# Laid Off, Forced to Pivot, or Starting Over: How to Change Careers, Switch Industries, and Create a Role Built for You In 5 Months

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/happen-to-your-career-meaningful-work-career-change-career-design-job-search-317891/laid-off-forced-to-pivot-or-starting-over-how-to-change-careers-switch-industries-and-create-a-role-built-for-you-in-5-months
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/happen-to-your-career-meaningful-work-career-change-career-design-job-search-317891/laid-off-forced-to-pivot-or-starting-over-how-to-change-careers-switch-industries-and-create-a-role-built-for-you-in-5-months.md
Podcast: [Happen To Your Career - Meaningful Work, Career Change, Career Design, & Job Search](https://stenobird.com/podcast/happen-to-your-career-meaningful-work-career-change-career-design-job-search-317891)
Published: 2026-04-22T08:15:00+00:00
Episode link: https://happentoyourcareer.com/696
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/htycshow/HTYC696.mp3?dest-id=161278
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/happen-to-your-career-meaningful-work-career-change-career-design-job-search-317891/episodes/laid-off-forced-to-pivot-or-starting-over-how-to-change-careers-switch-industries-and-create-a-role-built-for-you-in-5-months
Duration seconds: 1094

## Resource

After 13 years as a federal employee, Kara Cochran was laid off with five months of runway, no direction, no industry experience outside federal service, and a job search timeline half as long as the average. This is how she made a career change after a layoff, switched industries fast, and landed a senior Chief of Staff role she never applied for. What you'll learn How Kara used an ideal career profile to go from "I don't know what I'm looking for" after a federal government career change to landing a chief of staff role she originally told herself nobody would ever hire her for — and the ChatGPT job search move that gave her a starting point she never expected Why every dead end Kara hit while navigating a career change after layoff — exploring nonprofits, clean energy, and management consulting — was actually sharpening what she really wanted the whole time, and how getting radically honest about her non-negotiables transformed her search from scattered to focused The unexpected strategy Kara used to land a senior role with no network and zero cold applications — how letting her work speak for her in a low pressure context turned a throwaway comment into a dinner with senior leadership and created a chief of staff role that did not exist before she walked in the door Our book, Happen To Your Career: An Unconventional Approach To Career Change and Meaningful Work, is now available on audiobook! Visit happentoyourcareer.com/audible to order it now! Visit happentoyourcareer.com/book for more information or buy the print or ebook here ! Want to chat with our team about your unique situation? Schedule a conversation Free Resources What career fits you? Join our free 8 Day Mini Course to figure it out! Career Change Guide - Learn how high-performers discover their ideal c…

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