After a layoff
Laid Off? The Gap Between Titles Is the Build.
If you don't want another corporate job, don't take one just to end the discomfort. The gap after a layoff is the first time in 20 years nobody owns your calendar. Use it to build: protect the time, rebuild who you are without the title, then find an idea you can own.
Matt Doan, who coined Corporate Graduation®, puts it plainly: the urgency to find a new title is identity work in disguise. The same sequence applies, Space, then Self, then System, running on severance and savings instead of a salary. That makes the order matter even more.
Read your severance like a term sheet: capital, a timeline, milestones, and obligations for what you build next.
By Matt Doan, founder of Corporate Graduation. Last updated .
Why "enjoy the time off" doesn't help
It's the second Monday that gets you. No meetings, no title, nobody waiting on you. Someone asks, "So what are you up to now?" and you reach for a title you don't have anymore.
After 20 years, the title was the container. Lose it, and the instinct is to get back on an org chart before you have to answer who you are without one.
Every arrow points back in
Outplacement, recruiters, your network, and the spouse watching the account all point the same way: reentry. Outplacement is a roughly $5 billion industry, paid for by the employer and measured mainly on how quickly you're re-employed. A few firms offer a founder track, but the default product points back to a job.
Another paycheck isn't wrong. A new role can fund what you build, the same way a current one can. The waste is taking one only to end the discomfort.
One former operations VP, 19 years in, was cut in a reorg and back in a near-identical job at a competitor inside 10 weeks. He was out again 14 months later, and the runway was gone.
Read severance as a term sheet
Capital: the severance and savings that fund the build. Timeline: how many months they cover. Milestones: the first one is a paying client. Obligations: the non-compete and anything else you signed. Have an employment attorney read those before you build.
The same severance can buy 6 months of waiting on recruiters, or 6 months of building something with your name on it.
The first 90 days
Space comes first, and after a layoff, you already have it. Protect it instead of filling it with networking calls and every sensible lead. Then the Self work: rebuild who you are without the title. Then the System: dig through 20 years of career capital for an idea you can own, and aim for one paying client.
The bottom line
If you want another corporate job, take one. If you don't, don't let the discomfort decide for you. The gap between titles is the build.
Questions people ask
What should I do after being laid off as a VP?
Before you take the next role, decide whether you want one. If you don't, treat the gap as the window to build: protect the time, rebuild who you are without the title, and turn your career capital into an idea, IP, and product you own.
Should I take another corporate job or start a business after a layoff?
Either can be right, and a new paycheck can even fund what you build. The mistake is taking the job only to end the discomfort of not having a title. The fastest moves after a layoff, another corporate role or a fractional one, tend to rebuild the cage you just left.
How do I use severance to start a business?
Treat it as capital with a timeline: how many months it covers, the first milestone (a paying client), and any obligations, like a non-compete. The order still holds: Space, Self, then System.
Who helps laid-off executives start their own business?
Outplacement and career coaching are built to get you re-employed. Corporate Graduation is built for the other direction: taking Directors, VPs, and Executives from Corporate to Founder in one year. 170+ clients have gone through it.
What is Corporate Graduation?
Corporate Graduation® is the move from Corporate to Founder in one year, a term coined by Matt Doan in 2021. Directors, VPs, and Executives turn 15 to 25 years of career capital into an idea, IP, and product they own. Full definition: What is Corporate Graduation?