68. Overcome a layoff and build career insurance, with Anna Morgan

PATRICIA:
Hi, friends. Welcome back to The Uncommon Career. Today, we're chatting with an expert on layoffs, someone who has been through it herself, but also who does coaching on this very topic and can help you overcome your layoffs. So welcome, Anna. How are you?

ANNA: Fantastic, Patricia. Thank you so much for having me today.

PATRICIA: Yeah, I'm excited to have you here because, you know, the, when we talked, we talked about your career story, the emotional process, and even kind of getting back into it, getting past the emotion and into the more concrete, practical, you know, strategizing. So let's start at the very beginning. Tell me a little bit about your story.

ANNA: Fantastic. Well, I am what A lot of people like to describe in my industry an accidental recruiter, where I fell into the business. I had been in hospitality and sales and wandered into a traditional staffing agency one day and said, I'd love to do anything else other than sell advertising. And thus my recruiting career began, where I was selling recruiting services to businesses and interviewing candidates and matching them up with the clients. Every day was different. I loved it. I was always a top performer, progressed nicely throughout my career, went to a couple different firms, Atlanta to Florida, back to Atlanta, which was such a blessing. over the years, many people are like, you know, referring me, my friend needs a job, my dad needs help with his resume. And it just organically grew. And I've been a Gen X, you know, baby that's really has a mindset and passion for social media, like a millennial or a Gen Z of sorts. So I was always posting kind of funny experiences or behind the scenes of the interesting things that happen in the people business. And really, right before COVID, I went on a retreat where I was really able to kind of get quiet and think about my future. And, you know, finally was able to get into this acceptance place of now is the time to really go all in on Anna Morgan and consider entrepreneurship. So I started coaching and practicing and building on the side while I was working with a fortune 500 company doing corporate recruiting. And again, loved it. I've always been someone who's been naturally curious about people and, you know, has a heart to serve. And so then the pandemic hit and We were supposed to be leaving our office for just a week and May 1st got the call that I was laid off. And then from that point have just taken fast action to build my brand as the career BFF. I've been a rescuer of dogs and animals my entire career. So my buddy said, Anna Morgan, a dog's best friend, your career's best friend. So here we are rescuing dogs and careers. And, you know, as I said, right before we hit record, my passion and my why is to truly support people in being layoff proof to build what I call is career insurance. So if you are laid off like a career fender bender of sorts, you can recover so much faster and bounce back and really, you know, compete at a higher level than your peers, which really makes your whole life so much better. And that's how I built the principles of Career BFF is clarity, building, branding, fast tracking and future proofing your career. So that's me.

PATRICIA: Okay. Well, I love that. I love that your story involves some of that personal, um, experience of what it's like, because when we come across someone who has been laid off, you know, the reaction is always different. It's kind of like a grieving process for everyone. It's a little bit different. Um, so walk me through your emotional process. Like what did it feel like when you got the call or when you got that message?

ANNA: Yeah, I mean, let's just be honest, it's terrible. It is traumatic. And it's one of those things that even when I reflect on it today, which is what four years plus from now, there, it's still hanging around in my body something like I can feel it. And, um, I was actually struggling with a toxic leader. So there was an area of like relief a little bit. But again, we were said, like, take your stuff, we're just going to be remote for a week or two. And that turned into a month. And they shut down all recruiting. And I had been used to running openings of 20 to 40 positions at a time. So very high volume. national positions, you know, multi-location complex positions, you know, from entry level to executive. And so they put the brakes on everything. And so I kept raising my hand because I'm a fixer, you know, and I like to, you know, work smart rather than hard. And I said, hey, this is when we can fix the ATS system, we can revamp all the job descriptions, we can start nurturing conversations with passive talent or start pipelining for our high volume positions. And it was like, I was on mute or behind the glass being like, hey, nobody was listening to me. And they were like, excuse me, Anna, please answer the HR hotline and tell people how to get the COVID benefits and basically play the role of HR compliance and paper pusher. And, you know, my intuition never serves me wrong. And I'm like, this is not going to work. And the floodgates are going to open in a matter of time, which, you know, sometimes I say I'm not an intuitive person or what is it? What's the word I'm thinking of where you predict the future? Because people always ask me, like, Can you guarantee that I can find a job or, you know, anyway, of course, I got the call May 1st, my manager was very cold said, you know, we're gonna let go you have one of five people on the recruiting team. I was like, okay, and had to do all the uncomfortable compliance, sign this and your access is going to be cut off right away.

PATRICIA: And which in and of itself is so it almost feels like a violation. Like you've given me all this access, you've given me all these rights, and now you're so strictly taking it back. And I understand why it needs to be done, but it's still nevertheless is kind of a harmful emotional experience.

ANNA: Well, I even think like. There's a and this is a whole nother podcast conversation, but employers trusting their employees and treating them like humans. And, you know, I would have loved to have the human resources manager say, hey, you know, you're going to have two hours to get anything personal off of your computer. But it's also why I coach a best practice of making sure that you're updating your resume quarterly, make sure that you're saving your screenshots and your you know, little items to brag about yourself in your love folder so that, you know, you have these receipts if you need them. So close my computer and then, you know, it's just this giant shame cycle. And for anyone that's grown up with any bit of, you know, overcoming adversity or trauma or challenges where we all have a story. I mean, it just rips those wounds wide open that you're not enough, you're a failure. And, you know, I'm a mom, I'm, you know, a wife to a successful business owner. At the time, my daughter was 13, you know, very impressionable time. And, you know, I come downstairs and my husband was working at the table and I was like, I just started bawling, you know, Uh, and that's how I released like my, you know, sadness is through tears. And then I was like, okay, we need to get out of the house and go on a trip. So I called up my closest sister that lives in Nashville and I was like, road trip, we're coming to see you. And, you know, my family was so supportive and my husband as well. And, you know, this is also a message for, you know, the families of the people being laid off is, um, just listen. Don't. try to fix or bargain or accommodate. And that was one thing that I was so grateful for with my husband is that, you know, it hit me out of nowhere. And we got Dunkin' Donuts one morning and we're driving to Nashville and just like the tears are coming down my face as we're on the way to the mountains. And, you know, he just was present and that was all I needed at that time. So I think that's a really good reminder. So went on a road trip. you know, processed all those different stages of grief and then got to work really. And luckily that I had had some systems in place and was really able to take fast action to be of service first and then able to figure out, okay, how am I going to monetize this? What do I want to do next? What are my options?

PATRICIA: And in that process, you know, you and I talked about kind of backing things up with data. Tell us what you mean about, you know, you go through the emotional process, but then there's gotta be some decision-making that, you know, yes, as humans, we make decisions based on emotion, but we need data to make sure that we don't go too far on that emotional side and then make bad decisions. So how, what does that look like? Exactly.

ANNA: Yeah, it's, you know, there's a tipping point, right? And for, My experience and what I like to coach is, you know, it starts with radical honesty with ourselves. And, you know, it's really turning that mirror and looking yourself in the eyes and, you know, getting reflective and really quiet right first and just being with yourself and then sitting down and being like, okay, These are my assets. These are my strengths. If you've done Strength Finders or Predictive Index or UMAP and you have a little bit of some guideposts, then think about, you know, what is the work that comes to me naturally? What type of work and activities was I doing where I was just naturally ignited, that I was lost in the work? What are the functions or the projects or events that I get tapped on the shoulder to do because people recognize that that's a natural talent of mine. Start there, right? And then, you know, you want to start, well, okay, now I know these are the things that I'm really good at. I've got stories, right? And it's the same thing to follow the par or star format, right? What were the problems you solved? What were the actions that you took? What were the results? How did you save the company money? For example, in 2019, I filled 210 positions and saved the company $1.4 million in agency fees. That packs a punch, right? And you don't need 20 pieces of data. You only need two or three that can knock it out of the park, right? And it's also not oversimplifying it. And sometimes when you're so close to the work that you do and that you're good at, you forget that The people that are interviewing you or need you to come to their company to solve their problem that they don't do that work, they need you and so really getting into the details and. writing out that process, even if it seems elementary to a point. Because when I'm coaching people and kind of pulling stuff out of them from their experience, you know, I'm always like, I know these questions might be driving you crazy, but these little details matter. So taking the time. Yeah, to do that. And then, you know, once you have those career assets, then you start looking at, okay, Where do I want to go next? What are the position titles? What are the industries? What are my interests and passions? And can I reverse engineer those passions and interests and find a bridge to the work I've done previously? Like, you know, I'm a little bit of a rebel in that sense that I'm like, if not now, why? Give it a try.

PATRICIA: Yeah, no, definitely. And I like how you have that little bit of like, let's rebel against the box that either someone else has put us in because we say our function and all of a sudden we're in this box based on function, which is not actually true because we do things in such different ways. But maybe it's a box that we put ourselves in. But even before we get into even that piece, just kind of backing up a little bit, one of the things that you mentioned that I think is worth kind of reiterating is the fact that we oversimplify the work that we do. And when we oversimplify it, there's two directions that we tend to go. We're either very much in the weeds, right? That it's oversimplified in the sense of we don't look at the big picture impact and oftentimes similar, right? We're pulling things out. Oftentimes it's so full of jargon and the nitty gritty, right? That I'm like, okay, but how did you impact the bottom line? And sometimes it's the types of questions we ask. One of the questions that tends to give a good amount of valuable response is when I ask somebody, if you were not there, and you are not replaced. Because sometimes they think, oh, someone else could do my job. No, they can't. Like, let's just, if you were not there, what would not have taken place? And when they tell me what would not have taken place and we're like, okay, so these things are the pieces. These are your bottom line, right? So whether you get too into the jargon or way too simple, like, oh, anybody could do this. They wouldn't have hired you and paid you the salary they're paying you if you couldn't.

ANNA: Right, right. And I think it's also like, again, I'm very much an obliger. Like if I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. But when it comes to some of these principles, I definitely step into that rebel energy because the world of work is changing. And just because we've always done it this way and there are so many aspects of how we hire and how we land work that is very similar to when I graduated college or high school in the early 90s. But there is so much that's new. And, you know, I was telling one of my clients who I was celebrating today that was former Amazon and has landed a year contract through and now is headed to Meta. And, you know, it was a fairly complex process. There was a lot of negotiating in the range. And, you know, I had to help her get out of her head that just because you had a permanent seven year stint with Amazon and maybe two jobs prior to that, doesn't mean that this type of contract is negative. You might be pleasantly surprised with what you may learn from this opportunity. And honestly, as a huge champion of consulting, you're embedded, but you're not having to put a ring on it, essentially. And that's what I love about consulting is that I can come in and make a huge impact and then hire my replacement and be like, good luck.

PATRICIA: you know, and yeah, yeah. And some of us, some of us have that sort of lean toward creating something new where there wasn't something and that is a strength. And you know, when you think of things like, Oh, you know, I can't, I get bored with things and then I don't follow through. And so it's like, well, let's go in that other direction. And you find people like you mentioned that are really good at the setup and the innovation and the creation of things. So that's interesting.

ANNA: Yeah. And I, I think what I was essentially trying to get to is that The mindset piece around the type of position that you accept needs to be challenged. And fractional work, freelance, gig work, side hustles, I predict, so here's my intuition serving me, that this is going to continue to rise, especially if we have a little bit more of a dip in the market in the future before we start to swing back in the other way. So it keeps your skills relevant. get to keep networking. And you just never know. And it's a little bit of a risk, but it's a better risk than zeros in your bank account.

PATRICIA: Oh, absolutely. Okay. You and I could probably go on forever and ever, but it sounds like so far, some of the big, if we were to bottle it up, some of the big takeaways you came off with are, You know, the grieving process, like sometimes you just need to cry it out and that's okay. We are humans. Like we are made to have emotions. Right. I love that you took a break. Yeah. I love that. I love that you took a break. Like that is. That is just everything, right? Like you said, to stop and reflect. So there's, you know, allow the emotion to come through, take a break, step away from things to figure out what you really like, what you really want to do next. You also talked about looking at the data without overcomplicating it, right? You talked about just looking at what evidence do you have for the things that you're naturally good at, the things that people come to you and support you and encourage you in most. And then you also shared this last piece of not getting too into the weeds and now also not oversimplifying. There's a lot that you shared today. If we were to kind of wrap things up with a bow, what is some of the final thoughts you want to share to sort of get people into action?

ANNA: Absolutely. So, you know, the first thing is, is don't wait. Like now is the time that you want to start updating your resume. You want to start looking at your metrics, your KPIs, your successes, screenshotting the nice emails your VP sent you about how much they appreciate you and how much you have impacted their team. And I want you to put those in a love folder. And then I want you to go to your profile and make sure it is fully optimized to showcase your brilliance as a person and a professional. And if you need help with that, you and I can help folks with that. And then I would love for you to take it a step further where you're continuously being in the space of awareness about these strengths, what you're enjoying, what you're doing, and making sure that you're making notes in a journal weekly, monthly about how things are going in your current role. And you have to believe and know that it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when the rug is going to get pulled from underneath you. And I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I just want to say that to protect the listeners and then get active and build your digital footprint and share through writing, through content, through videos, through audio, about what you're doing, what you've done, what you enjoy. Because I believe in connection over qualifications about 90% of the time. Regardless of the compliance and transactional piece of getting hired, the people that you connect with, the people that you have conversations with, those are going to be the people that open the doors for you and that you will be top of mind with if you take these actions and that makes you lay off proof. If you have a digital footprint on LinkedIn and you're sharing content, when executives are looking at who needs to go, what are those decision factors? I mean, are we just a line on a spreadsheet? Possibly, but there could be some external factors. Again, strong opinion. I believe a lot of organizations make lay off decisions emotionally, and then try to back it up with data. So you don't wanna be those statistics. So make sure that you're keeping your career assets up to date, you're focusing on your self-care, you're building your visibility and community of people that know, like, and trust you. And if you do those things, I mean, I'm very much simplifying it, you will have a much better chance of layoff proofing your career, building career insurance, and positioning yourself so that if you have a career fender bender of sorts, you will be able to use your social currency and all those activities that you've done to repair your career and get back to work quickly.

PATRICIA: Very nice. Yeah. I mean, I agree on every, every single point. And it's, it sounds like an unpopular opinion, but sometimes it's like truth can be unpopular sometimes. And it is truth. We make emotional decisions and then we back it up no matter how logical, like if we're engineers, right? You think, oh no, they make decisions based off logic. No, maybe the emotion may not be quite at the surface in the way that someone like a coach or counselors might be, but it's still there. It's still driving us. It is physiology. It's how our mind works. Okay. So before I let you go, I believe that there are tons of wonderful coaches out there. And the goal is to really find a coach as a great fit. There's gonna be folks that are great fit for you, folks that are great fit for me, right? So if you were to describe in only three words, the type of coach that you are, what would those three words be?

ANNA: Three words. Very wordy, this is difficult. I know. The type of coach I am. Bring it down to three words. Empathetic, innovative, and I don't know what, I want to say like, I imprint on people. So empathetic. I like that.

PATRICIA: Empathetic, innovative, and

ANNA: Impressionable. So I say that because 90% of my clients, you know, when they land or, uh, when they find themselves back in, uh, transition or something, you know, they're like, I hear your voice, Anna telling me to da, da, da, da, da, and cheering me on. Um, so, you know, I'm a big champion of, uh, the underdog, right. Uh, you know, everybody loves a comeback story and, um, you know, again, I'm one of them and I have gone from underdog to essentially a scrappy mutt top dog in the recruitment space. And I, you know, want to unlock and rescue and help the rest of the community run free, if you will.

PATRICIA: Sounds great. So it sounds like the three words were empathetic, an innovator, and it sounds like imprint maker.

ANNA: There you go.

PATRICIA: Thank you. There we go. There we go. Beautiful. Okay. So if someone is interested in reaching out to you and working with you, how can we find you?

ANNA: Perfect. I spend the majority of my time on LinkedIn. Uh, my primary niche is, uh, talent and HR professionals because I know them well, and they are the worst about putting the mask over themselves and taking care of themselves because they're so busy taking care of others. But I do work with. you know, IT to marketing. Uh, I'm a generalist recruiter, so I really can serve anyone. Um, on my profile, it says book an appointment. I offer three, uh, a free 30 minute, uh, you know, discovery coaching calls, uh, strategy calls. Um, so that's the best place. And if you want to behind the scenes of what goes on in Anna Morgan world, you can find me on, uh, Instagram and tech talk as well.

PATRICIA: That sounds wonderful. What was so great talking with you today. Thank you so much for sharing your insights.

ANNA: Thank you so much, Patricia. I really appreciate it.

PATRICIA: Absolutely. Thank you everyone for tuning in. Know that we love you. We're praying for you and we'll see you on the next one.

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