Why It's Important to Be Prepared for Layoffs

Yesterday, I had a call with Martín, a full-stack software engineer I had known for some time in San Francisco. He shared his situation where he was laid off and had less than 30 days to find another job.

The pressure he felt was self-imposed. There was no need to rush with job applications without a plan. In fact, my recommendation for him was to go to France, prepare for interviews, and create a five-year plan.

As I asked him more questions, I discovered many reasons why he needed the help of a mentor and the "I can do it all" mindset of an engineer. However, that attitude hadn't served him well in the past five years, and he could have easily had a minimum of 1 million dollars if he had made better decisions. After all, in life, poor decisions lead to poor consequences.

He also hadn't applied for a green card, which meant he couldn't have better options. For example, he couldn't apply for more than one job. He also hadn't made good decisions about the companies he worked for. Many public companies offer a 4x increase in 4-5 years, and taking jobs at startups is riskier.

He had given up on his dreams, like owning a home in Paris, spending time with his family, returning to Europe, and pursuing his hobbies, which were far from the options he had found.

He even asked me why we hadn't worked together five years ago.

It's easy to make decisions in hindsight, but a mentor can help you be in a better position, and what may seem like an expense is just an investment.

If you don't want to end up like Martín and wish to take action right now, book 30 minutes to help you take control of your life.

Stay strong,
Alejandro