Your Secret Weapon on LinkedIn

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

EP 3078 Learn about the acknowledgement post strategy. This game-changing method shifts focus from your loss to publicly thanking and tagging specific colleagues and managers who genuinely helped you.

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Welcome to the explainer. Our whole goal here is to take expert advice and turn it into a clear, actionable strategy you can actually use. Today, we’re talking about something pretty tough, getting laid off. But we’re going to break down a really powerful kind of counterintuitive way to handle it on LinkedIn. Okay, so if you’ve been laid off, that first thing you post on LinkedIn, it’s a huge deal. It’s a real make-or-break moment. It can either just fade into the background with a bunch of sorry to hear that comments or it can literally mobilize your entire network to rush to your side. That choice of what you post next, it’s absolutely crucial. All right, section one, the layoff post dilemma. And here’s the key. The thing you have to get your head around first, it’s not actually about you. This quote, wow, it really just nails it. A layoff is almost always a business decision. It’s a strategic move that has everything to do with the company’s finances or its changing goals, and pretty much nothing to do with your skills or how hard you worked. You were, as it says, collateral damage in a bigger corporate game.

Okay, moving on to section two, the common LinkedIn mistake. And this is a big one because it’s the default move. It’s what most people do without even thinking. We’ve all seen this post, right? It’s the standard, “Well, sad news. My time at company X has come to an end.” It’s totally focused on the negative, and then it has this kind of vague ask for help finding what’s next. And yeah, you’ll get some sympathy for sure, but it doesn’t really get your network to do anything. So, let’s talk about a better way, a much, much more powerful way. Section three, a powerful alternative strategy. This requires a total shift in how you think about the whole situation. Instead of that boohoo post, check this out. The acknowledgement post. With this, the focus is not on the layoff at all. Zero.

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Instead, you write a post where you publicly thank rank and tag specific people from the company you just left. Your old colleagues, your managers, anyone who genuinely helped you out. And when you put these two approaches next to each other, the difference is just night and day, right? The Boohoo post has a negative tone. It’s focused on your loss, and the outcome is pretty passive sympathy. But the acknowledgement post, it’s positive. It focuses on other people. And what it does is trigger active, real help from your network. Okay. Section four, the psychology of gratitude. So, why does this actually work so well? Let’s get into the human nature behind it. Let’s start with the most surprising, maybe even a little cynical reason. By publicly praising someone, by putting them up on this pedestal for how great they were to you, you create this subtle social pressure. They feel good, but they also feel a little bit obligated to live up to that praise. It’s a powerful little nudge to get them to help you out. But it’s about so much more than just a little guilt. You’re tapping into a core human principle, reciprocity. When you publicly say, “This person was awesome, and here’s why.” You make them feel seen. You make them feel valued, and that goodwill makes them genuinely want to help you back. You’re not just asking for help. You’re turning your old colleagues into your new job search advocates.

Okay, so you get the why. Let’s get to the how. Section five is your action plan. It’s super straightforward. It really just boils down to these three steps. First, make a list of people who actually genuinely helped you. Second, write a draft that thanks them for specific things. Don’t be generic. Mention a project or a piece of advice. And third, you tag them in the post and you hit send. And hey, even if you already did the Boohoo post, it is not too late. You can go do this right now.

Look, at the end of the day, this strategy is all about putting the power back in your hands. It takes a really difficult moment and turns it into an opportunity to connect with people and build your career in a proactive way. It’s a reminder of the value you brought and the great relationships you built. Your network really does want to help you. So, the only question left is who will you thank first?

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