Should I use the LinkedIn 'Open to Work' green banner?

Depends on seniority. For 0–4 YOE, yes — recruiters actively filter for it and it widens your funnel. For senior+/staff, the banner slightly cheapens your positioning; a well-worded headline and 'actively interviewing' in the About section reads better. Either way, don't use the banner on day one; use it in week two once the rest of the profile is tight.

How do I ask a former colleague for an intro without being awkward?

Be specific. Don't ask 'do you know anyone hiring' — that puts the work on them. Ask 'are you still close with anyone at Stripe? I saw they're hiring senior backend roles and I'd love a warm intro.' One company, one ask, easy to forward.

What if my last job was at a company my target company competes with?

That's usually an advantage, not a liability. Competitors routinely hire from each other. The only exception is if you signed an enforceable non-compete or are carrying trade secrets — both rare for a SWE but worth a 30-minute lawyer call if you're unsure.

RECOVERY

Week 2 After a Tech Layoff: Build Your Search Infrastructure

Week two is when the resume, LinkedIn, and first warm intros get built. Not applied — built. Three pieces of work that determine the next six weeks.

Updated Apr 19, 2026

Week 2 After a Tech Layoff

Week one was for stabilizing. Week two is for building the three assets the rest of the search runs on: the resume, the LinkedIn, and the first five warm intros. Still no applications. Not yet.

The resume rewrite — not an update, a rewrite

Start from the accomplishments doc you wrote last week. Not from your old resume. If you edit the old one you’ll preserve its bad framing; start fresh.

Every bullet is a STAR-compressed line: situation, task, action, result — packed into one sentence. “Cut p95 checkout latency from 900ms to 180ms by rewriting the idempotency layer in Postgres, unblocking a $4M/yr partnership integration.” Not: “Worked on checkout performance.”

Three rules:

Every bullet has a number. Latency, throughput, uptime, dollars, users, team size, anything countable. If a bullet has no number, it’s a description of a task, not an accomplishment.
Verb-first, past tense, no “I”. “Shipped,” “designed,” “led.” Not “responsible for” or “worked on.”
Top third matters most. Recruiters spend 10 seconds on page one. The first three bullets of your current role decide whether they read the rest.

Audit the draft against ATS tooling before you send it anywhere. A resume that doesn’t parse cleanly doesn’t get read.

The LinkedIn update — measured, not dramatic

Headline: your actual role + the signal you want to send. “Senior Backend Engineer — open to Staff+ roles in payments / fintech” is clearer than “Passionate engineer looking for next challenge.” Recruiters search headlines; make yours searchable.

About section: 3 short paragraphs.

What you’ve built (concrete: scale, stack, impact)
What you’re looking for (role, domain, stage, location)
One sentence of how to reach you

Feature section: pin your 1–2 best projects or writing. Make the page scannable in 15 seconds.

Do not write a long emotional layoff post yet. That’s week three or four, after you’ve already had a few conversations and know what signal you actually want to send.

The first five intros

Pick five former colleagues you genuinely liked working with. Not acquaintances — collaborators. Text them, don’t email. Format:

Hey — got caught in the layoff round last week. Putting feelers out for senior backend roles, ideally in [domain]. Are you still close with anyone at [specific company]? No rush, and no worries if nothing comes to mind.

One specific ask per message. Easy to say yes or no to. Easy to forward.

Five of these, sent on a Tuesday or Wednesday, will generate 1–2 real intros by the end of the week. That is a better week-two outcome than 50 cold applications.

What the week ends with

By Friday: a rewritten resume you’d confidently send to a peer for review, an updated LinkedIn profile that doesn’t scream “just got laid off,” and 5 personal messages sent with 1–2 warm replies landing. If any of those are weak, diagnose before moving on. A broken resume can’t be fixed by more applications — it has to be fixed first.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use the LinkedIn 'Open to Work' green banner?: Depends on seniority. For 0–4 YOE, yes — recruiters actively filter for it and it widens your funnel. For senior+/staff, the banner slightly cheapens your positioning; a well-worded headline and 'actively interviewing' in the About section reads better. Either way, don't use the banner on day one; use it in week two once the rest of the profile is tight.
How do I ask a former colleague for an intro without being awkward?: Be specific. Don't ask 'do you know anyone hiring' — that puts the work on them. Ask 'are you still close with anyone at Stripe? I saw they're hiring senior backend roles and I'd love a warm intro.' One company, one ask, easy to forward.
What if my last job was at a company my target company competes with?: That's usually an advantage, not a liability. Competitors routinely hire from each other. The only exception is if you signed an enforceable non-compete or are carrying trade secrets — both rare for a SWE but worth a 30-minute lawyer call if you're unsure.