Getting laid off feels like the floor just disappeared, yet every founder, CEO, and industry veteran we spoke to has the same quiet confession: some of their greatest chapters began the day they were shown the door.
The question isn’t “Should I stay or should I go?”—it’s “What evidence do I actually have that my best work is behind me in this field… or still ahead of me somewhere else?”
We asked nine battle-tested leaders who have started companies, switched industries, survived recessions, and turned side hustles into empires one simple thing: If someone they cared about was laid off tomorrow and genuinely unsure whether to double down or leap, what would they say over coffee?
Their answers are raw, specific, and surprisingly consistent: stop treating it as a binary choice between loyalty and betrayal. Treat it as a forced skills audit with the best timing you’ll ever get.
Read on!
Mike Erickson
Founder & CEO, AFMS
I’ve been in the logistics industry for over three decades, starting as a District Manager at Airborne Express before founding AFMS in 1992.
I’ve seen thousands of supply chain professionals steer career transitions, and here’s what actually matters from what I’ve observed.
The biggest mistake I see is treating this as an either/or decision when it should be a skills audit.
When I started AFMS, I wasn’t abandoning logistics–I was taking my carrier relationship knowledge and applying it differently.
We just helped a client save $2.3M annually by auditing their freight invoices, work that required the same attention to detail I used managing districts, just redirected.
Ask yourself: what specific skill made you valuable in your last role, not just your job title.
Right now in 2025, supply chains are in chaos–87% of shippers expect volume increases but 59% lack demand forecasting insight according to recent data I’ve seen.
That’s not a problem for your old industry or a new one, that’s an opportunity gap.
I watch companies spend 22% of operating budgets on logistics while leaving money on the table through poor carrier negotiations.
If you can solve expensive problems, the industry label matters less than you think.
One practical test: spend two weeks talking to people in adjacent roles to what you did.
I’ve found the best pivots happen when someone finds their core skill (analyzing data, managing vendor relationships, optimizing processes) is desperately needed somewhere unexpected.
A former client’s supply chain analyst just moved into healthcare procurement–same negotiation principles, different products, 40% salary bump.
Skills Don’t Expire, Labels Do
Seth Capp
Division Chief Pediatric Imaging, Specialty Focused Radiology
I faced this exact decision during the pandemic when radiology volume dropped 40-50% nationwide and doctors were getting laid off across all specialties.
I had just launched my company and had to choose: shut it down for stable employment, or push through the uncertainty.
I stuck with my path, but I transformed how I executed it. The pandemic proved telemedicine worked in radiology–something many doubted before.
Instead of just trying to survive the volume drop, I launched Pediatric Teleradiology Partners to fill coverage gaps that became critical when facilities couldn’t staff properly.
The crisis revealed the real need.
Here’s what actually matters: can you see a specific gap or problem in your current industry that you’re positioned to solve differently?
I didn’t leave radiology–I changed how radiology gets delivered. That’s less risky than starting completely over, but still lets you build something new.
The Goldman Sachs 10KSB program taught me that pivoting within your domain beats jumping ship entirely.
You already understand the pain points, the players, and the economics.
Use a disruption as a reason to rebuild better, not abandon what you know.
Crisis Revealed the Real Need
Rudy Mosketti
Founder, Rudy’s Smokehouse
I’ve been exactly where you are.
After 40 years in the restaurant industry, I got laid off and had to decide whether to keep chasing the same roles or finally take the leap I’d been thinking about.
In 2005, I opened Rudy’s Smokehouse instead of looking for another restaurant job.
Here’s what made the difference: I didn’t pivot to something completely new–I took everything I knew about restaurants and applied it my own way.
The skills were the same, but now I controlled the direction.
That meant I could build in things like our Tuesday charity program, which no corporate restaurant would’ve let me do.
My honest advice? If you’re burned out on your industry, pivot.
If you’re just burned out on your employer, stay in your lane but change the environment.
I wasn’t tired of restaurants–I was tired of not having control over how I served people.
Twenty years later, I’m still here greeting guests at the door because I picked the right problem to solve.
The market will tell you fast if you made the right call. We became one of Central Ohio’s top BBQ spots because I stuck with what I knew but did it on my own terms.
Burned Out on Bosses, Not BBQ
Travis Bloomfield
Managing Partner & CEO, Provisio Partners
I’ve made this exact call twice–once leaving the Air Force to enter consulting, then again co-founding Provisio in 2017.
Here’s what nobody tells you: the decision isn’t really about the industry or role. It’s about whether you can clearly articulate what problem you’re solving by making the move.
When I left military air traffic control, I didn’t just “go into tech consulting.” I saw organizations struggling with operational chaos that my Air Force systems-thinking could fix.
At Provisio, we didn’t just start another consulting firm–we identified that human services nonprofits had zero Salesforce partners who actually understood their world. That specificity mattered more than any industry credential.
The layoff gives you one advantage most people don’t have: permission to be honest about what wasn’t working.
Before you decide to pivot or stay, write down the actual daily tasks that energized you versus drained you in your last role.
When we work with nonprofits going through funding freezes, the ones who survive aren’t the ones with the most resources–they’re the ones who know exactly which activities drive their mission forward and which are just organizational theater.
Test your hypothesis before you commit.
One of our clients at CASL was collecting data on dozens of programs but had no idea which ones actually moved the needle.
Once we built dashboards showing their chef training graduates earned $16.25/hour versus $14.20 in other programs, they knew where to double down.
Do the same with your career–find a way to validate your pivot direction through a project, freelance work, or even structured conversations with people already doing it.
Solve a Problem, Not a Title
Brian Nguyen
Managing Partner, Universal Law Group
I actually made this exact pivot myself. I started at USC as a pre-med student with a clear path ahead, but quickly realized I had a weak stomach for blood and struggled with chemistry.
Instead of forcing myself down the wrong path, I switched to law–and it completely changed my trajectory.
Here’s what I learned: your current skills transfer more than you think.
When I left the DA’s office in 2007 to join a labor and employment firm, then later moved into personal injury and criminal defense, each transition built on what I’d already learned.
My prosecution experience now helps me maximize settlements for injury clients because I understand how the other side thinks.
My advice is to evaluate whether you’re running from something or toward something. I wasn’t running from medicine–I was moving toward work that actually fit my strengths.
If you’re genuinely drawn to a new industry, that pull matters more than the comfort of familiarity.
But if you’re just frustrated with one bad situation, consider whether a different role in your current field might be the better move.
The market rewards specialized expertise, but it also values people who can connect different disciplines.
My pre-med background gives our case managers an edge when evaluating medical claims that pure legal training wouldn’t provide.
Whatever you choose, find ways to make your diverse experience an asset rather than treating it like starting over.
Run Toward Fit, Not From Fear
Jeff Bogue
President, Momentum Ministry Partners
I’ve led Grace Church through major transitions over 30+ years, including our “30 campuses in 30 years” vision that required constant pivots. When we expanded from one location to eight campuses across three states, I had to personally wrestle with whether to keep doing what worked or completely reimagine our approach.
Here’s what I learned: the question isn’t “which path is safer”–it’s “where can I create the most Kingdom impact right now?”
When I became President of Momentum Ministry Partners in 2020, I had nearly two decades as a pastor and board member there, but stepping into the CEO role during a pandemic was terrifying.
I brought my pastoral leadership experience into organizational leadership, and that “mismatched” background became our strength.
We launched new initiatives like Momentum Marketplace specifically because I understood both church leadership and marketplace challenges from living in that tension myself.
My practical advice: look at your layoff as a forced margin to ask better questions. I tell our ministry leaders at Grace College Akron–don’t just ask “what job can I get?”
Ask “what problems do I see that I’m uniquely positioned to solve?”
Your current industry knowledge plus fresh outside perspective from a new field might be exactly what someone needs.
I’ve built a 150+ person staff by hiring people who brought unexpected combinations of experience.
One concrete step: spend this week writing down every problem you noticed in your old role that annoyed you.
Then research which industries desperately need someone who understands those exact problems.
When we expanded Grace Church, our biggest hires weren’t church professionals–they were business people who saw operational gaps we couldn’t even name.
Your layoff might be God clearing the deck so you can see opportunities you were too busy to notice.
Layoff Is Forced Margin for Clarity
Dan Keiser
Principal Architect, Keiser Design Group
I’ve been through economic downturns and career uncertainty myself–I graduated in 1993 during a recession and couldn’t return to my hometown like I’d planned.
My advice: don’t make the decision based on fear or pressure.
Take two weeks to really think about what’s been eating at you before the layoff happened.
When I was bouncing between three different firms early in my career, I wasn’t just job-hopping–I was intentionally building diverse experience.
I went from a 3-person firm to an 8-person firm to a 25-person firm, each teaching me something different.
That “wandering” became the foundation for starting KDG in 1995.
Sometimes what looks like a setback is actually positioning you for something better.
Here’s what I’d do: make a list of the projects or moments in your career when you felt most alive.
For me, it was those personal architecture projects I was doing on the side while working full-time–I had about 10 per year going while at Sullivan Bruck.
That itch told me everything I needed to know. If your list points back to your current field, stay the course. If it points somewhere else, you’ve got your answer.
One practical move: while you’re deciding, find a way to teach or mentor in your field.
I stumbled into teaching at Gahanna Lincoln High School in 1999 through a random newspaper ad, and it became the bridge that let me build KDG on the side.
Teaching clarifies what you actually know and love about your work, and it keeps you connected to your industry without the pressure of a full-time role.
Side Projects Whisper the Truth
Mina Daryoushfar
CEO & President, Rug Source
I came to the US as an immigrant in 2000 with nothing but my parents’ support and started in the rug business in 2002–zero connections, zero industry background.
Eight years later in 2010, I left that job security to open Rug Source.
That terrifying leap taught me something: your “wrong” timing might be the market’s perfect timing.
Here’s what nobody tells you about pivoting–your old industry knowledge doesn’t disappear, it becomes your edge somewhere unexpected.
When I started Rug Source, I wasn’t just selling rugs online like everyone else. I spent years learning how rugs are actually made, the craftsmanship behind hand-knotted pieces, which let me write product descriptions and answer customer questions in ways big-box stores couldn’t match.
That specific knowledge became our differentiation and why customers email us saying they “absolutely rely on getting excellent rugs at good prices” from us specifically.
My practical move: spend two weeks talking to people who frustrate easily with products in your old industry.
I mean actually call them, don’t just survey.
When someone got a rug delivered that didn’t match their expectations, I didn’t just process a return–I learned exactly what information was missing from our site.
Those conversations revealed that people needed guidance on rug sizes for specific rooms, which became our most-visited content and drives sales daily.
One thing I wish I’d known earlier–being laid off removes the guilt of exploring.
I spent evenings doing kickboxing and powerlifting at my gym while building Rug Source, and that physical separation from “work mode” let my brain make connections I’d have missed sitting at a desk.
Use this forced break to try one thing weekly that your old job schedule never allowed.
The pattern you notice might be your next business.
Old Knowledge, New Battlefield
Joshua McAfee
CEO & Founder, McAfee Institute
I’ve built careers from scratch in law enforcement, corporate security at Amazon, and now run a global certification company–so I’ve been on both sides of this decision multiple times.
The answer isn’t about the path itself, it’s about whether you’ve actually hit your ceiling or just hit a bad company.
Here’s what I do when someone asks me this: Look at the last five job postings in your field that excited you.
If you read them and think “I could crush that role but this company held me back,” stay in your lane.
When I left law enforcement for Amazon, I wasn’t leaving investigations–I was taking investigative thinking into a space that desperately needed it and would pay for it.
The real test is skill transferability versus starting over.
I see this constantly with our students–military investigators transitioning to corporate roles aren’t pivoting, they’re repositioning the same core skills.
One of our certified investigators went from local PD to a $140K fraud analyst role at a Fortune 500 in eight months.
Same investigative foundation, different application, way better compensation.
The only time I tell people to completely pivot is when their industry is dying or they’re physically burned out from the work itself.
Otherwise, you’re probably one strategic move away from the career you want–not a total rebuild.
Most people quit their industry two years before they would’ve broken through.
You Didn’t Hit a Ceiling, Just a Bad Company
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
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