You get to decide to change. Even if you were forced.

Lots of people in tech are slogging through the forced change of layoffs this year, and I’ve been thinking about how we design these changes that most of us didn’t ask for or agree to. How do we make it ours?

Because, sure – as a person laid off, no amount of buying in is really going to fix all this – yet none of my laid off friends ever end up pining for their past jobs. Why is that? And is there a way to make that happen, you know… faster?

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Talking to many laid off people over the past month has echoed my formal change education and my years of practice:

  • We all have mixed feelings about change. In layoffs, at least one feeling is usually excitement about potential.
  • Taking time to understand and explore, creating a vision of some sort – in anything, but especially when our feelings are mixed – makes it easier to take action & experiment.
  • We’re more likely to put time and energy into a change we choose.
  • Humans are very, very social creatures. External support, connection and validation makes us better at learning and doing hard things.

Decide to change – If you’ve been laid off, the decision to change is forced on you, but you can decide how much you want to change (maybe it’s time for a whole new career or location?) and when (maybe you have time for an extended break, for instance). This is a great time to tap into those feelings of excitement and possibility.

Build a coalition – Y’all, this step is SO GOOD. I can’t repeat enough how amazing it is to have a small team who really “get it” on any change, and this is 100% true when you’re suddenly looking for your next move. Get a team of like-minded people together.

Set a vision & plan – This will look different for everyone, but at least take a breath and think about what you loved and hated in your last role. Who do you want to work with? What kind of things do you want to do? You can bounce ideas off your coalition! Then, vision in hand, start mapping out your approach (I think Orville Pierson’s Unwritten Rules of the Highly Successful Job Search is working for me, so far – but that’s just one method).

Enlist diverse volunteers – You’ve probably heard some statistics about 50-100% of jobs getting found through people’s networks. As with any change, the clearer you get about your vision, the easier it is to give volunteers a task, and to go ask even strangers to be part of your next steps.

Enable action & remove barriers – Your barriers could be skill gaps, market conditions, things you don’t know about the people you’d like to work with. Use your volunteer network to close the gaps. You can’t control the market, but you can learn about it & you can reinforce skills.

Quick wins – Make them and celebrate them! Your team can help you recognize what you’ve accomplished each day or week.

Support ongoing learning & acceleration – At the start, you’re laying a lot of foundations and making a lot of connections. Put systems in place that help you stay in touch, describe your vision & market yourself… without too much effort. Whatever approach you take needs to scale for you.

Make it stick – How do you want to show up as a person, both during the search and after? What changes do you want to see in yourself? Maybe it’s work-life balance, or (this is mine, personally) staying more connected with or supportive of others. Put things in place that help you maintain that, now and when you’re working on your next opportunity.

If you’re a change management nerd like me, you’ll recognize those steps from common frameworks (I use the Kotter Institute’s work most often). Like anyone, I see things through the lens of my own toolkit! This approach is working for me so far, though – I feel connected & in control, and that makes me happy.