"Just laid off"→ Back your feet! (First 30 days after after a layoff) (30 min) with

You just got laid off. You feel rejected, broken, and like the whole situation is deeply unfair. You're not wrong about any of that. Being told you're not needed does something to your sense of self that takes weeks to come back from, and most career advice skips right past that part to tell you to update your LinkedIn.

This session doesn't.

This is a 30-minute live session focused on your first 30 days post-layoff. It starts with where you actually are, and walks you through the moves that pull you back to your feet.

We cover, in this order:

- The emotional reset: what's actually happening to your sense of self right now, why it's not a sign you did something wrong, and how to stop the spiral that traps a lot of laid-off designers for months before they job-search effectively

- Your narrative: how to talk about why you left without sounding bitter, defensive, or apologetic. The two-sentence version you'll repeat 200 times in the next 90 days

- Your LinkedIn timing: when to update your profile, what and when to post publicly, and when to stay quiet

- Your network outreach: who to reach out to in week 1 versus week 3, and the language that works when you're still raw

- Your 30-day search architecture: what a focused search actually looks like, and how to avoid the spray-and-pray spiral that wrecks momentum

This session is for you if:

- You've been laid off in the last 30 days and you're cycling between numb and angry.

- You've taken a quiet exit deal and need a plan before your network finds out.

- You've been job-searching for a couple of weeks already and you can feel the momentum slipping.

- You're sitting between rounds of layoffs at your company and want to be ready emotionally and practically.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING:

- Your current LinkedIn URL
- A list of 5-10 companies on your radar (rough is fine)
- Your last performance review, if you have it (helps me see how to position you)

WHAT YOU'LL WALK AWAY WITH:

- A 30-day post-layoff plan with weekly sequencing
- Your two-sentence narrative, drafted with you on the call
- A short list of who to message in week 1 and what to say
- An honest read on your emotional baseline and what to do about it before it hurts your interviews

Former VP of UX at JPMorgan Chase.
25 years in UX across startups, agencies and Fortune 500.
2,400+ design careers transformed.

Here's what I do: analyze your situation and tell you exactly what's keeping you stuck -> and what to do about it.

I work with experienced UXers and design leaders who are great at their craft but hitting a wall on the business side. The promotion that's not coming. The influence you can't seem to build. The stakeholders who smile and nod but never actually change anything. The nagging feeling that you're doing excellent work that nobody with power seems to notice.

I know these problems because I've lived them. I lead a design org at one of the largest financial institutions in the world. I navigate reorgs, executive politics, and the gap between "great UX work" and "actual business influence" every single day.

This isn't theory for me, it's my day-to-day work.

My clients have gone on to leadership roles at Amazon, Meta, Spotify, Google, and others.
Not because I handed them a framework, because I told them what no one else would and helped them act on it.

I only coach on Wednesdays. Spots are limited.

If you want someone who'll be honest with you, book a session.

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Get weekly career acceleration strategies → https://uxmentor.substack.com/

I also post frequently on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkrutchinsky/