- Have perspective. Several years down the line when you're in a new company/career/life, you will recognize this layoff was a necessary thing to happen for you to "get there."
- It's going to take a while. Every job I ever got, took waaaay longer than it should have. Things happen. Roles get filled internally, headcount goes away, etc. Job finding is inherently filled with friction, so if it takes 6 months or more, don't interpret that as "I am bad/this will never work" - it's just the nature of the beast.
- Be in sync with your family on what matters. My wife was very clear that she was going to be fine if it took me longer to find a role I was really excited about. We were lucky that we could afford that, and it's good to be explicit.
- There's no stigma in layoffs but you can generate your own stigma in how you talk about it. Don't be bitter and do provide some color. My answer why I was looking was "the company took a big revenue hit with COVID and had to reduce headcount. The strategy was to cut from areas that were further along in technological maturity, such as (my area.) We lost a lot of senior tech talent, including myself. I am really grateful having worked there, though!" This is 100% true to what happened and how I feel, and it's a great answer because it makes is clear I wasn't fired because I was bad, and shows some maturity and perspective.
- Be aware that your next job may not be your perfect job. It should be good enough that you MIGHT want to stay there, but at the very least can be a launching pad for your real next role. When you are laid off, the question isn't "do I see myself here the next 10 years" but more like "am I pretty sure this will be an interesting / worthwhile year and a half"
- Don't be negative. The author posted some spreadsheet about how rough his job search was and then was surprised that a company wasn't interested in him. I don't think this is the same as "truth can hurt you" - more like "companies are on the lookout for red flags, and if you are the kind of person who complains in public, maybe you are going to be a negative culture fit." That's doesn't mean they want yes-men, but there's a big difference between people who feel an obligation to dissent (strong positive) to perceived complainers. Complainers are poison.