How to support a friend who loses their job
- Sonja Ecklund
2 years ago today, I lost my job of 7.5 years.
Before my experience getting laid off, I had no idea how to show up & support someone through this kind of transition. So here are 4 things that made a huge difference to me that I now do for my clients, coworkers, & friends — Save this for later in case you need it.
💌 Send a text, make a call, or write a card. Getting laid off is isolating & lonely. I remember watching my computer screen go black at 5pm & just sitting at my desk in shock. Then I started getting calls, texts, DMs, & emails. Even when people didn’t know what to say, it was so nice just to hear from them. One of my coworkers even collected notes from the team & sent me an envelope full of kind words via snail mail - It meant everything to me to reread those on the hard days.
👩🏼💻Write a recommendation on LinkedIn. A moment of kindness I’ll never forget is when the coaches who I had trained asked if they could write recommendations for me on LinkedIn. I had never even heard of LinkedIn recommendations, but suddenly I had dozens of people publicly recommending me for job opportunities. This is a great thing to do for anyone you work with anytime, but it’s especially kind following a layoff.
👋🏼Introduce them to people in your network. I ended up getting 2 job offers 2 weeks after I lost my job because I had coworkers who were kind enough to introduce me to people in their network. Take some time to think about who you know to see if you can make connections for people - It helps more than you know.
❤️Sit with them in the weirdness. It is a BIZARRE feeling when the information you’ve stashed away in your brain becomes completely irrelevant. It took me a long time to understand that much of the grief I was experiencing was the weirdness of not having anywhere for all my knowledge to go. Be with the weirdness & then help them reflect on all the skills they’re going to be able to take into the next chapter of their career.
If you’re reading this & remembering the way you showed up for me after I lost my job, thank you for supporting me through an unexpected chapter of my life - I will never forget your kindness ✨
Hi, I'm Sonja!
Hi, I'm Sonja! I'm a board certified health and wellness coach (NBC-HWC), a financial social work coach, a learning and development professional, and a behavior change expert with 14 years of experience helping people change their lives through the power of coaching.
I wholeheartedly believe that life is editable. Most of us think our habits, patterns, and setbacks are permanent, but with the right guidance, you can rewrite your story at any stage. That’s what we'll focus on through my high-touch 1:1 coaching program, The Behavior Edit.
I guide my coaching clients through a proven framework I call EDIT:
Experiment: Test small, safe changes in your behavior without fear of failure.
Design: Create intentional systems that actually fit your life, not someone else’s.
Implement: Take meaningful action in the real world, even when life is messy.
Trust: Build confidence in your ability to course-correct anytime.
Through this process, my clients:
Complete projects or goals they’ve been avoiding for years.
Stop procrastinating and regain control over their habits and routines.
Gain confidence that they can edit their behavior and rewrite their story whenever needed.
Move from feeling stuck and overwhelmed to empowered and in action.
I've got a thing for simplifying the complex, helping clients find clarity in the chaos and purpose in the process, and turning overwhelm into clear and manageable action steps. I’m really into helping people live intentional and unapologetic lives that they don’t need to escape from -- I can't wait to meet you.
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