CareerKit

Layoff Survival Kit

Three free tools for the days right after a layoff — review your severance, plan the next 30 days, sharpen your resume.

0/6000

Copy the entire text. Names and amounts are fine — nothing is stored.

0/500

Tenure, others laid off, role level, what was promised verbally.

Informational only — for material legal questions, consult an employment lawyer in your jurisdiction.

What is the Layoff Survival Kit?

The Layoff Survival Kit is three free tools in one — built specifically for the chaotic days right after a layoff. Most career tools assume you have time and headspace; this one assumes you have neither. Use it to (1) review your severance letter for red flags, (2) build a personalised 30-day comeback plan, and (3) rewrite your resume into an active-search-ready version that goes out today.

Layoffs are at multi-year highs — about 874 people per day in 2026 in the US alone. The standard advice ("take a week, then start applying") is dangerous when runway is short and confidence is shot. The kit gives you concrete next steps in under 5 minutes per mode, with no signup and nothing stored.

How to use the Layoff Survival Kit

  1. 1

    Start with the severance review

    Paste the entire letter. The tool flags clauses worth negotiating (extended healthcare, signing window, non-compete scope) and explains them in plain English. Not legal advice — for anything material, escalate to an employment lawyer.

  2. 2

    Build the 30-day plan

    Enter your role, industry, and (optional) financial runway. You get a week-by-week plan calibrated to your situation: stabilise → rebuild → outreach → convert.

  3. 3

    Rewrite your resume in emergency mode

    Paste your existing resume. The tool tightens every bullet, reorders for impact, and trims weak content — optionally tilting toward a specific target role.

  4. 4

    Save your work

    Each mode generates results you can copy out immediately. Create a free CareerKit account to keep the plan, version your resume, and track every application you send.

Tips for the first week after a layoff

  • File for unemployment within the first 48 hours — it usually takes 2-3 weeks to process.
  • Lock down healthcare: COBRA, spouse plan, ACA marketplace — whatever's cheapest. Decision deadline is usually 60 days.
  • Don't announce on LinkedIn until you have a 2-sentence "what happened" answer rehearsed. Public framing matters.
  • Reach out to your 5 strongest weak ties privately. Most jobs come through them, not job boards.
  • Set a budget you can survive on for 6+ months even if it means cancelling subscriptions and pausing retirement contributions.
  • Block off rest time. Job-search burnout 6 weeks in is real — the people who pace themselves win.

Layoff Survival Kit FAQs

Is this legal advice?▾

No. The severance review is informational only — it flags clauses that are commonly worth a closer look. For anything material (especially non-competes, equity, or large signing windows), consult an employment lawyer in your jurisdiction. Many offer free 30-minute consultations.

Should I sign the severance immediately?▾

Almost never. Most US severance offers come with a 7-21 day signing window precisely because the law gives you time to consult counsel. Using all of it does not signal anything bad to the employer.

How aggressive should my 30-day plan be?▾

It scales with runway. If you have under 3 months of savings, weeks 2-3 collapse — you start outreach immediately. The plan asks for your runway so it can calibrate honestly.

Why "emergency" resume — what makes it different?▾

Standard resume advice optimises for a career-long document. The emergency version optimises for the next 30-90 days: sharper recent-role bullets, dropped older filler, target-role tilt. You can refine to a polished version later — first you need something to send today.

Is my data saved?▾

No. We do not persist the severance text, resume text, or plan inputs. Only your IP address is logged for daily rate-limit counting.

Can I use the kit if I quit instead of being laid off?▾

Most of it, yes. The severance review and emergency resume work fine. The 30-day plan tilts toward "you didn't plan this" — if you quit voluntarily, you can skip week 1 and start at week 2.