You have been fired. Here’s what to post on social media, and what to leave out

You have been fired. Here’s what to post on social media, and what to leave out

If you’ve been involved in a mass layoff, among the many unwanted tasks on your new to-do list is how and when to tell people you’ve lost your job.

Often, the main place to inform your professional network is social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and others.

But how you deliver the message is important if your goal is to set yourself up well for new opportunities.

Take some time before posting: You don’t have to go public right away.

“Take time to digest the fact that you no longer have a job,” says career coach Aneri Desai, who works primarily with immigrants. “Take your time to understand your situation.”

If you’re upset, tell your partner, your friend or your pillow. Just don’t post your anger or bitterness online. Consider a “soft” announcement first: If you’re still not sure what you’re going to do — or whether you want to stay in the same career — you can put up with an early “soft” announcement just to let people know your job has been eliminated, Desai says. . It’s okay to say “Not sure what my next step is yet, but stay tuned. I’ll be in touch when I’m clearer about my next step.”

This can be a very useful step if your company’s layoffs make headlines and you’re bombarded with messages from friends and colleagues asking if you’re affected.

Make it short: Whether you’ve worked somewhere for five years or 25 years, you could probably write a book about your experiences.

But please don’t. Shorter is best — a few paragraphs at most. “Don’t use all the characters you can. You want people to read it,” says career coach Marlo Lyons, author of “Wanted: A New Career.”

Gratitude is good, but also focus on your achievements: If genuine, express appreciation for your mentors and colleagues, and the opportunities you have at your workplace. But don’t spend most of your post thanking people, says Desai. “A lot of people focus on ‘how lucky I am to work with this team’ but they miss out on giving themselves credit,” says Desai. “Toot your horn.”

That said, it’s important to note some of the big ways you add value to your company: for example, how you automate and speed up the claims process at your employer, making the experience easier and faster for the last 50,000 customers served by the company. year.

Be specific about what you want and your skills: When you’re ready to find a new job and receive help from your network or hear from a recruiter, your post should be “very explicit,” says Lyons.

Detail the hard and soft skills you will bring to the new employer. Determine the field or set of related fields you want to work in (such as sales, account management, business development); the title of the role you are interested in (eg, vice president-level position, senior manager); whether you prefer to work remotely or hybridly; and any other details that will help others help you.

Extend the reach of your posts: You want as many people as possible to see your posts.

So you might tag it #openforwork, a frequently used hashtag on LinkedIn, suggests Desai.

You may also tag the person you’re thanking in your post. But this may not be the right move for everyone. If there’s a risk you’re going to leave someone who’s helped you a lot — or conversely, if you deliberately don’t tag along with your current boss — “that could leave a negative impact,” Lyons says. In that case, it’s better to contact the individual you want to thank personally and instead invite anyone who reads your post to “please comment for reach,” he suggests.

Keep it cheerful: If you’re scared financially, don’t say so, says Lyons.

You don’t want to give the impression that you’re going to take the first job that comes your way.

“Companies want you to want them — not just for you to take a job because you have to,” Lyons says. “It’s okay to say you want a job sooner rather than later. But be careful not to appear desperate.”

Be consistent across platforms: Chances are you may announce your retirement on more than one social platform. Be consistenten in your message. You don’t want to put out a very professional post on, say, LinkedIn but then launch an angry tweetstorm on Twitter.