Hiring laid-off employees: 8 tactics for 2023 and beyond

The world is reeling with the news of big tech initiating hiring freezes and mass layoffs. It’s a hard time for companies and employees alike, and we can only hope that the rise in layoffs ends abruptly. However, one source of light we’ve seen during these tough times is the energy and effort in the talent acquisition community as they work together to help place recently laid off candidates in new roles. From a talent acquisition perspective, the news presents opportunities for recruiters and company leaders to help candidates quickly find new work, and also presents opportunities for companies struggling to find candidates. With the candidate market suddenly flooded with thousands of highly-skilled candidates recently laid off, now’s an excellent time to develop specific strategies to help you hire laid-off employees.

And so, without any further ado, let’s explore some tactics to do so.

Use social media to hire laid-off employees

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll already know that social recruiting is a highly effective tactic to reach both a higher quantity and greater quality of candidates faster. But it’s an especially effective way to recruit recently laid-off candidates, as it allows you to target your job posts to reach them with an ease job boards can’t compete with. With the right hashtags and captions, you can easily create a social media post targeted towards laid off employees looking for work.

An example of a social media post targeted for laid off talent.

Further reading: 35 need-to-know social recruiting statistics

Hire with sensitivity

One thing to remember when trying to hire employees that have been laid off is that you’re dealing with a far more emotional recruiting situation than usual. Many of them are employees who have given years of loyalty to their previous employer, and are feeling hurt, confused, and scared. You want to support them by offering them a new position, but you don’t want to come across as a vulture feeding off of their pain. Make clear that you sympathize and empathize with their situation, and are here to support them with a new career if that’s what they’re looking for. It will make your message more likely to be successful.

An example of an empathetic social media job post for laid off candidates.

Personalize your approach with employee advocacy

We’ve talked in the past about the value of embracing employee advocacy (having employees advocate for you, especially on social media). Employee advocacy has been shown to be more successful, convert better, and allow for a more personal interaction compared to communications coming from a company’s social media presence. That last point is especially important to bear in mind when it comes to hiring candidates that were laid off. Since—as we highlighted earlier—you want to hire sensitively and delicately, having a recruiter reach out from their own personal channel can make your message seem far more personal than if it had come from your company’s channels.

As you can see, this post comes from a person, not a company. It makes the message far more personal.

Use layoff lists to find specific employees

When it comes to hiring laid off employees, you don’t have to fire blindly in the dark. There are often lists available of eager candidates actively looking for a job. Some of them are spreadsheets different people put together, while others are more professionally-made. Either way, these lists are an excellent way to find and reach out to potential candidates looking for jobs.

An example of just such a list being made (and already working).

Showcase your employer brand

Many impacted employees are feeling hurt and some even betrayed by their past employers about the layoff decision. If the company managed and communicated layoff poorly, that would only add to their frustration. These candidates will likely be even more mindful of their next company’s employer brand and reputation, which is why it’s really important that you show who you are as a brand.

Showcase posts that highlight the way you stand by your employees, offer opportunities for growth, and are overall a great place to work. 84% of active candidates and 89% of passive candidates consider employer brand before applying to a job, and that’s just regular candidates. While employees who were just laid off might be looking for a new job fast, they’re unlikely to run headfirst into a job without first researching whether or not you’re an employer brand they can trust.

An example of how you can show the way you support your employees on social media.

Spotlight your employees as testimonials for your employer brand

Though this is technically a part of the previous point, it’s worth highlighting on its own. Since laid off employees want to know that you’re a company that’s going to support them, employee spotlights are arguably the strongest way to show that. Employee spotlights act as testimonials to your employer brand because they come from your employees—the “customers” of your employer brand. Showing that your employees love you as an employer is a highly effective way to catch the attention of candidates whose past employers let them go.

An example of how to spotlight your employees from one of our very own Arconauts.

Highlight what they stand to gain by working for you

It’s true that tech employees are used to bigger salaries, and that is definitely something to bear in mind when trying to recruit them. But companies are seeing that those large salaries are no longer enough of a factor to win laid off tech employees over. Laid off candidates are also looking for long-term stability, growth, and support. So while you should definitely try to offer a competitive salary if you can, don’t assume that it’s all they’ll care about, and don’t assume that if you can’t compete with a tech-level salary that you might as well not bother. Learn into all the other features that make you an employer of choice.

Offer opportunities, not just positions

Though some laid off employees might be looking for the exact position they were previously in, others might take this time to consider a career change. Show candidates the various positions you have available rather than boxing them into just one position. Something new might just catch their eye.

An example of how to offer opportunities over positions.

Build a social recruiting presence that’s always on

If there’s one thing that the last few years have shown us, it’s that no one can predict what’s next for talent acquisition. That’s why it’s important to build a social media recruiting presence that’s hiring before you’re even aware. With CareerArc’s strategic automation, you’re always hiring, and you’re doing it on social media—the place that candidates frequent most.

And, powered by CareerArc’s strategic automation, you do it all while saving yourself an average of 949 hours a year.

Interested in learning more? Click here to try a demo.