The day of a layoff is disorienting. The week after is critical. The decisions you make in the first seven days — about your severance, your benefits, your network signaling, and your search posture — compound over the entire next chapter.
This is the operational playbook. Tactical, sequenced, no inspiration. The emotional processing is real and valid; this isn't that. This is what to do with your hands.
Day 1 — Sign nothing, screenshot everything
HR will ask you to sign a separation agreement quickly. Common urgency tactics: "we need this back today," "the offer expires Monday," "this is our standard package." All of these are negotiation pressure, not legal requirements.
Your day-one moves:
- Take screenshots of everything in your work accounts — calendar, contacts, recent work product, expense receipts. You will lose access within hours or days. Anything you need for taxes, references, or your portfolio gets captured now.
- Read the separation agreement, but don't sign it. Most include a non-disparagement clause, a release of claims, and a non-solicit. Some are reasonable. Some are not. You typically have 21-45 days to review.
- Forward your contacts to a personal email. Names, titles, and email addresses of people you've worked with. Critical for references and outreach later.
- Note your last day of benefits coverage. Health insurance often ends on the last day of the month, not the day of separation. COBRA continuation rules apply after.
Day 2 — Negotiate the severance
Severance packages are negotiable. Most laid-off employees don't negotiate, which is why packages stay where they are.
The leverage points:
- Notice period: push for an additional 2-4 weeks of paid notice if the package is light.
- Outplacement services: the company likely contracted with LHH, RiseSmart, or Right Management. Most candidates skip these. Useful primarily for the resume coach, not the platform.
- Equity vesting acceleration: sometimes available, especially for senior roles. Worth asking, even if the answer is no.
- Reference language: negotiate what HR will say when called. "Confirmed dates of employment and title" vs. "eligible for rehire" vs. proactive references.
- Non-disparagement scope: mutual is better than one-way. The company can't trash you publicly if it's mutual.
If the package is meaningful, an employment lawyer is often worth the consultation fee — typically $300-500 for a one-hour review. They'll spot terms you'd miss.
Day 3 — Stabilize benefits
The medical insurance gap is the highest-stakes financial decision of the layoff. Three options:
- COBRA continues your existing plan. Expensive — typically $500-2000/month for an individual, $1500-3000 for a family. You have 60 days to enroll, and coverage is retroactive.
- Marketplace plans (healthcare.gov) often run 30-60% cheaper than COBRA, especially with subsidies based on now-reduced income.
- Spouse's plan may have a special enrollment window triggered by the loss of coverage.
Run all three options before the COBRA window expires. Don't auto-elect COBRA; it's the path of least effort but rarely the best financial choice.
Day 4 — Public signaling
Whether and how to share the layoff publicly is the most argued question post-RIF. The data is clearer than the debate suggests.
Posting about being open to work generates inbound. LinkedIn's "Open to Work" feature surfaces you to recruiters searching that audience. A short, professional post about your search — what role, what scope, what timeline — gets shared and reaches recruiters in your second-degree network.
The risk: posts that lean into the layoff emotionally rather than the search direction can come across as off-putting to hiring managers. The signal you want is "I'm in a transition; here's what I'm looking for." Not "I was wronged; pity me." Both are legitimate human responses; only one helps your search.
The post structure that works:
- One sentence acknowledging the situation (no extended grievance).
- What you did at the previous company in 2-3 sentences.
- What you're looking for next: scope, role, industry, timing.
- How to help: warm intros, leads, public roles.
Day 5 — Update materials
Your resume hasn't been updated in 18 months because you weren't looking. Now you are. The materials need a deliberate refresh:
- Resume. New role added, current scope quantified, titles aligned with how recruiters search (see the title translator). The 8-second scan is brutal — make sure the most recent role tells the right story.
- LinkedIn headline + about. The headline is what shows up in recruiter searches. The about is what they read after. Both should mirror the resume's framing for the role you want next.
- References list. Three to five people who'll vouch for you, with their current contact info. Reach out before listing them — give them a heads-up about what to expect.
If you can spend an hour on one of these, spend it on the resume. Audit yours →
Day 6 — Reactivate the network
Most jobs are landed through warm connections. Most candidates avoid asking for help because it feels presumptuous. The candidates who do ask — quickly, specifically, and gracefully — close searches faster.
The reactivation list:
- Former managers. They know your work, vouch credibly, and often hear about openings before they're posted.
- Peers from your last 2-3 jobs. Especially anyone who's now at a company you'd want to work at.
- People who've recently been through a search themselves. Recent context on what worked, who's hiring, who's reasonable to talk to.
- Investors or board members if you've been in a company that had them. They have unique pipeline visibility.
The ask is specific: "I'm looking for [role] at [size company] in [sector]. Anyone come to mind for a 20-minute conversation?" Specificity gets responses. Vague asks ("happy to chat with anyone") don't.
Day 7 — Set the search posture
By end of week 1, decide:
- The role you're targeting. Not three roles. One, with a clear scope and seniority. You can adjust later, but the messaging needs to be focused.
- The companies you'll prioritize. 20-40 named companies you'd actually work at. Anything outside that list is opportunistic.
- The number you'll accept. Floor and target. Knowing this prevents the panic-acceptance of the first low offer.
- The timeline. Realistic for senior roles in 2026: 3-6 months from layoff to signed offer. Shorter is possible with strong inbound and tight network. Longer is common and not a failure.
Write these down. The discipline of writing them creates a baseline you can come back to in week 8 when the search feels endless and you're tempted to take anything.
What to skip
Several things look productive but aren't. Skip:
- Mass-applying to 100 jobs in the first week. Cold applications convert at single-digit percentages. The energy is better spent on referrals.
- Building a personal brand from scratch. Not in week 1. Maybe not at all. Most senior hires don't come from content marketing.
- Restructuring your career identity. The instinct to pivot industries or roles after a layoff is real but expensive. Most successful searches stay close to your existing experience.
- The grief work disguised as productivity. Reading layoff articles, watching recruiter content, polishing your resume for the third time. Real search work is uncomfortable. Recognize the difference.
What Ari does
Ari runs your pipeline once the conversations start. Inbound recruiter emails get categorized. Calendar events get linked to opportunities. Stale threads get flagged before they go cold. You stay focused on the conversations; Ari handles the bookkeeping.
Before the inbound starts, the most useful tools: audit your resume, translate your title, and build your comp report. Twenty minutes total. Saves you from a search that drifts.