Layoffs Are Rising—What’s Your Career Strategy Now?

The people who thrive through uncertainty aren’t the ones with the perfect plan—they’re the ones who stay ready to adapt, grow, and seize the next opening when it arises.

By Julie Norwell

Boxing legend Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” What Tyson meant is that even the most well-laid plans can be upset by an unforeseen challenge or crisis. Life is unpredictable, after all. 

A punch in the face is precisely how a layoff feels for a lot of people. It’s sudden, painful, disorienting, and all too common in today’s shifting job market. One minute you’re progressing steadily in your career, the next you’re scrambling to figure out where your next paycheck is going to come from. 

With layoffs rising, more professionals are finding themselves in exactly that spot. In the first four months of the year, government job cuts, alone, surpassed 160,000 employees. Tech layoffs, too, are ramping up, topping 50,000. 

Ask yourself: How secure is your role, really? Wanting a clear-eyed perspective is not pessimism, it’s preparation.

Unfortunately, you don’t have to be laid off to feel the ripple effects. Reorganizations, shrinking budgets, and stalled promotions can all throw your career off course, even if your job technically remains intact.

An executive should always maintain some sort of a career plan. But a plan alone may not be enough when times get rocky. The savviest executives also prepare for the unexpected by developing new skills, resources, and the ability to adapt. Ideally, they do this throughout their careers, but it’s never too late to start. Such tools help you manage your career strategically and navigate career difficulties even if a punch derails your original plan.

Be Aware of Where the Wind Is Blowing

Start by being aware. In any market – and especially a precarious market – it’s prudent to keep your finger to the wind. That requires looking beyond your job title and the busy-ness of your day-to-day. Consider your recent performance reviews, the health of your organization, and your industry’s outlook. 

• Are you seen as critical to your organization’s future, or just filling a seat?
• Is your organization showing signs of stress?
• Is your industry growing? Shrinking? 
• Are your skills aligned with where the market is headed?
• What opportunities are opening up in other industries? 

Then ask yourself: How secure is your role, really? You might feel like you’re being a negative Nellie. But wanting a clear-eyed perspective is not pessimism, it’s preparation. It’s important to know the lay of the land.

If you are referred by someone, you are more likely to get hired. So, it pays to have good relationships – and lots of them.

Of course, preparing a solid strategy to manage the unexpected is only as good as the tools you use to execute it. The basics include: 

• Regularly updating your resume and ensuring it reflects the caliber of leadership you’re aiming for. (Pro Tip: Keep a journal of all your achievements at work so that you can be sure to highlight them when it comes time to update your resume.)
• Crafting your LinkedIn profile so that it showcases your value clearly. (And, no, your LinkedIn profile should not just be a digital version of your job history!) 
• Spending time developing your personal brand because it is often someone’s first impression of you. What is personal branding? It is differentiating yourself. It is showcasing accomplishments related to the roles you are seeking and positioning yourself as an expert in your field.

Prepare for the Unexpected

As mentioned, best-laid plans often go awry. So, prepare for the unexpected. What does that mean? Beyond the basics, one of the most important things is to keep lines active in the unpublished job market – the hidden layer of executive opportunities that never make it to job boards and where 75% of executives are hired. There are several reasons for this. 

For one thing, while skills and experience are important criteria in hiring, relationships are even more so. Hiring managers give tremendous weight to the high regard a peer might have for someone they recommend for a job. That is especially true if the recommendation comes from within the company because referrals tend to stay in their jobs longer than other hires. Indeed, a recent study found that, “…among enterprise-level organizations, 1 in 10 referrals results in a hire – a conversion rate significantly higher than that of job boards.” 

“This could be the greatest success I will ever have.”

In short, if you are referred by someone, you are more likely to get hired. So, it pays to have good relationships – and lots of them. More relationships mean more eyes to spot budding opportunities for you. And the better your relationships, the keener people will be to help you secure those opportunities. To maximize the power of the unpublished market, dedicate time every week to nurturing existing ties and cultivating new ones.

Another key part of preparing for the unexpected is sharpening your interviewing skills. Many executives assume they’ll perform well simply because they’re used to being on the other side of the table. But interviewing others is very different from being the one under scrutiny—and the stakes for getting it right are much higher.

Keep in mind that the above are not exercises you want to build under pressure. You will make better decisions when you’ve invested time in them early.

The Upside of Career Risks

Career disruptions are scary, but they can also reveal opportunities that only emerge when you’re willing to take a calculated risk. A layoff, reorg, or a shrinking market can feel like a setback in the moment. In reality, it’s often the catalyst that pushes people toward roles, industries, or goals they might never have pursued otherwise.

It took a layoff for Barrett Group client Kia Banisadre, for example, to transition to an exciting and fulfilling new career in a brand new industry. 

“Engaging The Barrett Group has been well worth it. I wanted to find the exact job I wanted but I didn’t even know what the exact job might be. I certainly never considered that it would be in a completely different industry!”

In fact, staying put isn’t always the best career move even when things are going well. As Jocelyn Hirschfeld found when lack of professional challenge compelled her to make a career change, sometimes the greater risk is in not taking action.

After accepting a new role offering ample new challenges, she reflected, “This could be the greatest success I will ever have.”

A smart career strategy often means recognizing when it’s time to pivot and having the tools to do it. In the end, the people who thrive through uncertainty aren’t the ones with the perfect plan—they’re the ones who stay ready to adapt, grow, and seize the next opening when it arises.

By keeping your network strong, your skills sharp, and your market value visible, you’ll be ready to make bold moves with confidence, not fear. That’s the real advantage in an unpredictable market—and the smartest strategy of all. You can’t always predict the punch—but you can be ready to move forward smarter and stronger when it lands.

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Written by Julie Norwell, senior writer & content manager at The Barrett Group.

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