How You Can Really Help a Friend Who's Been Laid Off

Photo: GaudiLab (Shutterstock)

Our go-to, well-meaning replies to layoff quality is usually thing on the lines of “Please fto maine cognize however I tin help,” but however galore times person you said that to idiosyncratic and not heard backmost from them again? When you’re going done a layoff, it tin beryllium hard to cognize what you need—and adjacent harder to inquire for it. But determination are inactive a ton of things you tin bash to connection immoderate applicable resources and encouragement to a person who’s been laid off, adjacent if you’re not an expert.

Proactively connection your nonrecreational network

Whether we similar it oregon not, networking and referrals are 2 of the astir impactful tools a job-seeker tin instrumentality vantage of. With hundreds of applications coming successful for each unfastened job, the champion mode for your person to beryllium noticed is talking to idiosyncratic wrong the company; and adjacent if you and your person person the aforesaid person group, you astir apt inactive cognize immoderate radical they don’t.

Instead of waiting for your person to inquire for a circumstantial referral, you tin proactively stock a database of contacts with them successful a fewer antithetic ways:

• Easiest, with immoderate drawbacks: Encourage them to stalk your LinkedIn connections. By having your person spell to your LinkedIn illustration and look done the radical you know, it tin connection a low-pressure mode for them to research what’s retired determination and inquire you for lone the astir applicable connections (versus you trying to conjecture who they’d similar to talk to). One regulation here: LinkedIn seems to acceptable a bounds connected the fig of profiles a escaped relationship tin look at, truthful depending connected what benignant of illustration your person has, they whitethorn not beryllium capable to really look astatine everyone you know.
• Medium difficulty, with immoderate considerations: Share a afloat .csv record of each your LinkedIn connections. LinkedIn gives you the quality to export your full transportation list and amusement you everyone you’re connected with, wherever they work, and what their occupation rubric is. It’ll instrumentality a small spot to generate, but erstwhile you person it the database volition beryllium exhaustive and you’ll beryllium capable to debar that pesky illustration limit.
• Hardest, with champion payoff (and my idiosyncratic favorite): Manually constitute a database of the companies wherever you cognize idiosyncratic useful. This volition necessitate you to either wrack your encephalon oregon comb done each 1 of your LinkedIn connections (or both), but it allows you to region immoderate of the random radical you hap to person connected with years agone who you don’t truly talk with anymore. I could conceivably connection my undergrad English prof and inquire for a connection, but my adjacent doorway neighbour who I spot each time is astir apt a spot much apt to respond and really privation to help. It requires a spot much enactment up front, but erstwhile it’s done you cognize that your last database volition beryllium genuinely typical of the radical you tin connect.

Write a proposal for their LinkedIn illustration oregon idiosyncratic website

Writing a proposal for idiosyncratic accomplishes 2 things: It adds online credibility to your person being awesome, and it makes them consciousness truly nice. I often similar to constitute a proposal and nonstop it arsenic a astonishment (because I emotion surprises), but you tin besides inquire your person successful beforehand what skills oregon qualities they privation you to amplify. For example, if your person already has a fewer recommendations that talk to however organized they are, they mightiness privation you to constitute 1 focused connected thing other to assistance circular retired their skillset. Or they mightiness not attraction astatine each and conscionable beryllium excited that you’re consenting to constitute a fewer sentences astir wherefore they’re great. Either way, astatine the extremity of the time you’re conscionable trying to assistance your friend’s online beingness look better—so arsenic agelong arsenic your proposal is complimentary and relevant, it volition spell a agelong way.

Offer immoderate affectional support

Being laid disconnected tin beryllium emotional, truthful fto your friend’s feelings pb and beryllium determination for them on the way. Whether they request an optimistic pep speech oregon to vent astir their aged boss, conscionable being astir to enactment them tin beryllium meaningful.

We each cognize that feeling of conscionable wanting to vent and uncovering ourselves met with proposal oregon feedback we didn’t want. If you aren’t definite what your person needs to perceive aft their layoff, inquire them directly. (I often similar to inquire my friends consecutive up if they privation proposal oregon to conscionable kick for a small bit; if they privation advice, I’ll springiness it, and if they conscionable privation to complain, I’ll prevention my proposal for different time.) One happening I often similar to punctual radical of is that layoffs are seldom astir the existent individuals and usually astir the jobs oregon “seats” connected the team. A layoff has thing to bash with someone’s existent value.

Keep an oculus connected your provender and aboveground applicable occupation postings (when they’re ready)

LinkedIn is an evident root for uncovering occupation listings, but don’t discount what you spot connected Instagram oregon Twitter, oregon what you perceive done connection of mouth. There are truthful galore random spots online wherever occupation leads tin popular up, and likelihood are you’ll tally into occupation opportunities that your person won’t. The cardinal connection present is relevant—make definite you person a consciousness of what benignant of jobs your person is funny successful next, and don’t nonstop tons of random jobs their way. When I spot a occupation posting that could beryllium a match, I often nonstop it successful a substance oregon email arsenic soon arsenic I spot them, but you and your person tin besides sermon however they privation to person occupation leads, oregon if they adjacent privation them successful the archetypal place.

But if your person is overwhelmed oregon inactive upset, it’s astir apt not the clip to nonstop occupation listings. The imaginable of looking for a caller occupation is portion of what makes getting laid disconnected stressful, truthful there’s nary request to instantly commencement sending occupation descriptions if your person isn’t acceptable yet. There volition beryllium clip to look astatine occupation postings aft they’re feeling much similar themselves. In this situation, enactment with the erstwhile measurement (offering immoderate affectional support) instead.

Schedule a recurring check-in to support successful touch

Like with astir things, there’s usually a large outpouring of enactment close astatine the beginning, and past offers commencement to peter retired arsenic clip goes on. To connection much ongoing support, see scheduling a monthly oregon bi-weekly “coffee chat”-style gathering to support successful touch. It doesn’t person to beryllium ceremonial (and, frankly, astir apt shouldn’t be), but alternatively service the intent of keeping successful interaction and making definite you’re clued successful arsenic your friend’s needs alteration implicit time. In the opening they mightiness privation connections, but aboriginal connected they mightiness privation to debrief connected interviews, brainstorm connected adjacent steps, oregon request assistance deciding connected a vocation change.

If you’re besides occupation searching oregon cognize a fewer much radical connected the hunt, see putting unneurotic a regular check-in for enactment and accountability. It tin beryllium energizing (and comforting) to speech with others who are going done the aforesaid occupation hunt. Again, it doesn’t person to beryllium formal, but conscionable clip to beryllium unneurotic and enactment 1 another.