There I was, playing with my kids, cherishing these precious moments at home while wrestling with a nagging worry: my AI consultancy wasn’t gaining the traction I’d hoped for. As a former tech professional laid off at 34 weeks pregnant, I thought I had the perfect solution – an design thinking innovation framework powered by AI that would solve everyone’s problems. Spoiler alert: trying to solve everything for everyone meant solving nothing for nobody.
When “Everyone” Means No One
In Q3 2023, while the broader economy added 277,000 jobs, the tech sector lost 10,000. Behind each of those numbers is a person with unique experiences, perspectives, and value to bring. Yet I was trying to build a one-size-fits-all solution, missing the very thing that makes each journey unique – the personal story.
Getting Personal About Who I Serve
My breakthrough came during a conversation with a client who experienced a profound transformation through our work together. While I had been focused on building broad AI solutions, what truly made a difference was helping him uncover and articulate his unique professional value in a way that changed his entire career trajectory.
As Brené Brown powerfully states, “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.” That’s when it hit me – I needed to get personal in two ways:
- Being clear about exactly who I wanted to serve: tech professionals navigating career transitions who want to leverage AI to discover and articulate their unique value
- Helping these professionals get personal about their own value proposition, going beyond generic resumes and LinkedIn profiles to uncover what truly makes them exceptional
The Missing Piece in Career Transformation
Most career advice focuses on the surface level – updating your resume, polishing your LinkedIn profile, practicing interview questions. While these are important tools, they’re just that – tools. They don’t address the core challenge.
Starting with People, Not Papers
As Marcus Buckingham wisely notes, “The best way to find your path is not to look at where everyone else is going, but to uncover what genuinely energizes and excites you.” Real career transformation starts with understanding the unique value you bring to the world. It’s not just about listing what you’ve done in the past – it’s about understanding how your experiences and insights can create value for others in the future.
This is where design thinking becomes crucial. Instead of generic responses about your past achievements, imagine approaching each opportunity by first deeply understanding what that specific company or team truly needs. What are their unique challenges? What does success look like in their context? Then, you can craft a narrative that shows not just what you’ve done, but how your unique perspective and capabilities could help solve their specific challenges.
The key is understanding that real career transformation isn’t about surface-level changes – it’s about discovering and articulating your unique value in ways that resonate with what organizations genuinely need.
Your Next Step
If you’re struggling to find your footing after a layoff, start here: take 15 minutes today to record a voice memo about your proudest professional achievement. Don’t edit, don’t overthink – just talk it through as if you’re telling a friend. This simple exercise begins the process of reconnecting with your professional value, independent of your last job title.
Remember, your layoff story is just one chapter – you get to write what comes next.
#CareerTransition #TechLayoffs #FutureOfWork #CareerResilience #HRTech
Ready to transform your career journey? Start with a 7-day free trial of our AI-powered career transformation tool, designed specifically for laid-off tech professionals. Experience how AI can help you uncover and articulate your unique value in ways traditional career advice never could. Message me to begin your transformation today.
