Thread regarding CDW layoffs

I can understand the reluctance to use the “open to work” banner on sites like LinkedIN. Unfortunately, there are a lot of old-school people out there that would look at that being a negative, but ask yourself this: would you really want to work at a company where folks like that are in charge of hiring? We’re no longer in an era where people being laid off is an accurate indicator of performance. Much of it is being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t have any data on if things like that help or not. Anecdotally, I can tell you that several years ago, an acquaintance was laid off, turned on that banner, and I happened to see if because a mutual contact commented on his post. I immediately submitted him for a role at my company and he was hired. The point is, many folks who you may have worked with years and years ago may remember you, may remember the good work you did, and may also have an inside track on new positions coming in their company and oftentimes, they’ll be incentivized to refer people due to referral bonuses.

Me too. I can’t bring myself to do a public announcement and the whole “open to work” banner and hashtag on LinkedIn. I’ve always thought it looked desperate. Anyone have success stories after doing those things?

I have gone through this twice myself. It su-ks no matter what.
As others have said time to modernize you resume. If you can use a service like TopResume to give you an update of your csv and a chance to standout. They can also tell you how to tweak your LinkedIn profile. Tweaking your LinkedIn job history descriptions, summary and skills to match what you are interested in can help you pop up on LI recruiting searches. With the many layoffs in the industry it could be worth LI Premium as someone mentioned since they place you at the top of recruiter search results.
The biggest thing that helped me was some giving feedback that I spent too much time in interviews justifying the previous layoff and explaining what happened to the previous company. You should only concentrate on what you did and the results you brought. Then when asked say something similar to "I was part of a department wide layoff after an acquisition of a similar company." This is so common today that it shouldn't be an issue.
Best of luck in your search, and just like sales, it's all a numbers game. Apply X amount of times every day to feed the funnel.

Chiming in on the side hustle advice… another option to consider for this if you have a Master’s degree is to get and always keep and adjunct faculty gig or two.

So now effective resumes are down to 1-page?

Seems hard to do if you’ve worked at a more than two places and have professional training & certifications.

Start by getting LinkedIn Premium (free for 30 days then you can decide to subscribe or not.) Take a couple days and decompress. Then post on LinkedIn that you were laid off and looking for work. Not doing this step delays the job process. Next update your resume and get it down to one page. If they gave you career assistance take advantage of all of it.

I’m sorry. Here is what I’d do:

1. Update your resume asap and get a “looking for work” profile created on the major job sites. Make sure you file for unemployment and any other benefits as soon as possible.
2. Engage your network. If you know folks locally, don’t be afraid to reach out for coffee or lunch to do some networking and look for potential opportunities.
3. Look at working contracts if that’s a possibility for your field. That will keep money coming in while you look for a more permanent landing spot.
4. Maybe take a short break (1-2 weeks off) but then hit the job sites hard. Make it a goal to apply to X jobs per day. Don’t be afraid to apply for jobs you think are “above” you - you may be surprised.
5. In any spare time, think about a possible side hustle. Yes, I understand that might be hard if you have a family, but a side hustle can potentially insulate you from layoffs in the future. I personally think we’re seeing a huge shift in the tech industry and I fear more layoffs are on the way industry-wide. I have had a side hustle (completely unrelated to my professional field) for the last 2 years and have grown it to the point where if I lost my job, I could go on my spouse’s benefits and bring in enough to pay the bills without worry. In fact, if I lost my main job, I would likely be able to grow my side hustle quite a bit and maybe even enough where I could retire from my field or maybe just supplement the hustle with some side contracts.
6. Also consider volunteering to do some networking if you have the time. I’ve seen many posts asking for engineer/developer type roles (not sure of your field) so if you have the time, you might be able to do a lot of networking in that capacity.

The key is - don’t panic. Work deliberately and aggressively towards your goals. Also, one thing I forgot to mention - make a list of companies you’d like to work for and make sure you monitor their listings and apply for positions as they post.

Sounds like you were a valued and productive coworker if they wanted you to lead a future project.

It’s easy for those not in your position to give advice, but having been in your position before I’d say polish up your resume, lean on whatever connections you have at other companies/recruiters and dive into applying for jobs right away. That will avoid having a lot of idle time that will cause you to look back instead focusing on the potential positives of the future.

Good luck to you and the other affected Coworkers.