How To Tailor Applications After A Layoff

Here are 5 tips that helped me rebound after layoff 2 years ago: 1) I posted about my layoff on LinkedIn, but I was very precise about what I was good at, what I was looking for, and where (location) I was open to working ("I'm a senior-level technical and non-technical recruiter, specializing in full-cycle candidate engagement and closing, who ... blah blah blah... located close to Seattle, open to remote, hybrid or onsite within 30 miles of Seattle metro!"). Not "hey everyone, I am looking for something new, if you see anything, let me know!"... that is way too general, so nobody will let you know 😂 everyone is too busy looking out for themselves. 2) I applied for roles "below" my experience level. I got a bunch of action by applying for contract, less-senior, non-senior, etc just to get conversations started and my foot in the door. In fact, originally the role I interviewed with for Reddit was contract, and they ended up being impressed with my interviews and created an FTE, senior role that mapped exactly to what I was looking for. So glad I took that first call and just kept the conversation going. You never know... 3) I applied for jobs in very high volume, and I knew my conversion rates (read on for what this means!). Since most of apps seem to go in a black hole, I looked at my conversion rates of applications to phone screens/interviews/offers and adjusted my application rate up. If it takes 500 applications to get 3 phone interviews, and 3 phone interviews to get 2 final interviews, and 2 final interviews to get to 1 offer, then in order to get 3 offers, 2 of which might be really 💩 , I need to apply to 1500 jobs. 4) I reached out to former colleagues, I reached out to my friends, I let my family know about my search (and had my resume attached to my messages). I asked for referrals to roles I found at their companies. I also tried to ask how they are doing, and what I could do for them, too... and then I (nicely!) followed up with them if I didn't hear back, or if they said they would refer me and forgot. A nice follow-up is appreciated... people get busy! 5) I worked at my job search full-time. There seem to be diminishing returns on efforts after a certain point in a search for many folks? So I made my job search my 8am-5pm full-time job, just like when I was in the office. I did take breaks, but TBH I worked to the point of near-burnout in my job search. But the effort paid off with multiple offers. *I know that the market is even tougher now, and I was lucky to be laid off before the tech market slid as much as it has. I will say, the folks who employ tactic #s 2, 3 & 5 especially seem to rebound quickly, from my experience with coaching job seekers pretty consistently since March of 2020 (for free, and no I am not selling services, sorry!).

A layoff is not the same as a medical emergency. But too many people panic like it is. Over the last few years, I've supported many people in navigating a layoff. Here's what I'd do if I faced a layoff: 1️⃣ Pause and get clear ↳ Reflect on recent accomplishments and write down specific wins with measurable outcomes. This becomes the foundation of your story. ↳ Identify what drained you in your last role, whether it was tasks, communication styles, or team dynamics. These patterns matter more than job titles. ↳ List 2–3 non-negotiables for your next role. These will become your filter moving forward. 2️⃣ Update my positioning ↳ Rework your LinkedIn headline and resume to match the roles you actually want, using keywords from the job descriptions you're excited about. ↳ Update your “About” section to reflect who you help, how you help them, and what kind of challenges you solve. ↳ Make sure your target job titles show up on your resume, LinkedIn, and “Open to Work” settings so you show up in the right searches. 3️⃣ Start real conversations ↳ Make a list of 10 people in your network who are close to the function or industry you're targeting. Reach out with the goal of learning, not pitching. ↳ Ask thoughtful questions about their path, what they’ve noticed in the market, and what they’ve seen work. ↳ These conversations won’t just open doors, they’ll give you language, clarity, and momentum. When everything feels uncertain, clarity is your power. Use it to rebuild on your terms.

The Real Reason You’re Not Hearing Back From Applications (And What Helped Me) There was a point in my job search after getting laid off when I was cold-calling nonstop. And… crickets. I knew I had experience. I knew I was qualified. But the silence? Loud. That’s when I realized something: it wasn’t that I wasn’t qualified. It’s that I wasn’t making it easy for people to understand my value. Here’s what I changed—and what might help you too: 1️⃣ My resume was too vague. I used to write things like “designed user-friendly experiences” or “collaborated cross-functionally.” But I wasn’t saying what I actually did or how it helped the team or the business. 👉 I rewrote my bullets to focus on impact—not just responsibilities. I started answering questions like: What problem was I solving? What changed after I did the work? 2️⃣ I stopped sending the same resume to every job. Every role has a slightly different focus—and hiring managers can tell when your resume doesn’t align. 👉 So I started tailoring my resume to match each job description—mirroring keywords, highlighting specific skills they were looking for, and making it clear why I was the right fit for that role. 3️⃣ I focused on outcomes, not just tasks. A lot of my old resume bullets were like: “Created wireframes for XYZ project” Cool. But what happened after that? 👉 I started framing my experience in terms of what it actually achieved—whether it was improving usability, increasing engagement, or just helping a team move faster. Once I made those changes, I started getting interviews again. No referrals. No insider connections. Just strategy. If you’re not hearing back, it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough—it might just mean your resume isn’t telling your story clearly. ✨ You don’t need to over-design it. You don’t need to have all the “right” connections. You just need to communicate your value. Have you made any recent resume tweaks that worked? Or are you stuck trying to figure out where to start? Let’s talk about it 👇 #JobSearch #ResumeTips #ProductDesign #CareerAdvice #UXDesign #ColdApplying #Tech

It took me 100 days to land a job post-layoff— and I’m one of the lucky ones. My LinkedIn feed is full of people searching far longer, and with fresh 2025 layoffs, competition is fiercer than ever. Applying for high-paying jobs on LinkedIn now feels like trying to score Eras Tour tickets—I've recently failed at both. 😅 🔍 What’s happening? -Companies had lower turnover last year, an indicator that people who want to change jobs can't find a better one. -Many jobs are shifting offshore or back to offices in expensive hubs (like California), limiting remote opportunities. -“Knowledge work" job postings now get flooded with hundreds of applications in an hour making it more competitive than ever. I applied to 75+ roles, tailored my resume, stalked decision makers on LinkedIn—crickets. The reality? *Blindly* applying on LinkedIn doesn’t work anymore. ✅ Do this instead: 👩💼Focus on ONE job title (e.g., Customer Success or Product Manager)- your ideal next role. Don't straddle the fence and try to keep your options open. Figure out the one role you want to land. 📝Perfect your resume & ‘About Me’ intro to communicate your unique qualifications and interests in that role(ChatGPT - Resume can help- link below). 🌠Align your LinkedIn profile with your resume—cut irrelevant experience. Make a list of everyone you've impressed in your career. 📲Call them. Tell them what you’re looking for & share your resume and about me. Make a clear request. Job hunting has changed. The best roles aren’t posted—they’re referred. Leverage your fans who know what you're capable of. It'll take 90+ days so Get to networking. 🚀 I’ll be back with some thoughts on what to do once you meet someone you’re intro’d to. And, with advice for my fellow TA professionals #JobSearch #CareerTips #Networking #layoff #remotework

Getting a job in this market is tough, but not impossible. I spent most of last year recruiting and these are the most effective things that helped me land a new job 👇 Spend more time tailoring your resume and networking instead of applying to hundreds of jobs and hoping to hear back. Why? Mass applying to jobs is not effective. ❌ It's very time-consuming ❌ You'll have a high rate of rejections ❌ For every application you don't tailor, someone else did (lowering your chances) Here's what I do instead 👇 ⭐️ 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 "𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐀" 𝐚𝐧𝐝 "𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐁" Plan A → Roles that you want to transition in, like your first PM role, a new industry, new technology, etc. (lateral move) Plan B → "Good Fit" roles for which your skills and experience are a great match. (vertical move) Use the ratio 1:3 → For every 1 "Plan A" job you apply to, apply to 3 "Plan B" jobs. Make a list of your Plan A and your Plan B roles - I use Google Sheets to track: - Company - Role Name - Plan A or Plan B - Link to the job posting ⭐️ 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Tailor your resume, I can't state how important it is. For my Plan B (AI/ML roles), my resume has accomplishments related to the problems I solved with AI and the impact the models had on the business. For my Plan A's I grouped them by industry/technology and did a version of my resume for each one. Tip: Look at the required/basic qualifications of 3~5 job postings for each job category and write accomplishments based on those. For your LinkedIn → You can mix your Plan A and Plan But know that the more you align with one of the plans, there's a chance for higher success. → Turn on Open To Work. ⭐️ 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 Apply on the company's website first. Next, find recruiters: → Find the company's LinkedIn page → On the people's tab, filter for "recruiter" (Tech recruiters usually hire PMs) → prioritize reaching out to recruiters with purple banners, then those who are active on LinkedIn (posted recently). You don't know who is the recruiter for your role, so you'll send a message with this structure: Intro → quick intro about yourself and what you currently do Application → let them know the role (and ID) that you applied to Your ask → let them know you are aware they might not be the recruiter for your role, so ask them if your profile can be shared with the team. Why are you a good fit? → after the ask, let them know why you are a good fit for the role. Write 3 to 5 things about your experience that are RELEVANT to the required/basic qualifications of the job you applied to ⭐️ 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 On LinkedIn's search bar type "hiring Product Manager" and in the [all filters] menu use the [Author Company] to filter companies you are interested in. Send a similar version of the message above! --- 🚀 Need help with your resume and interviews? check my comment below!