“Unfortunately, your role at this company has been eliminated.” These are the words none of us want to hear, but it’s a reality many in tech are facing. What would you do if that unexpected call came tomorrow? This week’s episode is one we all need to hear.

Jason Gass returns (this time as a guest) in episode 342 to share his story of navigating a layoff. You’ll hear about Jason’s initial reaction to the news and what he did next to take action.

Listen closely to hear how Jason treated the job opportunities he was targeting like a sales pipeline to remain focused, where he looked for emotional support, the tools that helped sharpen his resume, and how nurturing and leaning on his professional network made all the difference along the way.

Original Recording Date: 08-07-2025

Topics – Jason Gass Returns, When a Phone Call Changes Everything, Sources of Support and Maintaining Connections, Emotional Balance and Job Opportunities as a Sales Pipeline, Helpful Tools in the Job Search Process, The Network Effect

2:20 – Jason Gass Returns

• Jason Gass joined us as a guest host for a series of episodes reviewing the book Finish by Jon Acuff and is back this week as a guest.
  
  
  
  • The book series on Finish was published in episodes 272 – 275, and you can listen back to them using the link above.
  
  
  • The book series idea came from Jason, and so did the idea for the discussion today.
  
  
  
  


• We wanted to take this opportunity to tell Jason’s story through the lens of layoffs across the technology industry.
  
  
  
  • Many of our friends and colleagues in the industry have been met with unexpected job loss over the last couple of years. Jason says it’s been a journey going through this same process, and he’s here to share what worked and what didn’t work.
  
  
  
  

3:32 – When a Phone Call Changes Everything

• What type of role was Jason in before the layoff happened, and what did he like most about it?
  
  
  
  • For about the last 5 years, Jason has worked in a sales engineering / technical pre-sales role for different technology vendors.
  
  
  • As part of the role, Jason has greatly enjoyed working with both customers and partners to solve problems and improve the day-to-day lives of technology professionals. The work is dynamic, and each customer has a different problem.
  
  
  
  


• What was the day of the layoff like, and what was Jason’s immediate reaction?
  
  
  
  • Jason was working at a company that had been previously acquired. There were changes happening, and Jason and his teammates knew they might be impacted by these changes but had no idea of when.
  
  
  • Jason remembers getting a call to let him know his position was being eliminated. It was a very quick call and very formal.
  
  
  • Once Jason’s phone rang that day, he knew exactly what was going to happen.
  
  
  • “I was prepared as much as I could. It’s still a gut punch. Man, I can’t believe I didn’t make the cut. What’s wrong with me? Why was it me vs. somebody else?” – Jason Gass, on what goes through your mind in a layoff situation
    
    
    
    • There was still negative self-talk despite expecting that layoffs were going to happen.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Jason tells us he was laid off a couple of times during the 2008 financial crisis.
    
    
    
    • “Looking back, that’s probably a good experience because I’ve gone through it once before. The one thing…I learned from that experience is these things happen, and a lot of good things happen afterwards. But it’s hard to have that lens when it first happens…. Everything emotionally hits you. All of those thoughts start going through your head….” – Jason Gass
    
    
    • People who get laid off are worried about paying the bills, supporting their family, and how long it will take to get their next job.
    
    
    • It’s easier to see the positives that came from a situation like this when you’re looking back on it later. Maybe someone took a different role, got to work for a different company that excited them, or even made more money.
    
    
    • Jason says we can get complacent and lose sight of our value in the marketplace. A layoff situation can force people out of their comfort zone.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • John reminds us that we’re not living in the age of having a job for life. Companies can be pretty ruthless when eliminating roles, and this is a fact.
    
    
    
    • Jason says back in 2008 he started thinking of himself as a line item on a spreadsheet. Though it can be hard for us to think this way, it’s business and the way the world works.
    
    
    • “It reminded me…I’m still a player in this game, and I still have control. It’s what I do with that control.” – Jason Gass
    
    
    • This line of thinking reminded Jason to understand his value in the marketplace and to keep his skill set current to provide options if a layoff happened or if he just wanted to make a change.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Nick thinks we might not be mindful of the control we have or might not exercise it because we’re so focused on our daily work.
    
    
    
    • This is partially due to craving the structure of routines.
    
    
    • John says if we acknowledge a layoff as a possibility, it means we have to react to it before it happens (even if it doesn’t happen). But a lot of times we don’t want to have to think about it and choose the path of avoidance.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • If you get laid off, Jason says it’s ok to take time for yourself (a few days, maybe even a week to let the news sink in). In fact, you should. He did not do this and started making calls within 5-10 minutes of receiving the news.
    
    
    
    • “It caught up with me about 4 days later. That emotional drain finally came down on me, and it mentally drained me.” – Jason Gass
    
    
    • In giving advice to people who have been in this situation (unexpected job loss), Jason tells people it’s ok to take time to process. But after that, the job is to find a new job. This means keeping a normal, structured routine. If you get up and go to the gym every day, keep doing it.
    
    
    • At work we would be completing a specific task / set of role-specific tasks. The tasks you need to complete after being laid off include things like revising your resume, updating your LinkedIn profile, contacting people in our network, and finding in-person meetup groups to attend.
    
    
    • Jason emphasizes the importance of meeting people in person for professional networking and support. It’s a bit of a lost art after COVID. Listen closely to Jason’s description of one specific local meetup group supporting people looking for employment.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

10:34 – Sources of Support and Maintaining Connections

• Sometimes when people lose a job at a specific company, they struggle with their identity. Was this a challenge for Jason?
  
  
  
  • Jason has held jobs he loved, but they were not his only identity. Many people consider their work or their job the entirety of their identity.
  
  
  • “There’s things outside the workplace that I have so much more passion for.” – Jason Gass
  
  
  • Knowing a layoff might happen helped Jason prepare and prevent too much tying of identity to the job. But he also stayed educated on the opportunities available in the job market.
  
  
  • Being in Dallas / Fort Worth, Jason has read about many companies moving their headquarters to this area. But with many others in the market for jobs right now, there is a lot of competition.
  
  
  
  


• Was there a specific process Jason went through to combat the emotional drain of the layoff event we discussed earlier?
  
  
  
  • Jason says there were good days and bad days.
  
  
  • Some days were filled with many interviews. Others were filled with rejection and news that a specific interview process would not continue.
  
  
  • Some of the things that really helped Jason through this process were…
    
    
    
    • Talking to his wife
    
    
    • Keeping in touch with colleagues who had been laid off as well as those who remained at the company
    
    
    • One of Jason’s colleagues created a chat group with displaced people across the country who were going through the same thing, and it was great to be connected with others who were going through the same thing.
    
    
    • An account rep Jason worked with had been laid off a number of months prior to Jason but had gotten back on his feet. The account rep told Jason to call him any time, even if it was to vent and let out some of his emotions and frustrations.
    
    
    • “I didn’t realize how important that was when I gave it to him until I needed that same platform.” – Jason Gass, on getting support from a co-worker he had previously supported after a layoff event
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • John highlights the importance of having different people who can support us through these difficult situations. It’s not just family or a specific peer. It’s many others who can support us.
    
    
    
    • Jason highlights the group chat as something that worked extremely well.
    
    
    • If Jason saw a job listing that might help a member of the group, he would share it. This included roles that were not suited for him as well as roles that listed openings in multiple locations. Jason would even offer to introduce members of the group to people he met as part of the interview process where applicable.
    
    
    • “One of the nice things is I met a lot of great people. I didn’t get chosen. I might not have been the final candidate through the process, but I made a lot of great connections through the whole process. So even if I didn’t get chosen, I still made connections where I could say, ‘hey, I know someone over here. Do you mind talking to them?’” – Jason Gass
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• Did Jason ask people he met through interviews to stay in t