The Problem with Outplacement

I’ve been laid off three times.

Each time, the company gave me access to outplacement services—resume help, coaching calls, job boards, webinars. At face value, it looked like they were doing the right thing.

But let me be blunt:

Most outplacement services don’t solve the real problem.

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What’s the problem?

Layoffs are brutal.

For companies, they’re strategic. For employees, they’re personal.

When the dust settles, HR often points people to an outplacement provider. The motivation is twofold: reduce the risk of legal action and soften the emotional blow.

The gesture is well-intended. But the reality? It rarely meets the moment.

According to a 2023 study by the HR Research Institute, 65% of laid-off employees feel that traditional outplacement services are "generic and impersonal", offering little real help beyond the basics.

(Source: HR.com, “The State of Outplacement and Career Transition”)

That stat tracks with my own experience.

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How do most companies try to solve it?

They pay thousands of dollars per person for scalable support. The goal is to help everyone a little bit, which means they help no one deeply.

You might get:

• A resume review
• A webinar on job searching
• A coach who’s juggling 100+ clients
• Access to a job board that looks like Indeed in a different font

If you’re a project manager with a clear title and metrics? Great.

They’ll help you shine.

But if your role was cross-functional, creative, or strategic—and your impact was less quantifiable?

Good luck.

These systems aren’t built for nuance. They’re built for volume.

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Why doesn’t that work?

Because being laid off isn’t just a job problem.

It’s a routine problem.

The hardest part isn’t the resume.

It’s waking up on Monday with no meeting to attend. No manager to answer to. No clear way to know if today was productive.

You go from structured days to total ambiguity—and no outplacement service prepares you for that.

The job search becomes your job. But no one tells you how to do that job. Not really.

That’s the gap I kept falling into. And it’s the one I’ve now built my work around helping others fill.

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So how do I solve it?

Start with structure.

That’s what gets people moving again.

I call it The LAND Routine. It’s a simple system that focuses on four daily actions:

• Learn → Stay sharp. Read, take a course, or reflect on your past work.
• Apply → Submit targeted applications—not scattershot.
• Network → Talk to real people. Start conversations. Make connections.
• Defend → Protect your energy. Go outside. Take breaks. Stay grounded.

You don’t need to do each for hours.

You just need to do each one, every day.

That’s what builds traction.

That’s what gets results.

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Three takeaways if you’ve read this far:

1. Outplacement isn’t bad—it’s just not enough.
   It scratches the surface, but doesn’t touch the real daily struggle.
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2. Routine is everything.‍
   Your schedule went away with your job. Now, you need to rebuild it with intention.
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3. Progress is measured in days, not job offers.‍
   Do the right things consistently, and the right role will come.