I want to speak to the people who haven’t been laid off yet.
The ones who are watching what’s happening around them, reading the news, hearing rumors at work, noticing that certain departments have gone quiet, and wondering whether this could happen to them.
My honest answer is that it might. That isn’t meant to scare you. It’s meant to give you a reason to prepare.
I didn’t do this myself.
When I was still employed in corporate and could feel the ground shifting at my company, I told myself I’d be fine. I kept my head down and focused on delivering.
I didn’t update my resume, I didn’t stay in touch with my network, and I didn’t seriously think through what I’d do if something changed.
Then something did change, and I was starting from zero.
That’s what costs people the most time. Not the job search itself, but the weeks lost at the beginning because they weren’t ready.
Their resume is years out of date. Their LinkedIn still reflects an old role. They haven’t spoken to half their network in so long that reaching out now feels uncomfortable.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
If you’re currently employed and quietly worried, start now. Not because you’re definitely going to lose your job, but because staying ready is something you can do quietly without anyone at your company needing to know.
Start with your resume. While you’re still in the role, you have access to the numbers, the outcomes, and the specific wins that become much harder to remember later.
A strong resume that captures real impact takes time, and you don’t want to build it from memory under pressure.
Then look at your LinkedIn. If your profile hasn’t been updated in years, recruiters actively searching for someone with your background are far less likely to find you.
Updating it now, while you’re still employed, is often an advantage.
And don’t wait until you need your network to start maintaining it. Reach out to former colleagues. Have real conversations. Stay visible.
A network you’ve kept warm is something you can lean on. One you’ve ignored for years is much harder to reactivate when the pressure is already high.
One of my clients came to me the day after her layoff. She told me she’d felt for months that something was coming but kept convincing herself it wouldn’t happen.
We got her back on track and she landed well, but she told me later that starting even two months earlier would have saved her weeks of stress and uncertainty.
That’s what preparation gives you.
Time, clarity, and a much stronger starting point.
If you want to build a strategy before you need one. We’ll talk through where you are and what makes sense to do next.