You've lost your job. Now what?

Morning friend, how was your weekend?

Mine was troubled - I couldn’t stop thinking about the recent Derivco layoffs.

You must have seen the flood of #OpenToWork posts last week…

I personally know many people that were impacted.

Some of them with over 20 years tenure.

All in all, close to 500 people.

Given 24h to leave.

Losing your job is a tough experience.

When a layoff hits, it's not just your job that's impacted.

It's your sense of identity, financial security, and emotional well-being.

You're allowed to feel shaken.

But, this challenging moment can also mark the start of a powerful reset.

I wanted today’s post to provide a sense of hope with a practical, three-step approach to navigate this storm and emerge stronger: Grieve, Reflect and Act.

Grab your coffee. ☕️ 

Let’s chat!

Streamline IT management with 'The World at Work 2024: Deel IT

Discover how you can transform your IT operations, enhancing operational efficiency & compliance across borders. Our guide has essential strategies for managing a global workforce.

Download free guide

1. Grieve What Has Happened

Losing your job is a genuine loss, and treating it as such is critical to healing.

Psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. You might find yourself cycling through these stages rapidly, or staying stuck longer than you'd like. Both are normal.

• Denial: "This can't be happening." Allow yourself to acknowledge the reality gently. Let the admin and paperwork help you signal a mental transition.

• Anger: "Why me?" Write down your raw, uncensored feelings, then destroy the page. Releasing anger this way prevents emotional buildup.

• Bargaining: "Maybe they'll reconsider?" Try to negotiate what you can in terms of severance to soften the landing, and recognise this as an important part of the grieving process.

• Depression: "What's the point?" Connect with a friend for a coffee chat. It’s important to talk to someone who has gone through similar or can support you through the process.

• Acceptance: "Okay, what's next?" You need to complete the other stages properly before ending at acceptance. But once you do, you are ready for the next 2 steps: Reflect, and Act.

Grieving isn’t linear; you’ll shift back and forth.

Allow yourself time to go through the grieving process.

It’s progress toward acceptance and readiness for what's next.

2. Reflect with the Ikigai Model

Now that you have grieved the loss, you are in a good position to zoom out and think deeply about what comes next.

There’s no need to to rush into things, so you might as well take some time to reflect.

Ikigai, a Japanese framework, helps pinpoint your next career move at the intersection of four key areas: what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what pays well.

I wrote a post about it here Trapped in a Rat Race? , but essentially, you need to answer these questions:

• What do you love doing? Identify tasks that made you lose track of time at work.

• What are you genuinely good at? Look at past performance reviews or compliments from colleagues.

• What does the world need? Scan current job postings or industry news to spot emerging demands.

• What pays well? Research salary expectations in roles aligned with your skills and interests.

After answering these, and identify overlaps, you should get some clarity about what will be best for you going forward.

Clarity and purpose are powerful motivators for that last step: Take Action.

Start learning AI in 2025

Keeping up with AI is hard – we get it!

That’s why over 1M professionals read Superhuman AI to stay ahead.

• Get daily AI news, tools, and tutorials

• Learn new AI skills you can use at work in 3 mins a day

• Become 10X more productive

Sign up and start mastering AI

3. Take Action

Clarity from reflection must be paired with decisive action.

Just 2 weeks ago, I wrote a post on this: "The Job Market Is F’d—Give Yourself an Edge", with three practical strategies to navigate the tough job market:

• Build Your Personal Brand: “Personal branding is the intentional, strategic practice of defining and expressing your value.” - Catherine Cote. Think of your career like a Netflix show. Recruiters and hiring managers watch the trailer before they stream the season. Your online profile is that trailer.

• Upskill & Reskill: Hard skills are not enough anymore. AI is coming for them. Check out the post for the skills that are declining and rising as per the WEF 2025 report, and adapt your skills accordingly.

• Activate Your Network: Most online job applications never go anywhere. You need a warm intro to stand a chance against 100’s and 1000’s of applications for each role. Leverage your existing connections strategically. Reach out authentically, reconnect with former colleagues, establish new relationships, and reciprocate support to build a robust professional community.

Moving Forward

Layoffs hurt, but they also open the door to powerful growth opportunities.

Allow yourself space to grieve.

Reflect deeply through Ikigai.

Take action.

You don't just have to survive a layoff.

You can harness it as a catalyst for meaningful change.

Your next chapter is yours to write. Be positive and may the universe conspire in your favour!

Cheers till next week friend.

Vaugan

PS: Have you survived a round of layoffs at your company? Check out this great Harvard Business Review article for how to deal with that.

PPS: I promised to share what’s happening with my new role, but this topic resonated strongly with me, hence the pivot. More on the new role and my plan for the first 100 days next week. But, keep your eyes peeled for the new role announcement on LinkedIn this week :-)

Chess Puzzle

Whiteto play and force mate

Move the pieces around and try to solve it here.