Can I negotiate severance?

Often yes — on end date, healthcare continuation, and reference terms more than base amount.

Should I say I was laid off in interviews?

Yes, plainly. It's common and lying about it is the only version that hurts.

What if the layoff felt targeted?

Don't sign a release before talking to an employment lawyer.

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Tier 5: Resignation Event

What should you do in the first 48 hours after being laid off?

The short answer

Take the severance paperwork away and read it when you're not in shock — most agreements allow days or weeks, and signing early costs you any negotiation. Export your personal contacts and copies of your own work samples before access is cut, without taking anything confidential. Then tell your network in one clean message; laid-off searches move on referrals, not applications.

What's actually at stake

01Severance terms are more negotiable than most people assume, especially notice period and reference language.
02Access is usually revoked within hours, and your contact list is the asset you'll actually need.
03A calm public message gets forwarded; a bitter one gets screenshotted.

Do

· Read the agreement fully, ideally with a lawyer if it's a large package.
· Save personal contacts and non-confidential work samples immediately.
· Post one straightforward availability note.

Don't

· Do not sign in the meeting.
· Do not download confidential or client data.
· Do not trash the company publicly — it narrows your referral pool.

A draft you can send now

My role at [company] was eliminated this week as part of a broader reduction. I'm proud of [specific thing] and I'm now looking for [role type] work in [area]. If you know of something, I'd appreciate the intro.

Tailor this to my exact disaster →

Questions people actually ask

Can I negotiate severance?: Often yes — on end date, healthcare continuation, and reference terms more than base amount.
Should I say I was laid off in interviews?: Yes, plainly. It's common and lying about it is the only version that hurts.
What if the layoff felt targeted?: Don't sign a release before talking to an employment lawyer.

Take it further

Ask Cris about this →

Talk it through with the crisis bot using your actual details.

Grade what you already sent →

Incident Autopsy scores the damage and rewrites it.

Rehearse the conversation →

Spar with a skeptical manager, exec, or client before the real one.

Tier 5: Resignation Event explained →

The kind of thing that gets a retro named after it.

Related incidents

All CYABot tools →