Why a Layoff Is the Perfect Time to Switch Careers

Finding yourself #opentowork after a layoff is a confusing and stressful experience. One day you’re an employee with a predictable income and access to healthcare, the next you’re figuring out whether you’ll be able to live on unemployment and COBRA benefits until your next role.

While it’s totally normal to start looking for jobs right after a layoff, it’s equally helpful to take a pause. Giving yourself time to process what happened allows you to deal with the emotional fallout of being laid off and figure out where you want to go next in a measured, intentional way.

If the answer happens to be changing professions altogether, some good news — a layoff is the perfect springboard. Here’s why it makes sense to use this downtime to switch careers.

Joblessness by any other name

There’s no sugarcoating it, being laid off sucks. Even if you saw the warning signs, sudden job loss feels deeply personal and can be hard to cope with for both your body and mind. Emotional responses can include anxiety, low self-worth, or depression, while physical responses such as sleep disturbances, muscle pain, headaches, and fatigue are also common reactions.

That’s because being laid off is a traumatic event. One study showed that it ranks seventh among the most stressful life experiences a person can have, ahead of divorce, a sudden and serious impairment of hearing or vision, and the death of a close friend. Another study found that it can take an average of two years to recover from the psychological trauma of losing a job.

Ultimately, it’s not just the job you’re losing when you’re laid off. It’s the sense of security, source of self-worth, and community that go with it. But even though it’s jarring and hard, a layoff can also contain a silver lining if you’ve been dreaming of switching careers.

Why this is an opportunity in disguise

When forces outside of your control turn your world upside down, it can be the nudge you need to take bold action. Viewed another way, a layoff can spur you to let go of old narratives about who you are and what you’re allowed to do — so you can step into the next chapter

Here are three reasons why a layoff is the perfect time to plan and execute a professional pivot.

Reason #1: A layoff allows ample space for self-reflection

A full-time job doesn’t leave you with a whole lot of spare time for contemplating life’s big questions. But in the wake of a layoff, you have time to think. That can be dangerous without direction, but when used wisely, it can be a gift for your career.

Let yourself recover from the shock of losing your job first. Then, take some time to dive deep into your values, motivations, strengths, and dreams. Doing so will allow you to resurface with a clear picture on why you want a change, what you’re going to pursue, and how you’ll achieve it.

It can also be helpful to read other people’s experiences and how they navigated their transition to a new career. For inspiration, check out these stories from six very different TripleTen graduates_{Time to Make a Change: TripleTen Students On What Made Them Rethink Their Careers} and what kept them motivated as they broke into unfamiliar fields.

Reason #2: A layoff provides lots of time to reskill

Another benefit of having an abundance of time after losing your job? The ability to make your own schedule and prioritize learning the skills you need for your new career path. Sure, you’ll still have competing priorities, but the focus can be on upskilling as quickly as your life supports.

Luckily, there are plenty of options for building up new skills, including college programs, professional bootcamps_{Unveiling Legitimacy: How to Verify the Authenticity of a Bootcamp}, and self-driven learning. The right education path for you will allow you to structure your time responsibly and hit your career goals on the best timeline for you.

And remember — you’re not starting from zero. You already have plenty of transferable skills that will help you in your new career. As for navigating any doubts creeping in? This article offers five helpful tips_{Switching to Tech? Here’s How to Keep Imposter Syndrome at Bay} for tackling imposter syndrome, so you can proceed with confidence.

Reason #3: A layoff lets you network in earnest

It’s way easier to get started in a new career if you have a relevant network supporting your transition. But as you probably already know from your current role, this takes time. Fortunately, being laid off makes it easier to build authentic connections because it lets you focus on quality.

While LinkedIn is a good place to research groups, events, and people in your new field, it’s best to hold off on sending connection requests until you’ve met people in other ways — or you have a legitimate reason to reach out, such as a question about their work or posts.

Events, online forums, discussion groups, and professional development communities are all good places to start — and being laid off lets you explore them more easily. For more non-toxic networking tips, check out this article_{How Non-Toxic Networking Helps You Land a Job} featuring tips from TripleTen career coaches.

You’re not alone

As you embark on this major life change, it’s helpful to know that you’re joining a community of like-minded professionals who saw their chance for a better life. Read on to learn how two of them, Desiree Bradish and Rachelle Perez, used their layoff experiences to land careers in tech.

Meet Desiree Bradish, Full Stack Engineer

Desiree Bradish was five years into a career in graphic design when the pandemic hit. Like many others, she was laid off, and although she found a part-time gig that kept her working, Desiree wasn’t interested in returning full time to a profession with long hours and poor pay. So she decided to use her spare time to reconnect with a love from her college days — coding.

I was really just kind of reevaluating my life and deciding that I needed to refocus.

Desiree Bradish Full Stack Engineer

Desiree started reskilling with free online training resources, but realized she needed more direction, so she enrolled in TripleTen’s Software Engineering bootcamp. Four weeks after finishing TripleTen, she landed an internship. Soon enough, she converted that internship into a full-time position as a full stack engineer.

Meet Rachelle Perez, Data Scientist

Rachelle Perez had spent a decade in tourism when the pandemic brought the industry to a standstill. With the industry suffering, people were let go — including her. Finding herself cut off from the work she’d specialized in, she started looking into tasks that she’d enjoyed in her previous role.

I started going on Indeed and putting in vague searches to see what happened: operations, sales reports, etc. And that's when I started seeing data analytics jobs, and I was like, ‘Oh, that's the kind of thing that I want to do.’

Rachelle Perez Data Scientist

So she decided to pivot. She enrolled in a data analytics bootcamp for unemployed people that was sponsored by the New York City government. It helped her secure an entry-level data analytics job. But as she gained more responsibility, she knew she needed more advanced skills. That led her to TripleTen’s Data Science program. After acquiring a set of new skills and graduating, Rachelle landed at Spotify as a data analyst.

You can follow their example

Both Desiree and Rachelle had relevant skills from their previous careers that transferred to their new roles. For Desiree, that was the foundation in coding she developed in college, while for Rachelle, it was her emphasis on operations and customer data in her tourism roles.

You have transferable skills, too, even if they aren’t a direct match with your new career. You can learn more about this in our article on life after completing a bootcamp_{Will I Be Able to Start a New Career After Completing the Bootcamp?}. Or, get inspired by the chart below outlining examples from professionals in healthcare, education, and sales.

The stats behind their stories

People who switch careers with a heavy focus on reskilling are getting hired, even in this tough labor market, because employers are struggling to find quality talent. In fact, 58% of companies say they feel skills shortages are significantly impacting their business plans.

The good news? Employers don’t particularly care where your skills come from, as long as they’re demonstrable. A TripleTen survey of 1,000+ decision-makers in the US found that 79% of employers hire candidates with non-traditional backgrounds for tech roles, while 86% are confident or very confident about hiring bootcamp grads for entry-level roles.

Our Outcomes Report backs this up: 87% of our students come from a non-STEM background, while the majority (80%) do not consider themselves particularly tech-savvy. Meanwhile, 87% get hired within 180 days of graduating and 90% stay with their first employer for at least a year. 

What career should you choose?

Figuring out which career path is right for you after a layoff can be both exciting and challenging. If you're searching for clarity in your professional journey, this career quiz can help. In just two minutes, you’ll receive a suggested career track in tech, plus potential job titles for inspiration.