Episode Details

This is one of the toughest job markets we've seen in a long time. Every week, it feels like another company is announcing sweeping layoffs and tightening their roster. In Episode 53, I talked through what to do if you suddenly find yourself on the wrong side of those decisions. This week, though, I want to shift the focus. Let's talk about the moves you can make right now to put yourself in the strongest possible position to avoid being laid off. Nothing is guaranteed; no strategy is bulletproof; but the concepts we'll cover today can help you protect your role and make yourself a far less likely target.

Layoffs are almost never a spur-of-the-moment decision. There are usually warning signs; a missed revenue target here, a sudden market shift there. Maybe the stock price starts sliding and leadership begins looking for ways to calm investors or at least keep the board from panicking. That's when department heads get pulled into quiet rooms for closed-door conversations, budgets start tightening, projects get paused or quietly cancelled...and eventually...the layoffs and re-orgs begin.

Forewarned is forearmed. The people who seem "shocked" by layoff news are often the ones who weren't watching the right signals; meanwhile, the people who look prepared usually saw the signs long before the announcement. It starts with truly understanding how your company makes money. What are the real drivers of revenue; which products are gaining traction; which ones are quietly struggling? What has leadership been emphasizing in earnings calls or all-hands meetings? If you want even a chance at predicting when a company might be gearing up for layoffs, you have to track the overall health of the business. Companies rarely start cutting when everything is soaring...they cut when the storm clouds have been gathering for a while.

Once you understand the health of the company, the next step is figuring out exactly where your role fits into that picture. Every job supports the business model in some way, but not every job carries the same weight when leaders start sharpening their pencils. Ask yourself a few simple questions; does my work directly generate revenue, protect revenue, or reduce cost? Is my team tied to a product or initiative that the company is actively pushing...or one that hasn't gotten much attention lately? If you can't clearly articulate how your role contributes to the business, that's a sign you need to get curious fast. The people who survive reorganizations are usually the ones who can draw a straight line between their daily work and the company's financial engine.

Once you know where your role lives in the larger business model, you can start making a more honest assessment of your personal risk. Some roles sit close to the core; others sit on the outskirts where cuts tend to land first. Maybe your team owns a product that's losing traction...or maybe you're in a function leadership hasn't talked about in months. You're not predicting the future here; you're evaluating probabilities. And when you understand your risk profile, you can finally decide what to do next...whether that means doubling down on visibility, shifting your workload toward higher-value projects, or quietly preparing a Plan B.

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