Ask HN: How do I move forward after being laid off?

Your full time job is now to find a job (or more specifically: ways to bring in money). That means 8h a day of concerted job search. The market is not favorable atm, but it's also not anywhere near impossible. I got laid off twice while living on a farm (30m from the nearest gas station), but always managed to find something remote, even if it was sometimes suboptimal (and this was before remote was really a thing).

Think of the different ways you can make money. Perhaps reach out to your network to see if any consulting gigs are coming up. One-off projects have a tendency to go over, or turn into other projects. Maybe something international will work, even if the work hours end up being a bit lopsided? Of course keep at the regular employment game as well, but now you need to be thinking creatively. Yeah, you could work at a pizza joint or something, but chances are also pretty high that these smallish businesses are having computer troubles that you could fix for a reasonable fee.

You have skills and knowledge, and those are valuable to businesses in the right context.

Next up is saving money. Most people can save an incredible amount of money on food by changing how they cook. Like cooking from base ingredients using an easy cooking method like a slow cooker or pressure cooker, in large batches that you can freeze, making your own bread, etc. Most of the kitchen tools you'd need are available at the nearest second hand shop for dirt cheap. There's a reddit for living frugally. I forget the exact name, but there's lots of good advice to be had.

2. A job is just a thing you do to get money. You won't be the only person who does something else for a while as you job hunt.

3. Retrain. This is a great time to adopt new sills. We have probably seen the end of the CRUD era, and a lot of folks will be learning this the hard way.

You’re in rural Indiana and worried about the job prospects. But you got a job at a YC company before. How did you do that? Can you run that same playbook now to find something?

> How can I justify the high cost of COBRA health insurance with limited funds, so my high school teacher wife isn't burdened by my potential medical debt while being our sole provider? How do I fall asleep at night?

Instead of doing COBRA can you get on your wife’s health insurance plan? It’ll almost certainly be cheaper than COBRA and a spouse’s job loss should be a qualifying event to let you enroll mid year.

If not remember that you can enroll in COBRA retroactively for some period of time. If you get something lined up soon might be worth it to go that route.

Best of luck!

honestly i just drank and played videogames for a while and found another better higher paying job in a couple weeks. presumably there are other remote options for you?

I definitely took a massive cut and I'm making about what I was making 4 years ago. I rode the salary bubble and my income ballooned during the pandemic. Now it's back to reality. I can't blow money like I used to.

The only tip I can give is get used to rejection. It's much harder to get a job now.

I'll offer other kinds of suggestions:

1) I've looked back on my gap periods and realized there were things I could have done to better use my time, but in ways not directly related to finding the next job. You can only "job hunt" so many hours each day, you'll have to do other things too. Finish your degree? Maybe, if it feels productive and not enervating. Get a weird side certification? Might be more energizing to get that welding certification, or something orthogonal, not necessarily career-oriented, but productive and distracting.

2) Get physical, if you aren't already. It's a great time to work out (you have the time), and the application of discipline towards bettering yourself will carry-over to the other things. Wanted to do something that employment blocked before, like the Appalachian trail? Don't not do it because you don't feel deserving. That's one of those black holes you have to work hard to keep at bay.

Bonus:

Apply for unemployment benefits.

Find a way to be of service.

Lighten the load for your wife.

> How can I justify the high cost of COBRA health insurance with limited funds, so my high school teacher wife isn't burdened by my potential medical debt while being our sole provider?

I can’t help you figure out how to deal with this financially, but you should absolutely write your Senator and Congressperson and let them know that COBRA is an absolute joke.

The existence of employer-sponsored healthcare for workers like us is frequently used as an excuse for not reforming the USA’s absolutely bonkers healthcare system. The system supposedly works for people like us, and we vote, so politicians are too afraid to upset the apple cart.

Anyone who has ever gotten the bill for COBRA after getting laid off knows that it’s basically useless. And what’s worse is that the other options — an exchange-based insurance plan, or Medicaid — might also be either too expensive or unavailable.

You can make a huge difference for everyone by speaking out on this subject. Tell your representatives that the system doesn’t actually serve you. Tell them that we need a system that’s not based on the highly variable generosity of individual employers, or the assumption that you’re putting money away each month to assume your employer’s share of your health insurance plan if hard times fall on you.

Here's a tip from the book "How to stop worrying and start living" (Dale Carnegie): live in day-tight compartments. This means to focus on getting through one day at a time.

As others have already pointed out, you should be able to get onto your wife's insurance because you've just had a "qualifying event". In the event that you do need COBRA, you can enroll in it retroactively (just pay attention to the dates).

My current plan -- stay current on LinkedIn (indicate that you're "Open to Work", search for jobs through LinkedIn, apply to jobs, reach out to people in your network, etc.). I follow-up on emails and job search first thing each morning. Then I spend some time doing hobby software development to keep your brain fresh and maybe even pick up a new skill or 2. After that, I work outside or in my garage on other (unrelated) stuff. In my case, that's a combination of woodworking and metalworking. You need something to pass the time and ideally give yourself some exercise.

I highly encourage you to do stuff that will tire your body during the day. This will make it easier to sleep at night. You may also find that taking 5mg of melatonin may help too.

You will need to remind yourself over and over that you WILL get through it.

If you have other skills maybe try to make use of them. Did you ever do any painting or carpentry? If so, you can maybe pick up some odd jobs in your neighborhood if needed.

Good luck. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Work whatever network you have. Build one from past colleagues on LinkedIn if you haven’t. Start applying for remote work. Look for contract gigs if time is that short. Get your CV out there and keep applications flowing to companies.

1. Take time to regather and make sense of things.

It can be hard when it feels like there is a constantly ticking timer but you need to move out of panic mode and into a functioning state. This is not just snapping your fingers. It takes time and "active recovery". I like a mix of reading, exercise and meditation but you might prefer walks, therapy, etc.

2. Establish a new routine

Work provides a natural routine which you've lost. Establish a new one. When I was laid off, I would wake up at 8:30 and quietly have some breakfast, shoot off 3-5 job applications, and then work on an activity (home repair, chores, learning). Give yourself a schedule.

3. Make three plans

Make an optimistic plan, a "most likely" plan and a failsafe. Maybe you have a company you dream to work at and trying to apply with them is your optimistic plan. Maybe it's running a bakery and your action here is to do the math on your business idea.

The "most likely" plan is what it sounds like. This is probably a job like your old job, making about the same pay. What are you willing to give up? What do you need? Are you willing to fly out once a month to a client site?

Your failsafe is that. Maybe it's a boring but sufficient job. Talk to your friends and former colleagues. Maybe you have a side gig that could cover the bills but is annoying. The goal of the failsafe is to cover the basic needs, not hit all the wants.

4. Execute forward every day

Move each plan forward every day. Take a little action. Call a colleague who you think can get you in at BoringBigCo. Send a resume cold to a dream job. Reach out to recruiters who might have good leads.

Edit: doing it for ya…

https://www.ryanmercer.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmercer317

https://issuu.com/ryanmercer/docs/ryan_mercer_resume_2023

* Look into getting onto your wife's health insurance - losing your job is a "qualifying event".

* Spend some time networking - if you don't already have an account on LinkedIn get one and connect to technical recruiters and others who might be able to help you find work. There are plenty of folks posting there about layoffs at the moment, so you won't feel so alone.

* Sign up for unemployment

* Consider talking to your mortgage provider and ask them to make concessions on your payments for a while until you find something.

* Try to reduce your expenses, cancel unnecessary monthly services and/or call them to try to reduce the monthly bill, explain your situation.

Also, apply for SNAP and any other government programs. Dont avoid them to save face as they not only help financially, but having them helps relieve a good amount of the stress of getting by until you get back on your feet, so you can focus on your employment goals and remain sane.

Been in your shoes and wishing you the best man.

Edit: https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/apply-for-medicaid/eligi...

Do it and don't let yourself or anyone else shame you. They'd do the same in your situation if they had the option, and that's what these programs are for.

"Having been through a few layoffs, I'm just highlighting how I dealt with it and my route to finding a new job. Of course my circumstances may be different from yours, but this is just my perspective and experience which I'm reposting to help folks out.

Here goes:

1) Take a deep breath, you're alive. Heart's beating. You'll live and you'll figure this thing out, just like you've figured every single other thing out up until now. Not your fault, poor leadership decisions.

2) Figure out finances. Find out how much severance you'll receive and if there's any other benefits coming with your package. How many months are you looking at to be able to find your next job? Message HR if there's anything missing from your next steps. Even if you get minimal severance: you just got laid off. Ask HR if you could get reimbursed for any career preparation tools and services. Don't be afraid to do this. There's a reason they won't do it in bulk, but one off they can accommodate.

3) Watch a movie, relax! For a few days. Don't let the news eat up your mind. Keep your spirits up and enjoy funemployment.

4) Grind time. Brush up your resume, and start warming up your LinkedIn and other profiles. As an engineer, I started LeetCoding and got my company to reimburse the subscription especially given my severance was only for 2 weeks.

5) I created a list of companies I wanted to apply to ordered by preference. Compensation was a big deal for me given my family, so I used levels a lot. I started applying to these companies while I was still preparing, but in reverse order with my least preference first, so I can use them as practice interviews. Even if you don't know anyone at these companies, reach out to people on LinkedIn and mention that you got laid off to try and get a referral. People will be willing to help.

6) Once you're more ready for actual interviews and depending on your comfort level, post publicly about how you got laid off. Avoid mentioning anything negative about your previous employer, it can come back to bite you. Stay positive, but mention that you're excited for your next opportunity and open to intros. You can attract a lot of attention and get a lot of inbound reach outs which can help a lot. I was really surprised how effective a simple LinkedIn post was.

7) Go into your interviews confidently and practice communicating clearly. Put energy into your conversations with everyone you meet on the team. A lot of people are getting laid off, and not as many companies are hiring right now. You really have to differentiate yourself by being more excited, demonstrating your skills as best as possible, and ensuring that you are a fit at the company. (Companies will almost never nick you for being laid off, but they can nick you for not being a culture fit)

8) All this said, don't forego your preferences for where to work just because you're out of a job. Keep applying and select the flavors you want to work with, don't just apply to everything and be desperate. You know your value and skills, intelligently apply to where your interests, skills, and other factors align the best. Once again, start from the bottom of the list and go up.

9) You'll land some offers Trust yourself, you WILL get them! I thought I wouldn't and I did, so just trust the process. Once you do, don't get too excited and just sign the first thing you get. Think about things, be patient and use the allotted time they give you. Negotiate your offer too, just because you don't have a job right now doesn't mean you can't command your worth. Worst case, they don't budge on numbers.

10) Sign the best offer. Congrats, you've made it all the way through once you're here. And trust me, it's not that far away. You just need to put in the effort, and you WILL get to the next opportunity.

Remember everything happens for a reason. What...

It sounds to me that you've got a decent amount of work experience in IT or something? You should be able to find a job. Real world experience trumps college degrees (though college degrees are certainly helpful at getting your foot in the door).

First of all make use of time to relax. Enjoy the free time. You will feel that your body and mind go to a slower state and you will have a better perspective from that point of view!

Did you like the job/your management so much? Maybe you want to try a different job this time, something you thought about earlier but never dared to hope for.

I guarantee you: a year from now you will be looking at this event much more positively, you have a clear option to think about what you want and make an active choice of direction.

Think out of the box. You have plenty of working and learning experience going for you.

Even if you would make the wrong choice, there's always the possibility to bail out and try another employer. Every employer and organization culture is different.

That's where you are now. Exercises helps your core and your core helps you breathe and breathing helps your stress and stress will kill you and your family.

2. Take care of yourself. Airplane rules in effect now: secure your own face mask before others. Get your health, money, time, and mind set right.

3. Update your resume. Your last job section needs more fluffing and your long term job needs editing. Think through all the things you had to do, think of all the outcomes you achieved, find an AI cover letter / resume writer, hire a LinkedIn optimizer, hire a job submitter (this helped me the most)

4. Look for jobs at the competitors. CloudTrucks has a remote program manager role open. Apply anyway.

5. Reskill yourself. Python is great, do more, and get into data science, secure a certificate. It's been 20 years since I dropped out of college and it's hard out there for those without college degrees, sorry.

Fight the odds.

Persist to break through.

Good luck.

From my own experiences as a T shaped person, I'd say that's you, or you're well on your way to it. Job and life transitions aren't always so smooth as that T develops, but it's those occasional bigger shifts that help broaden the experience you have.

It's not always easy being T shaped, as you kind of have to start off as a minus sign (short horizontal) and move towards being more of an em dash as that vertical line begins to emerge. You can feel scattered and unfocused, but at some point you see the breadth of your experience you've gained, and that you're capable of learning new things.

An approach perhaps to jobs is not to say, "I have done these many things - perhaps one is something you want?" But instead say, "I have done many things, and that shows my curiosity, interest in learning new things, and flexibility." Heck, even a job at Taco Bell makes that T even more interesting, even if it's not a big career highlight.

Irrespective, the next phase doesn't have to be the destination - sometimes it's just another step in the journey. And don't apologize for your diversity, but see it as a strength. Some day you might find that employer that says, "Oh actually that's exactly why we hired you!"

Walmart has over 1300 openings with the word “software” in the title https://careers.walmart.com/results?q=software&page=1&sort=r...

CVS has 486 https://jobs.cvshealth.com/job-search-results/?keyword=softw...

UnitedHealth has 616 https://careers.unitedhealthgroup.com/job-search-results/?ke...

Go down the list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_companies_in_t...

Many are WFH. Good luck

The human mind has an incredible ability to develop master strategy when you force the body to endure unhappy experiences. Right now, it sounds like the suffering of your body is not well-aligned with the suffering in your mind. As the physical suffering equals or exceeds the mental suffering, you may begin to feel relief.