail, or executives make decisions far above their level. Your position may have been eliminated, but your experience, skills, and professional relationships still have value.
A layoff can shake your confidence, but it does not define your career.
What matters most is what you do next.
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