Advertising Age published timely—albeit useless—content featuring advice for people experiencing layoffs.
The uselessness derives from the source of the counsel: industry recruiters.
Upon submitting the drivel, the headhunters undoubtedly ghosted the Ad Age reporter.
But seriously, recruiting for White advertising agencies is a role that could easily be replaced by AI—and is increasingly shifted in-house alongside HR duties.
Independent recruiters are amazingly unfamiliar with the industry—and typically ignorant about the true specifications for roles. Contrary to self-promotional hype, these commission-seeking bottom feeders indiscriminately throw candidates at agencies.
On second thought, “indiscriminately” might be the wrong word; in their heyday, industry recruiters were prime culprits and collaborators in stymieing DEIBA+ progress via discriminatory practices.
What you need to know if you’ve just been laid off
By Lindsay Rittenhouse
Omnicom’s massive restructuring following its acquisition of Interpublic Group of Cos., including the dismantling of three storied creative agency brands, leaves thousands of people without jobs.
Chairman and CEO John Wren told Ad Age that Omnicom expects to have 105,000 employees worldwide post-merger. That’s a decline of about 23,200 employees from 128,200, the combined headcount of Omnicom and IPG at the end of 2024.
The layoffs have shaken the industry, with many ad professionals reacting to the restructuring online and commenting on the toll the cuts will take. These job losses add to many that have already been happening across the industry for the past few years, and come as fears mount about AI’s ability to replace even more jobs.
“We are in the midst of a perfect storm where there is a triumvirate of economic instability, significant agency consolidation and the rise of AI,” said Jay Haines, founding partner of Grace Blue, which is part of Sinecure, a collection of talent firms specializing in scalable recruiting solutions and executive search. “Each of those would individually be enough to cause significant disruption, but together they have had the huge impact we are seeing today.”
Serena Wolf, founder of recruiting firm Wolf Creative Co., said she hasn’t witnessed this many layoffs since the first year of COVID, referring to the period of pandemic-related lockdowns between March and December of 2020.
Tony Stanol, president of Global Recruiters of Sarasota, said the amount of layoffs resulting from one merger is dramatic but not entirely surprising.
“It’s not shocking given the industry’s over-hiring during pandemic-era growth,” he said. “I’m seeing many more talented people coming at me for help than during the COVID layoffs and furloughs.”
It’s a scary time for many industry professionals who are affected. They’re going to have to figure out how to communicate that they have been laid off, decide how to best protect themselves and their interests as companies make sweeping cuts, and learn how to go about landing their next job in a tough hiring market.
Below is advice from industry recruiters on those considerations and more.
After being laid off, first, take a breath
“I know it’s scary, but good people land,” Stanol said. “Your skills, relationships and track record didn’t disappear overnight. Take a breath, regroup and remember: This moment doesn’t define your career, what you do next does.”
Recruiters who spoke with Ad Age said if you’ve been laid off, you may feel the need to jump into job hunting, especially amid the current rocky hiring landscape but that it’s important to take a minute to pause and really consider the next best move for your career.
Just don’t take too long, they added.
“Take 48 hours to decompress, assess your financial runway and get clear on the type of role and environment you want next,” Stanol said. “Once your head is level, tighten your narrative. Hiring leaders want clarity.”
Lawyer up and negotiate
Anyone impacted by a layoff should ask for a severance package, and lawyers can help.
“Regardless of your level, it is always worth speaking with a labor lawyer to review the proposed severance [and/or] separation agreement,” said Sasha Martens, president of industry recruiting firm Sasha the Mensch. “The best time to negotiate is early, so take the time to think through what you would want to ask for. It is important to be realistic as well, since each organization is different and the reality is that advertising agencies’ severance packages are not as generous as those of other Fortune 500 brands.”
Stanol noted that you only need to hire an employment attorney for an hour to have it be worthwhile.
A good severance package should be realistic and typically start at one to two weeks of pay for every year you’ve worked, according to some recruiters. Haines said your severance negotiations “should be based on facts and data,” meaning the years you served the company and the contributions you made.
You can also ask your former employer for confirmation or a letter stating that your layoff “was not performance-related,” Martens added.
Wolf said you can ask your next employer, when signing an offer letter, for severance of three to 12 months, as well, should you be laid off again (depending on your level).
How to announce you’ve been laid off
There is going to be a flood of announcements on LinkedIn from professionals who have been laid off, all hitting at once, due to the scale of the deal-related cuts.
Wolf advised professionals to pause and post their announcements in mid-January when hiring should ramp up, noting that hiring slows down at the end of December. Holding companies usually carry out most staff cuts in the fourth quarter, when they’re scrambling to meet margins.
Martens added that you may not want to rush to publicly announce that you are unemployed, and you might not have to if you do get severance.
“If you are on severance with your current employer, then you are being paid by them, and there are obligations for both parties, meaning you don’t need to change your status immediately,” he said. “Fair or unfair, your value as an employed person is always higher than that of someone out looking for work.”
When you do make a public announcement, Stanol said that you should “skip the vague ‘open to work’ halo above your LinkedIn portrait.” Instead, “be specific” about what you do, where you add value and what you’re after, he said.
Haines said that it’s important to set the right tone.
“The tone should be realistic about recognizing what has happened, with a recognition that it’s part of the broader instability of the industry, as opposed to anything that relates to you as an individual,” Haines said. “Alongside that should be a message of gratitude and humility about all that you have achieved to date, and your excitement to bring all the skills you have developed and experience you have gained to your next role. It’s also helpful to have a call to action around your desire to connect with your community at large.”
Connect with your network
Reaching out to your network will be crucial as well. But determining who to approach first takes some consideration.
Stanol said there’s a formula for that.
“Start with warm allies: Former bosses, peers, clients and recruiters who already trust your work,” he said. “They’re approachable, credible and they’ll go to bat for you. Then move to second-degree contacts at the companies and categories still hiring.”
Martens agreed, saying it’s first worth reaching out to “long-time industry contacts, people you have relationships with. Reach out to people that you may know who could use your work and talent in a full-time capacity, or could bring you in on a project.”
How to search for your next job
Some recruiters said it may take six months to a year to find a job in the current market. But Wolf said she’s seen some executives land on their feet “within a few short weeks/months.” She advises people to be open to freelance opportunities, not just full-time positions.
It all comes down to identifying what your next career move could be, including whether you want to go the route of entrepreneurship and start your own agency, as many former holding company executives have done, or maybe even switch industries, the recruiters said.
“Treat looking for a job like a job,” Haines said. “Action is the enemy of anxiety.”
Haines said Grace Blue advises the executives it works with to follow what it calls the “five box strategy” when it comes to searching for their next job.
The strategy involves identifying “five potential routes forward,” Haines said. “Think widely. Those five boxes might look like: Technology, entertainment, the Boston and Texas markets and PE-backed ventures. Having established that, you should then go through each potential box, one by one, working out who you might know in that space.”
Haines said you should tackle “one box each week and identify the first 10 people on your list in that space. Let’s say the first box is technology. You should then craft a note to each of those 10 people explaining that, having gained valuable experience through the course of your career, you are now thinking about what might come next and that the technology space is of particular interest.”
While you’re searching, Haines suggests mastering new skills and partaking in online education courses on AI, machine learning or LLMs—all of which will be critical to landing a more future-proof job in the industry.
Don’t take it personally
One point many recruiters drove home was that if you have been laid off, do not take it personally.
“It’s important to remind yourself that it’s not personal,” Wolf said. “You are not alone.”
Stay positive and use the time between jobs for a reset, Haines said. “It is an opportunity to define the rest of your career. It is an invaluable moment to take in all the information available and embark on a program of education that your previous role would never have allowed for. This is the moment to get yourself set for the next 10 years.”
And, despite some areas of the industry looking bleak right now, Martens said there is still a lot to be hopeful for in advertising’s future.
“What you are seeing is a new ecosystem of growing, nimble agencies and networks,” he said. “There are so many new networks and players entering the industry that weren’t there before. This is not just many new independents, but new networks and investors. The divide between the agency and the client side has long been broken, which offers more opportunities.”
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