Layoff Preparedness Checklist for Developers

What this checklist is

A practical checklist for software engineers on both sides of a layoff. Before: build a cash buffer, keep copies of your own documents and contacts, record your work and keep your profiles current. On the day and after: read the severance and exit terms before signing, sort out health cover and unemployment support, secure references, look after yourself, and plan the search. Local rules differ, so it points you to official labour and government pages instead of giving legal advice.

It has 8 chapters and 35 checks, each with how to verify it and how much it matters. For developers worried about or facing a layoff.

Chapter by chapter

1. Build a money buffer while you are employed (4 checks)

Time is the most valuable thing in a job search, and savings are what buy it. Start before you need it.

2. Keep your own documents and contacts (4 checks)

After a layoff, access to work systems can end the same hour. Keep personal copies of what belongs to you, and never take what belongs to the company.

3. Keep a record of your work (4 checks)

When you need to explain what you did, memories fade fast. A running log and a few public pieces of work make the next step much easier.

4. On the day: stay calm and collect the facts (5 checks)

The layoff conversation is usually short. Your job in it is to listen, ask for things in writing and avoid agreeing to anything on the spot.

5. Read severance and exit terms properly (5 checks)

What you are owed, what is being offered, and what you give up by signing. Check the facts against your contract and local rules before you accept.

6. Health cover and unemployment support (4 checks)

Sort out the safety net in the first week: health cover for you and your family, and any unemployment support you are entitled to.

7. References and leaving well (4 checks)

How you leave shapes what people say about you later. Secure references and leave the relationship in good shape.

8. Plan the search (5 checks)

Turn a stressful gap into a structured project with a budget, a target, a weekly routine and people to lean on.

How it works on Sefism

The checklist is one page: each check has a severity (must, should or nice to have) and a concrete way to verify it, and members can tick checks off as they go. The opening chapters are open to everyone. Adding it to your account uses credits, opens every chapter and keeps your progress.

Every claim is checked against the sources listed on the page (8 cited).