Laid Off After 13 Years: How to Pivot Careers, Switch Industries & Build a Role Made for You in 5 Months

Happen To Your Career - Meaningful Work, Career Change, Career Design, & Job Search · Apr 22, 2026 · 18m

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…