The pink slips are piling up in tech companies. Since January 2025, more than 80,000 tech workers have been shown the door, according to TechCrunch’s layoff tracker. Staff reductions span Silicon Valley titans like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, Wall Street power players like Sequoia Capital, even government agencies like NASA, and beloved consumer brands from Bumble to Electronic Arts.
All the reasons sound familiar: cutting costs, sharpening business focus, and downsizing bloated teams. But this wave has a new accelerant: automation and artificial intelligence. Microsoft alone saved half a billion dollars by replacing call centers with AI.
Golden Sachs projects as many as 300 million jobs worldwide could vanish under AI’s advance, disrupting a quarter of the global workforce. So it looks like job-searching will soon become a natural part of our lives.
We’ve been tracking how people search for jobs today, and what actually helps candidates get noticed by recruiters. Based on that, we’ve built a step-by-step guide to help laid-off workers recover quickly, recalibrate, and re-enter the job market with confidence.
n Step 1. Reset
Losing a job stings. Losing it alongside tens of thousands of peers can feel like a collective blow. Anxiety, uncertainty, and wounded pride are natural. Before you dive back into the hunt, give yourself space to reset.
That means sleep. That means walks. That means exercise and a regular routine. Think of it as mental conditioning before re-entering the game. Give yourself at least 4 days. You can’t pitch yourself as the right hire if you’re extremely low-energy.
Step 2. Money
I can understand the temptation to ignore the money question. Please don’t. Think of it as buying yourself time to find the right next move.
Start with your ==runway calculation==:
- Severance package (if you’re offered one) – know when it hits and how long it covers.
- Unemployment benefits – apply immediately. Each state has different timelines, and processing can lag.
- Savings – divide into “essential” and “discretionary.” Essentials are housing, food, insurance, utilities. Everything else is negotiable.
Now, sketch out ==scenarios==:
- What happens if you land a new role in three months? Six? Nine?
- Which expenses can you pause, downgrade, or eliminate now rather than later?
If you treat this like a project plan, you’ll reduce stress and keep your focus on the search.
Step 3. CV
Job-searching is a skill, and most people are out of practice the minute they land a job. Start by making your resume ==applicant-tracking-system (ATS) friendly==:
- Use job-title keywords and skills from postings.
- Stick to a reverse-chronological format.
- Put your name, phone, email, and LinkedIn at the very top (no headers or footers – ATS may skip them).
- Begin bullet points with action verbs and highlight measurable results.
- Add a clear “Skills” or “Core Competencies” section.
- Keep it clean: standard fonts, black text, white background. Save as .doc or .pdf.
Pro tip: ==run your resume through free ATS checkers (like Jobscan or Resumeworded) to spot weaknesses.==
Also, ==create three to five versions== tailored to the types of roles you’re applying for, so customizing later takes minutes, not hours.
Step 4. Socials
LinkedIn may feel like shouting into the void, but it remains recruiters’ first stop. At a minimum, update your experience, skills, and profile photo. Then, post. A short note reflecting on your contributions, achievements, and what you’re looking for goes further than you think.
Try to be a bit more proactive – connect. Reach out to former colleagues and alumni, a casual “catch up” message can easily turn into a referral.
Step 5. Discipline
Treat your search like a job. Apply to at least ten roles per day for the first month. Track every application in a spreadsheet or project management tool like Notion, structure helps.
Think of it like a pipeline: applications at the top, recruiter responses in the middle, interviews at the bottom. Tracking progress keeps you accountable and shows where you need to adjust.
Step 6. Interview prep
Don’t wait for a recruiter email before brushing up. ==Light prep== goes a long way:
- For technical roles, revisit coding practice sites (LeetCode, HackerRank) and system design questions.
- For behavioral interviews, rehearse stories that highlight teamwork, conflict resolution, and measurable impact.
- Schedule mock interviews with peers or even AI-powered simulators.
Step 7. Update strategy
Some job searches drag. Today, it’s a full-time job that takes a lot of time, energy, and nerves. I met people, great specialists, not being able to find a job in over 8 months – that’s when you know you need to change the strategy.
Try finding a part-time role. It can offer you a steady income that keeps your runway alive, or even evolve into full-time offers. Startups and nonprofits often look for part-time help and can give you new skills, and enlarge your professional network. This will allow you to buy some breathing room and maybe add a surprising line to your resume.
Conclusion
Layoffs may feel like an ending, but they’re also a forced reset – a moment to reassess, regroup, and push forward with sharper focus. The truth is, careers today aren’t straight lines; they’re made of pivots, pauses, and reinventions. What matters most isn’t the setback itself, but how you respond to it.
The job you lost doesn’t define you. The resilience you build and the opportunities you create on the way back – will. n
