Finding the good in layoffs 🚀

This Week...

🚀 Can we find the good in layoffs?

🔍 Under the spotlight -  Peppy

🤓 What I'm reading / listening to

💻 Top 5 flexible jobs

🚀 Can we find the good in layoffs?

Layoffs suck 👎

And that's putting it politely.

Last summer I, along with hundreds of others, was part of the layoffs at Hopin.

Anyone who's been thorough a layoff will know just how horrible that first 24 hours can be. The emotions that run through you are enough to throw you all over the place.

Sadness. Embarrassment. Guilt. Anger. Frustration. Fear. Confusion.

But once you overcome this, there are different ways you can look at the new situation you find yourself in.

It is natural to blame yourself and believe this was personal.

I did exactly this 👆🏼👇🏼

I questioned why me over others, I wondered if I could've done more, I re-examined decisions I'd made.

But this wasn't helping, despite being my natural instinct.

So, I decided to look at it differently, and I'd love to think that this advice can help others do so to.

I thought of the layoff as a good thing.

As a chance to better myself. As an opportunity that had been presented to me.

Suddenly, I had more time on my hands and saw the opportunity to use this time to do a number of things:

💭 Really think about what was important to me

👨👩👧👦 Spend time with my young family

🎙️ Speak to a lot of new companies

📚 Read books and industry blogs

🏡 Renovate part of the house

🍕 Make pizza from scratch

✍🏼 Start writing on LinkedIn

💻 Learn basic web design

🤑 Start a side hustle

🤝 Build a network

💪 Exercise more

✈️ Travel

None of this would've happened without having been laid off.

Some of this stuff I did was personal. But the majority of if helped me grow professionally and opened up a number of new avenues for me.

Once we shift our perspective and look at the good things, and the opportunities that come out of being laid off, it can suddenly go from being the worst thing in the world, to one of the greatest opportunities.

The key to doing all of this? 🔑

Actively look for the new opportunities and the time you've been given.

Surround yourself with great, positive people. People who you trust and whom care about you.

Remember what you've achieved so far and reflect on it.

And never, ever blame yourself.

For me, getting laid off opened up some of the biggest opportunities for me since I started my career.

If you have been laid off, and want to chat, my DMs are always open. Happy to share in more detail the process I went through, how I approached it and what I took away from it all.

*To be clear - I still think layoffs are awful. But, I believe that when we start to look at them for the opportunities they present, rather than the numerous negatives they hold, they can in fact be seen as a good thing for us.

**I do recognise that not everyone will be fortunate enough to financially support themselves for long through a layoff, and that the lack of income can be devastating. I was incredibly lucky to be able to do so, affording me more time than some others may experience. That being said, whatever your situation, looking at the good you've done, what you've achieved and not blaming yourself does help hugely.

🔍 Under the Spotlight - Peppy

This week we're focussing on Peppy. Peppy supports employees through underserved areas of health that fall through the gaps all too often – menopause, fertility, having a baby, women’s health and men’s health.

Flexibility is at the core of how Peppy operates, with a remote first approach but balanced with a co-working pass for those that want the choice of in person.

What I love about Peppy:

💡 Core hours approach - trust and flexibility is at the heart of this, allowing people to find a schedule that works for them, so you everyone can maintain a healthy work-life balance.

💡 Choice on where you work - they're not remote only or office only, you get the choice, allowing everyone to work from where they do their best work.

💡 Extended parental leave policy - Peppy recognise the importance of spending time with your new ones, so offer a whopping 6 months full pay for all new parents.

🤓 What I'm Currently Into

📚 Latka Magazine

🎧 Hafursey (Yfir) - Ólafur Arnalds

✍️ The Barbenheimer Effect

📺 The Deepest Breath - Netflix

💻 Top 5 Flexible Jobs

Mid Market Account Manager - Thirdfort

GTM & Operations Assistant - Piper HQ - Reach out to Aydan Al-Saad

Enterprise Customer Success Manager (NYC) - Zendesk AI agents (Ultimate)

Manager, Strategic Sales - Figma

Global Trading Manager, 12 Month FTC - Elvie

That's all for this week.

Let me know what you'd like to read about next.

Until next time 👋🏼

Will

p.s. - catch up on past editions here 👈

Like this? I'm Will  I post about the future of work, GTM strategies and building your personal brand.

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All views in this newsletter are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of any past, present or future employer.