A Riffed series

The Layoff Chronicles

Honest field notes on getting laid off and rebuilding, from someone who’s been through it. What actually helps in week one, month three, and the messy middle in between.

Bill Smith
Laid off, then rebuilt. Now writing it down.
Getting started

What the Heck Happens Now?

Ten things to do right after the news lands, starting with permission to mourn before you do anything else.

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Getting started

What NOT to Do in the First Week

You are not behind. Ten things to resist in week one, from panic-applying to rewriting your whole story.

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Mental health

Safeguarding Your Mental Health During a Prolonged Layoff

Honest about my own turning point, and eleven ways to stay standing when the search drags on.

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Mental health

10 Questions I'm Asking Myself

Ten questions to stay honest with yourself as the days blur. No right answers; one sentence is enough.

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Interviews

Approaching Interview Anxiety

Why the nerves show up, and a pre-interview grounding checklist for the 15–30 minutes before you go on.

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Rejection

Dealing With Rejection

Rejection rarely knocks you over. It pulls, like a riptide. Six habits for keeping your footing.

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Money

Circling the Financial Wagons

Practical ways to extend your runway without shrinking your life to nothing, and what NOT to cut.

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AI & tools

Using AI in Your Job Search

Where AI earns its keep in a job search, where it quietly hurts you, and the honest take in between.

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Resumes & ATS

Why Your "Perfect" Application Disappeared

Parsing, scoring, ranking, and the human at the end. Fix the format, tailor the content, get known first.

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Coaching

Why You Need a Coach (And No, I'm Not One)

What a coach actually does, the accountability factor, the real talk on cost, and how to find one worth hiring.

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Career pivot

When Should I Pivot?

Not passion, but pattern. When a pivot makes sense, what to base it on, and how to make it real.

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Scam alert

The Recruiters Who Aren't

The flattering cold open, the resume pivot, the disappearing act, and how to spot a real recruiter.

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Layoffs explained

The Acquisition Layoff: It Was Never About You

Why acquisition layoffs hit differently, what you're actually grieving, and a few things worth knowing.

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Age & bias

The Job Search Nobody Warns You About

What the law says, how subtle it really is, the Workday lawsuit, and what you can actually do about it.

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The long search

When the Search Becomes the Job

What a long search does to your sense of self, the shame nobody names, and a direct word if you're in it.

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Ghost jobs

Ghost Jobs: You Weren't Failing. You Were Applying to Nothing.

What ghost jobs are, why hiring managers defend them, and a sanity list for protecting your energy and your story.

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Networking

Networking for People Who Find Networking Mortifying

Why referrals are most of the road, the ask that turns an open-ended obligation into a two-minute task, and scripts for the messages you keep deleting.

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