Can your career be completely layoff-proof? Probably not. But can you do more than just worry about a layoff happening to you? Heck, yeah, and in this episode my guest shares some of her best strategies for protecting and advancing your career with you. Nicole Miles is a Certified Career Coach, founder of HerCareerStrategist and former Global Recruiting Leader at Tesla, and she brings over 20 years of corporate experience from all sides of the career equation.

I’ve been a recruiter and hiring manager in my corporate career, and Nicole even schooled me on a few things, including warning signs of potential layoffs, like:

Restructuring and team consolidations
Hiring freezes after periods of growth
Negative financial performance (especially in publicly traded companies)
Elimination of key programs like DEI initiatives
Budget cuts across departments
Return-to-office mandates (which Nicole notes can sometimes be designed to prompt voluntary departures)

She also shares the importance of staying ready, maintaining networking connections, and developing areas of expertise and differentiation. We also talk salary negotiations and resume strategy - as well as whether anyone actually reads your cover letters.

Here’s how to connect with Nicole:

LinkedIn: Nicole Miles
Website: HerCareerStrategist.com
Book a complimentary Launch Your Dream Career session to discuss your specific situation
Download Nicole’s free Standout Resume Toolkit
Follow Nicole on Instagram

The WARN Act page that Nicole mentioned where employers notify of impending layoffs is by state, so Google yours, but here is the federal page.