Day 1 After a Tech Layoff

The first 24 hours after a layoff are disorienting. You’ve just lost your job, probably over a 30-minute Zoom call with someone from HR you’ve never met, and the instinct is to do something: update LinkedIn, blast out applications, start grinding LeetCode. Don’t. The best thing you can do on day one is slow down.

What to actually do today

1. Read the severance agreement before signing anything. Look for non-disparagement, release of claims, and any clause that restricts your next job. If something looks non-standard, give yourself 48 hours and talk to a lawyer — most offer a free first consult.
2. Export your personal files through the official channel. HR will usually give you a narrow window to pull personal documents. Use it. Don’t bulk-download, don’t forward to personal email — both can cancel your severance.
3. Write down everything you worked on. Specific projects, metrics, tech stack, team size. Memory of these details fades fast, and you’ll need them for your resume and interview stories over the next six weeks.
4. File for unemployment. The clock starts when you file, not when you were laid off. Don’t wait.
5. Tell your closest 3–5 people. Not LinkedIn. Not Twitter. The people whose opinions you actually trust. Most job-search momentum comes from warm intros, and those start with people who already know you well.

What to not do today

Don’t post on LinkedIn. Don’t mass-apply. Don’t open LeetCode. None of those moves work better on day one than they will on day three, and day three you’ll be thinking more clearly.

The full arc

Layoff recovery breaks into three phases — stabilize (week 1), audit (weeks 2–3), and apply (weeks 4+). Day one is entirely about stabilizing. The Week 1 checklist picks up from here.