Ethan Evans

How to Stay off the Layoff Lists

Amazon

Retired Amazon Vice President; 70+ patents; led global teams of 800+; LinkedIn Top Voice

The truth is layoffs often try to target perceived poor performers.

Understand how the lists are made

Identify perception risks and take action.

Ensure you are perceived as a high-performer

If you are let go, learn from the experience and come back stronger.

Be prepared to learn and adjust

I get it. You're a talented creative professional. You've designed amazing products, crafted beautiful user experiences, and maybe even shipped a few apps to the App Store.&nbsp;But the leap to freelancing? That feels like a whole different ball of wax. Perhaps you've tried to figure it out on your own. Late nights spent scouring blogs, devouring books, and binge-watching YouTube videos. You've taken guesses on different pricing structures and paid for way too many project management tools. Yet still, things aren’t quite clicking into place. The advice is often conflicting and either too generic or so niche that it doesn't meet you where you're at.&nbsp; That’s because freelancing isn't one-size-fits-all. You need education, adaptable frameworks, and support to learn how to make freelancing work for YOU. In 2016 I quit my corporate job as a product design director and left behind what wasn’t working for me, and I’ve been creating a new way of working, for myself, ever since. And you can too. The top 3 things freelancers worry about most involve:(1) finding work to make money(2) keeping organized with operations, and(3) setting boundaries and attaining balance You no longer have to worry whether you're doing it right. After our time together, you'll not only have foundational systems to help you run your business but you will be inspired to redesign your work life by: ✦ Creating a flexible schedule that works for you ✦ Building a sustainable income on your own terms ✦ Choosing projects that ignite your passion ✦ Making a real impact with your work ✦ Going from in-house employee to successful freelancer – even if you're afraid of giving up that steady paycheck ✦ Finding fulfillment in being a business owner

Does the thought of freelancing both excite and terrify you?

<ul><li>Define your values, why freelance?</li><li>Identify your unique service offering to better connect to the right clients</li><li>Setting expectations on expected challenges of freelance and what to watch out for</li></ul>

Doing work differently

<ul><li>Get checklists on how to setup your business with necessary registration, insurance, and taxes</li><li>Differentiate between pricing models</li><li>Calculate your rate structures by outlining your ideal income and budget</li></ul>

Making it too legit to quit

<ul><li>Discover practices and recommended tools for running an organized business</li><li>Construct the client experience through all touchpoints: biz dev, to proposals, to onboarding, to handoff, to invoicing</li><li>Practice role play with a biz dev call!</li></ul>

Designing the client experience

<ul><li>Tip to manage your workload and burnout</li><li>Build practices for sustainability</li><li>Design your time and day to day practices through personal rituals</li></ul>

Prototyping balance and boundaries

Course syllabus

Recorded lessons of lecture and demo walkthroughs that you can watch on your own time and return to at any point in the journey of launching or running your business.

Exclusive video content

Specific course assignments will help you get hands on with building your business and your operating procedures. You'll be able to leverage coaching and peer feedback from the cohort community to help you progress.

Weekly projects

Our live time together is spent on live review, interactive workshopping, and group critiques.<ul><li>Workshop 1: Weds 10/25</li><li>Workshop 2: Weds 11/1</li><li>Workshop 3: Weds 11/8</li></ul>

Live workshopping

Take a break in your day and join me in my afternoon office hours for small group coaching and additional guidance on your projects.

Additional "Tea Time" office hours

Course schedule

Aspiring freelancers who want the confidence to quit their 9-to-5 (or 9-to-9!) job even if they don’t have a solid game plan (yet)

Active solopreneurs struggling with inefficient systems and overwhelm who want to design more intentional processes that lead to growth

Design/Tech industry creatives who worry about finding consistent, high-quality clients and want to become magnets for dream projects

Creative business owners who are ready to attract better clients, and achieve the harmony in their work AND life they’ve been looking for

This course is designed for

In Designing Your Freelance Business you'll...

<ul><li>Define your core values to help guide your future business decisions</li><li>Identify your unique service offerings that set you apart in the market</li><li>Figure out your ideal client, setting the stage for targeted marketing</li></ul>

Transform your mindset from employee to entrepreneur. In our foundational module, you'll:

<ul><li>Set up your business logistics, from registration to insurance (we’ll face these all head on!)</li><li>Establish concrete fit-for-you financial goals that motivate and guide you</li><li>Master the art of pricing your services for profitability</li></ul>

Turn your freelance dream into a legitimate business. In week 2, we  cover how to:

<ul><li>Develop a strategy for finding and landing clients</li><li>Craft compelling proposals that close deals</li><li>Get templates for running a project from start to finish with the support of tools like Notion</li><li>Design seamless and thoughtful client onboarding and handoff experiences</li></ul>

Create systems that attract and retain dream clients. In week 3, you'll:

<ul><li>Establish daily practices and SOPs so you can spend more time on what matters&nbsp;</li><li>Create a calendar and task planning system best for your brain</li><li>Design personal rituals that fuel your creativity and well-being</li><li>Maintain healthy boundaries to manage stress and prevent burnout</li></ul>

Design a sustainable freelance lifestyle that prevents burnout. You'll learn to:

Learn how to start and sustain a successful and fulfilling freelance practice.

Sarah Jutras

Solopreneur and design director

Cohort 6

Cohort 7

Read my post on passing first-round interviews in Lenny's newsletter here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-pass-any-first-round-interview This workshop is designed as the prequel to that article: helping you design a targeted job search, network artfully to build a job pipeline, and convert opportunities into interviews. Workshop content Designing your job searchStrategies for the post-ZIRP tech job marketHow to design a 'niche of one'How to shortlist companies (and tailor your efforts by tier)How to write a stand-out resume (ATS and human-optimized)How (and when) to have multiple resumes and/or role-tailored resumesHow to craft your LinkedIn profile to attract more interest Conducting your searchHow to run a 4-hour job searchHow to build a pipeline from zeroHow to job search in the open NetworkingHow to activate your network (colleagues, friends and family, hiring managers you know)How/why to get referred, even by randosHow to write a powerful professional blurb How to write winning warm intro emailsHow to cold connect with hiring managers or employees at target companiesHow to leverage online communities to accelerate your job search ConvertingHow to throw green flags (and avoid red flags) in screener interviewsHow to answer common and tricky recruiter screening questionsHow to use the recruiter screen to tee up a better offer Plus: a resume glow-up mini-workshopPlus: a LinkedIn polish mini-workshopPlus: a professional blurb writing workshopPlus: a cold connection request writing workshopPlus: two in-depth Q&amp;A sessions with Erika Bonus: Speeding up your job search (levers and when to use them)Bonus: Debugging your job search (with benchmarks) (all sessions are live, taught by Erika) Includes:Tools and tactics to drive your job search (niche of one mad lib, company tiering strategies, referral guide, the 4-hour job search daily agenda, LinkedIn content roadmap, and more), leaving you with concrete next steps for your job search. Frameworks for presenting yourself with effortless confidence (multiple resumes, tailored resumes, intro blurbs, cold outreach messages, etc). Case studies from Coach Erika's 200+ successful job seeker clients to understand real-world scenarios you may encounter in your search (and what to do). Resume glow-up, LinkedIn polishing, and blurb writing workshops during the seminar. You'll walk out with an updated set of tools and a punch list of follow-on tasks to kickstart or reboot your job search. Discord Community Invite to stay connected to your cohort through this job search and beyond. Co-source opportunities, review resumes, do mock interviews, and more.

Get application ready and screener ready. With confidence and community.

Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Optional pre-workshop mixer (Zoom)

Thursday, June 20th

4pm - 8 pm GMT12pm - 4pm Eastern11am - 3pm Central10am - 2pm Mountain There will be 60-75 minutes of live Q&amp;A with Coach Erika after this slot. Recording will be available, in case you need to drop off earlier.

Saturday June 22nd

4pm - 8 pm GMT12pm - 4pm Eastern11am - 3pm Central10am - 2pm Mountain This will be followed by 60-75 minutes of live Q&amp;A, which will also be recorded. The Q&amp;As on both days are very in-depth. Many students say that they feel like they are getting 1:1 coaching from Erika.

Sunday, June 23rd

Senior IC, Manager, and Director+ level tech workers who are starting a job search in the next 1-2 months or with in-flight job searches.

Job seekers keen to move from quantity to quality: design a more targeted job search, network artfully, and convert more of their funnel.

This workshop is not for students, aspiring tech workers, or early career professionals.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

We'll discuss the strategies and approaches you can use to glow up your resume, LinkedIn, and professional blurb. I'll share specific tactics, and you will workshop during the seminar so you can walk away with refreshed, public-facing, professional artifacts.

Refresh your digital presence

We will dive into:<ul><li>Job market data &amp; the realities of a soft market</li><li>Designing a 'niche of one'</li><li>How to shortlist companies (and ladder interviews)</li><li>How to author and format a strong resume (ATS + human optimized)</li><li>Branding your LinkedIn presence</li><li>Multiple resumes &amp; tailored resumes</li></ul>

How to handle the tech jobs downturn & search in an employer's market

We'll cover:<ul><li>how to leverage friends, hiring managers, online communities, and recruiters to get intel, first-look roles, and a human connection.</li><li>how to find &amp; connect with hiring managers (with winning notes)</li><li>how + why to get stranger referrals</li></ul>

Smart networking in the digital & distracted era

We'll review:<ul><li>employer + interviewer goals</li><li>how to throw green flags (and avoid red flags) in screens</li><li>how to use a recruiter screen to tee up a stronger offer</li></ul>

Converting interest into screeners & interviews

Learn the benchmarks, signs, and signals that will tell you if you need to make adjustments in your job search now and long after the course.

Debugging your job search

This is an intensive course; we cut to the chase and help you get set up for a more successful, focused job search. Sessions are recorded to watch again in the future, and you will get access to many tools and templates you can use for weeks &amp; months after we wrap

Tailor-made and optimized for busy tech job seekers

We'll walk through real resumes, real blurbs, real email exchanges with recruiters, and more ― to assess real-world scenarios that you may encounter in your search (and what you can do).

Case studies from Coach Erika's 200+ successful job seeker clients 

Roles of fellow cohort mates will range from product &amp; engineering to sales &amp; marketing, operations, customer-facing, and more. Titles of students range from Senior/Group/Principal/Staff to Director/Sr. Director/VP/CxO. After the course, you'll get access to our Discord community

You'll be in great company (even after the workshop ends)

You'll leave with an actual job search plan (a document) featuring concrete next steps to activate your targeted 'Niche of One' job search. Plus, you'll have an overhauled LinkedIn profile, resume, and Blurb for warm intros.

Walk away with a clear, tangible job search plan

🔥Guest on Lenny's Newsletter🔥
Design a targeted job search with a Top 1% job search coach. Get niche. Uplevel your pitch. Convert more.

Coach Erika

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

If you’re like us, you once aimed for superhero status, juggling career and family. Now, feeling the squeeze, the "work-life balance" myth seems cruel. You've tried survival mode, putting in less effort at work, chore charts for your family, you name it. But genuine fulfillment remains elusive. Here's the thing: The way our world is set up makes it near impossible to be the ladder-scaling professional, Instragram-worthy parent and find time for the elusive self-care. This course unpacks the why and gives you actionable tools to redefine success on your terms. Lessons will be short and digestible, designed to suit your full life. And while we're big fans of therapy, think of the cost as less than two sessions with a counsellor with outcomes you couldn't achieve in a 1:1 session.

Overworked & Unfulfilled --> Content & Purposeful

If your events are recurring and at the same time, it might be easiest to use a single line item to communicate your course schedule to students

Tuesdays & Thursdays

Feel free to type out dates as your title as a way to communicate information about specific live sessions or other events.

May 7, 2022

Schedule items can also be used to convey commitments outside of specific time slots (like weekly projects or daily office hours).

You're exhausted trying to blend career goals, parenting ideals, and your own well-being (including being with your partner and friends!).

You crave a community that gets you, and you're tired of quick fixes that lead to the same old patterns.

You're done comparing yourself to impossible social standards and ready to define fulfillment on your own terms.

Open your eyes to the 'rules' of work, family, and self-care and how they weren't designed with working parents in mind.

Understanding of why we feel so overwhelmed and underperforming at the same time (and why it isn't your fault!)

Explore diverse work arrangements, family dynamics, daily practices and ways of thinking that inspire you to design a life that doesn't require sacrificing well-being.

Inspiration from rule-breaking role models who redefine success on their terms

Create your personalized blueprint for thriving AND start implementing them, like scheduling long-overdue friend meetups or time with your partner to talk about things other than chores.

A unique work/caregiving/self-care blend tailored to you 

Find your tribe of peers facing similar challenges. Build a support system for vulnerability, shared experiences, and practical solutions as you move towards a more fulfilling life.

A support network of people who *actually* get you in order to create accountability and provide encouragement

Feel overwhelmed and unproductive at the same time? Redefine success on your terms that includes career, caregiving and self-care.

Jess Weisz

Well-Being Champion | Mom Of Two |  Ex-Corporate Climber

Ashley Good

Intelligent Failure Expert | Mom Of Two | Ex-Hustle Entrepreneur

Fall 2024

Winter 2025

If you have &lt;3 years work experience, unlocking how to create value for your Manager/Team is a force multiplier. If you are able to take what you learn from this course and get a promotion (let's say, a $7,500 raise), then the cost of the course ($750) then that's a 10X ROI. My goal is to help you reach your career goals, faster. - Sometimes, that's in finding you a new project.- Sometimes, that's in how you position your asks. - Sometimes, that's in how you find ways to provide value to your team that is unique to you. Doing all of this will result in you being better at your job. And when you get better at your job, you get harder problems to solve. And those harder problems tend to get you promoted. ___ You're a high achiever who's used to success and you landed your dream job, right out of college. But since starting your corporate job, things have been off. Your hard work isn't paying off, and you're not getting the opportunities you deserve. It's frustrating and you're starting to doubt yourself, wondering "where did I go wrong, where did I go off track?" Boy, have I heard that before. You don't know what you don't know, and if this is your first job or you have &lt;3 years of work experience, you're facing topics that school never prepared you for. Such as: → Being "manageable"→ Staying top of mind for your busy Manager→ How to take negative feedback (constantly)→ Picking the right projects with outsized impact→ How to ask for a promotion→ Not knowing where to start HAVE YOU EVER... → Been a top performer in school, only to struggle when you entered the corporate world? → Felt stuck because you're working hard but you're not getting the accolades you deserve? → Seen co-workers (less talented than you) get selected for projects that match your skill set? → Prepared hours for a presentation to senior leadership, only for them to zone out? → Struggled with talking about your work in a way that minimizes the ick? → Thought you were aligned with your Manager, only turns out you were both on different pages? → Thought something was wrong with you and wondered if you're cut out for the corporate world? NEWSFLASH: THE CORPORATE JOB IS A GAME. And this course will help you learn the rules so you can play the game to win the game. Look, I've been there and done that. I graduated from an Ivy League school, got an internship and a full-time job at one of the best companies to work for... and thought I was going to be on the CEO path by the age of 25. Boy, was I wrong. When I entered the corporate world, I stumbled. I couldn't figure out why people who were putting in half the amount of effort I was were getting more visibility, better projects, and faster promotions. And then I started studying the people who were successful and jotting down what they did. And once I started executing that plan, I started to be successful. AND I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO DO THE SAME. In this course, I will share everything that I have learned (as well as from others) during my 12+ years in Big Tech, including my approach for handling ambiguity at work, making the work shine, and becoming a go-to expert for your team.

More recognition, more impact, learning the new path to corporate success

You're working hard but being passed for opportunities Your work doesn't feel valued or recognized. You feel stalled and need a boost

You're new to working and want to start your career with confidence You know your first job sets the stage for future career success

You're a top performer (and want to stay one) You want the tribal knowledge to accelerate faster in your career

This course is for you if:

Differentiate yourself from your peers by learning the corporate game playbook that you didn't learn in school. This gives you the edge from day 1.

Get the edge in the corporate job so you can succeed and accelerate faster

You'll learn how to speak to your Manager, build trust, and how to handle feedback so you can make them your #1 advocate who supports your career goals.

Make your Manager your #1 advocate by helping them reach their goals (so you can reach your goals)

Discover what it takes to be a good teammate, the types of co-workers you want on your side, and how to leverage them to help you excel in your role.

Turn your co-workers into your work allies who can provide valuable support and advocacy for you

Adopt the behaviors of busy Execs so you can elevate your brand and go from "beginner" to "high performer"

Learn to write emails, lead meetings, prioritize your time, and be more effective on the job

Learn how the most important word in the corporate job is "Impact" and how to showcase the value you're bringing (without feeling like you're the teacher's pet)

Increase your impact, visibility, and overall value you provide to the team

Adapt to the NEW corporate landscape. Elevate your career. Be the person people seek out. Become Top Talent. And future-proof your role. 

Lightning Lessons

How to Stay off the Layoff Lists