You no longer have a job.
Six painful words.
Families disrupted.
Livelihoods lost.
And you’re not the only one.
In 2025, the U.S. government’s workforce declined by 136,621 people and 170,214 more are planned reductions. That’s 306,835 people out of work. Expertise lost. Experience abandoned.
In Tech, the layoff trend continues with a total of 22,000 laid off in 2025. Microsoft, LinkedIn, Dell, Meta, Intel, Cisco and more are restructuring to reduce costs and drive their AI strategies, changing the job landscape for the future.* The automotive industry hit hard by tariffs, supply chain disruption and changing customer needs is also reducing the number of employees they need. Volvo will slash 3,000 jobs, VW 7,000, Audi 7,500, Chevron 8,000 and BP 7,700. Add another 33,200 people out of work. And that doesn’t count all their suppliers who will have lower revenue as orders evaporate.**
No matter what sector, the list of layoffs keeps growing. Every industry is impacted by economic and consumer uncertainty and technology changes, restructuring to meet the demands of a new era.
How do an estimated million people get back to work? What strategies will work in this tumultuous time?
In design we call this a “wicked problem” – unbounded, volatile and complex. And design thinking is at its best with wicked problems. The bias to action mindset and the test-and-learn methodology are great strategies for making progress when the situation is fluid and unpredictable.
This sparked a design session at DYL Consulting with our colleagues at 1st 90 and LinkedIn. Could we take the process and tools of design thinking and apply them to looking for and getting a job in a very competitive market? Could we help people get the most out of the LinkedIn platform to design their next play?
We think so.
Introducing Our New Course: Design Your Comeback
If you’re ready to ready to relaunch your career – but don’t want to do it alone, Design Your Comeback is for you.
This dynamic, collaborative program is for people who are re-entering the workforce and want to do it with confidence, clarity, and a supportive community at their side.
You’ll tap into powerful design thinking tools from the bestselling book Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, tools that have helped thousands of people rethink and redesign their careers from the ground up. Rooted in the Stanford course that inspired a movement, this two-part journey blends live learning with real-world action to help you gain clarity, momentum, and meaningful connections.
Learn more about the course –>
If you’re not ready to commit to a course, here are real insights from job seekers in the current market to help you move forward with confidence today:
3 Tips for Jobseekers in 2025
1. Allow yourself time to grieve if needed
The loss of a job, planned or unplanned can be painful. You suddenly lose regular contact with people you spoke to multiple times a day. Sometimes those friends or colleagues aren’t sure how to best talk with you after you’ve left, so they go silent. There can be a rollercoaster of strong emotions from fear to bitterness to optimism – changing minute to minute. Confidence can be shattered and might need to be rebuilt. Disappointment and blame can run rampant.
Allow yourself to feel all of this. Accept whatever and however you’re feeling in the moment. Get support. Go for walks. Do anything to keep your health intact.
2. Clarify your perspective on work and life
Once you’re ready to accept where you are, if you can afford to take a moment to figure out what you’d really like to do, do it. Many of us start working when we’re young and never take a break. Even if you feel the urge to apply to everything you see, use the waiting periods between interviews and emails to think about what you want.
Two great tools to start with are:
3. Cast a Wide Net
In the book Designing Your Life – Bill and Dave say “the best jobs aren’t posted online.” Today, while there is still much truth in that statement, things have changed a bit since the book was published in 2016.
For many established and mid-to-large size companies, LinkedIn has become the dominant recruiting platform. There are others and smaller companies may rely more on other recruiting means. A successful family-owned construction business might look for talent very differently than big tech, for example.
So what is the single best approach to finding a job in 2025?
The answer:
It depends.
We’ve scoured the internet and poured over hundreds of tips from recruiters, hiring managers, and successful jobseekers and here is what we can tell you for certain:
Practices and approaches differ across industries, recruiters, and hiring managers. Optimizing for all these variables is really just guesswork. One hiring manager is still passionate about cover letters while another says they’re a waste of time. One recruiter hates AI resumes while another views it as a sign of being with the times.
In order to not get lost in the details, the one thing we can advise to improve your odds of success is to increase the number of people you talk to. Cast a wide net, both online and offline. Meet people in any format they’re willing to meet. Tell people where you’re at, ask for help, referrals and advice. Put your intent on learning and connecting with other bright humans instead of asking for handouts and you’ll have more success and more people willing to help.
We’re all in the sales business now. More people in the pipeline means more possibility for you.
So how many? Set a goal to talk to 3 people a week to start.
Ready to clarify your needs and wants and immerse yourself in a supportive community in the process?
Sign up for Design Your Comeback –>
1 https://www.trueup.io/layoffs
2 https://intellizence.com/insights/layoff-downsizing/major-
companies-that-announced-mass-layoffs/
3 https://www.peoplematters.in/news/talent-management/mass-
layoffs-hit-banking-sector-ubs-citigroup-hsbc-among-the-
biggest-job-cutters-45392
4 https://www.retaildive.com/news/retail-layoffs-april-ceo-
changes/747105/
