10 things you should do if you're worried about your future after a round of layoffs, according to career experts

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10 things you should do if you're worried about your future after a round of layoffs, according to career experts

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  • If you survived a layoff at your company, career experts say to be wary of signs that more trouble will hit your company down the line.
  • Closed-door meetings, media reports of trouble in your industry, and a shift in company culture can all signal more layoffs down the line.
  • But if you find yourself taking on new responsibilities after the layoff, experts suggest you stick around.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Layoffs have devastated workers at some of the buzziest US companies this year.

Former startup unicorns like WeWork and Uber announced layoffs after their companies became tangled in controversy or failed to make profits. Technological changes in how we buy goods and read the news has hurt workers at some retail and media companies. And even relatively healthy corporations like Apple have shed teams that weren't working out as planned.

Layoffs don't always mean a company is in financial trouble - they could mean the firm recently merged with another company or changed strategies and did away with extra personnel.

But sometimes, layoffs are just the beginning of, well, more layoffs.

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If you survived a company layoff but worry about more down the line, here are 10 things career experts say you should do:

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Even if you survived a layoff, always keep your resume updated and watch the job market.

Even if you survived a layoff, always keep your resume updated and watch the job market.

Amanda Augustine, career expert at TopResume, recommends employees always make sure they are prepared for the worst, even if they just weathered an initial layoff.

The best professionals, she said, are ones that are keeping an eye on the next big opportunity even if they're not looking to immediately jump ship. Even if you don't know how your company will fare after a layoff, keep your resume updated and be aware of open jobs on the market, Augustine says.

"Make sure you have a copy of your performance reviews, testimonials, anything that you could use as fodder to help you update your LinkedIn profile and your resume," Augustine said. "It is always better to update your resume and prepare for a job search when you do not immediately need to find a new job."

Find out whether your boss has a plan for how the company will bounce back after layoffs.

Find out whether your boss has a plan for how the company will bounce back after layoffs.

The fact that a layoff happened indicates something in your company's business model failed, says Marc Cenedella, founder and CEO of Ladders job search. In turn, your company should have a plan to make adjustments to get back on track.

If you don't sense upper management has a plan for how the company plans to get better and more profitable, you should look elsewhere, Cenedella says.

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Keep an eye out for how the company culture changes following layoffs.

Keep an eye out for how the company culture changes following layoffs.

When trying to differentiate between whether a layoff will lead to renewed growth or if there's more bad news down the line, Lynn Taylor, workplace expert and author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," says to pay attention to company culture.

"Does it seem like your work is going unnoticed or unappreciated?" Taylor asks. "This may or may not be personal, but it may be part of a layoff where your boss doesn't want to make you feel like everything is honky dory anymore because there's going to be [another] layoff."

Red flags that could suggest your company might make more layoffs down the line include:

  • A change in the quality of how human resources handles your complaints
  • A lack of friendliness among staff or higher ups
  • No encouragement to start new projects or a lack of innovation among teams
  • Getting excluded from meetings or feeling ignored by your boss

Be wary if you see your boss having more closed door meetings than usual.

Be wary if you see your boss having more closed door meetings than usual.

If your boss is walking around in a pantsuit and holding more meetings with human resources officers, consultants, or higher-level executives, your company may not be out of the woods following layoffs.

"Particularly if your boss or your boss's boss is involved, that's something to keep an eye and an ear out for," says Taylor. "Are they just talking about how we're restructuring now that we lost a bunch of people, or is there more coming down the line? You don't know."

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Have an honest conversation with your manager about whether more layoffs are on the horizon.

Have an honest conversation with your manager about whether more layoffs are on the horizon.

If you have a good relationship with your manager, Augustine says just asking them what they know can't hurt.

Even if higher-ups won't allow your manager to disclose details, a conversation might help you figure out whether your role will change. If you sense your responsibilities are shrinking instead of leading to growth, that may be a good sign you should look elsewhere.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with asking, 'Do you think, do you think that this may be the end of it or is this only the beginning?'" Augustine added. "Everyone's got rents or mortgages or college, so it's important to have a sense of where things are."

Write down your observations and get some outside advice.

Write down your observations and get some outside advice.

Sometimes, your company might say they will become more profitable, but you still have a "gut feeling" that the firm might make further cuts down the line.

In this situation, Taylor says to write down the changes you've noticed since the layoffs and talk to a trusted mentor, friend, or former colleague. Sometimes, a mentor will read your frustrations and advise you to look elsewhere, but other times they might tell you to stop overthinking the situation.

"You could go with your gut, but a very good disciplined approach that most people don't follow is to make a list of those feelings and memorialize it to paper," Taylor adds.

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Find out if you can take over new responsibilities from departed employees.

Find out if you can take over new responsibilities from departed employees.

Sometimes, layoffs are an opportunity for lower-level employees to take over responsibilities unavailable to them in a larger team.

In fact, entry-level or less-experienced workers sometimes get to wear multiple hats and learn new skills when they take over from laid off employees. If you can ask your boss to get some new responsibilities that can bulk up your resume, Augustine recommends sticking around.

"If you were ever trying to alter your role in some way or just develop your role further, this might be a great opportunity to raise your hand and look like a great team player," she says.

If layoffs happened but the most talented, accomplished people survived, your company might bounce back.

If layoffs happened but the most talented, accomplished people survived, your company might bounce back.

Cenedella recalled an instance where he reached out to the best engineers he knew at Uber following news of layoffs. The engineers told him that not only were they safe, but all the best employees survived.

That signaled to Cenedella that layoffs weren't necessarily meant to cut the most expensive workers, but rather the teams that weren't producing efficiently enough.

"They just got away with what wasn't working for them," Cenedella said.

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Know how to recognize whether it's just your company that's in hot water, or if your entire industry might be on the decline.

Know how to recognize whether it's just your company that's in hot water, or if your entire industry might be on the decline.

The journalism industry has seen routine layoffs for years as companies struggle to make a profit through online advertising. For example, the newspaper publishing industry has downsized employment by 52% since 2007.

While devastating for the workers, Cenedella said it's not uncommon for industries to go belly up. From paper wholesellers to video rental stores, industries have either decreased significantly or disappeared entirely due to technological advancements.

If news reports say your entire industry is on the decline, you might not have luck finding another job at your current company's competitors — and you might need to consider a career change.

"If you really know that your industry is gone, then you've got to focus on, 'How am I recalibrating my skills and my background for a new industry and a new role,'" Cenedella said.

If you want to leave a company after layoffs, but don't know whether to stick around until you land a dream job, give it four to six months.

If you want to leave a company after layoffs, but don't know whether to stick around until you land a dream job, give it four to six months.

If you know you want to leave your job, but don't know whether to hold out until you get your dream job or salary, Cenedella says to spend four to six months job hunting. If you've been interviewing for half a year and interested companies have offered you similar salaries and positions, that might be an indicator that further searching might not be fruitful.

"If you've talked to a dozen people, if 12 people have offered you eighty grand, it's unlikely that the 13th is going to give you $125,000," Cenedella added.

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