Layoff Scholar With Real-World Experience & Career Coach – Exclusive Interview With Dr Tracy Shroyer

Dr. Tracy Shroyer is a seasoned career coach and advocate for individuals facing career challenges, with a remarkable personal journey of resilience. Her extensive experience, coupled with her triumphs over adversity, has inspired her to launch "The Career Compass Collective" and the podcast "Let's Talk About Layoffs," where she shares valuable insights and support for those navigating career transitions. In this exclusive interview, Dr. Shroyer discusses her background, her motivation to empower others, and her plans to continue making a positive impact in the world of career coaching and layoff discussions.

Tracy Shroyer, Career Coach & Layoff Scholar

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your background and expertise?

Hello! I’m Dr. Tracy Shroyer, a passionate lifelong learner and a dedicated professional with over 27 years of experience. I’ve supported individuals through various challenges, offering guidance in career development, accountability, project management, and organization.

My journey has been marked by overcoming personal adversities, including bankruptcy, career rejection, being laid off, and surviving breast cancer. These experiences have shaped my curious mindset and my mission to inspire, teach, and connect others.

I host the “Let’s Talk About Layoffs – Navigating Careers & More” FaceBook group and podcast, where I share insights and foster discussions on continuous learning and career transitions. As of December 2023, I began the transition of my own business into a career coaching agency, titled The Career Compass Collective. This will ensure even more individuals’ career development needs are supported. My work and my story are testaments to the power of resilience and the importance of community in the face of life’s obstacles.

What inspired you to pursue your current career or field of expertise?

I’ve been fascinated with career journeys for as long as I can remember – even back to Junior Achievement in grade school. In college, I began helping friends and their family members write their resumes and haven’t stopped since. In the past few years, I realized more and more that I can have my own business and be successful. I was hesitant to walk away from my corporate job (my 27+ year security blanket), but that all changed when I was laid off in October of 2023. In the months after that traumatic experience, I realized that I now had the opportunity to focus on my business.

What are some challenges you've faced throughout your life, and how did you overcome them?

Throughout my life, I have faced several challenges that have helped me grow as a person. These range from being a mental health ally to surviving breast cancer, career rejection, bankruptcy, being laid off, and more.

One of these challenges was when I requested to take a step down from a management role. Quite a few things were going on in my life outside of work, and I realized that I needed to rebalance my work life too. The response from my manager shocked me, and I took many months after that to work through my mindset, and potential perceptions others had of me. I grew so much from that traumatic experience and found out later that it empowered others to step out of a position that wasn’t right for them.

Another challenge I faced was being laid off unexpectedly after 27 years with my company. It was out of the blue and after living by my work calendar for all those years, it hit me hard. Realizing I hadn’t been happy for a couple of months before, I shifted my mindset to one of seeing it as a blessing. It allowed me to be open to opportunities and begin to live my life differently.

Can you share your personal experience with the layoff that inspired you to dive further into career coaching and launch your platform?

I realized even more with my own layoff experience that you just never know what could happen or when. Nothing is guaranteed. That experience made me realize how important it is that we talk about layoffs. We need to talk about layoffs not only from the perspective of how to manage layoffs (which my dissertation research and book are focused on); we also need to talk about layoffs from the viewpoint of individuals who are laid off, employees who remain in an organization after a layoff, and managers that are tasked with laying off employees (even if they didn’t make the decision). In addition, I want to ensure more business executives understand the impact of layoffs on people and their families, and that layoffs are a last resort, not a first response to business challenges.

My career coaching is for all individuals needing career development support, whether that’s resume writing, LinkedIn support, career exploration, job search strategies, and more. I don’t want others to be blindsided by layoffs, no matter how they are impacted, and what I provide helps to bring awareness and offer support to ensure individuals are ready in the event they are faced with layoffs directly or indirectly.

What are some common challenges that people typically face when dealing with a layoff, and how do you address them in your coaching and content?

For individuals being laid off, the first challenge that comes to mind is anxiety and stress. I didn’t do much for at least 30 days after being laid off. You’re numb and continually thinking “WTF Just Happened.” Whether or not laid-off individuals say they are feeling anxiety or stress, their bodies typically are. In my free guide for those who have been laid off, I provide support to work through this anxiety and stress.

For employees that remain in the organization, they may have feelings of abandonment and fear of what’s next. In my free guide for these individuals, we focus on how to navigate the environment post-layoffs.

For executives who are faced with the potential for layoffs, I have a free guide with 12 alternatives to layoffs. Again, layoffs should be a last resort and not a first response when there are challenges in an organization.

For managers who need to administer layoffs (and are not really on board, or uncomfortable with the task), I have a free guide that provides them tips and best practices to ensure they are being humane in what they are doing.

One last category of individuals I recently thought of, and need to create a free guide for, is how they can support someone they know who has been laid off. I was on a call recently and the wife of a man that had been laid off a month ago wasn’t sure how to act, or when or how much grace to give him. While it’s never going to be the same for every situation, I know there are some tips to share with this audience too.

In addition to the free guides for these audiences, I dive into a variety of layoff and career development topics on the podcast, blog, and FaceBook community too, to support those experiencing these types of challenges.

Tell us more about your "Let's Talk About Layoffs" podcast. What motivated you to create this platform, and what can people expect to find there?

After creating two prior podcasts, I realized that it's only as challenging as you make it. The purpose of the "Let's Talk About Layoffs" podcast is for me to share my layoff experience with others, and to also bring in others that have experienced, or have a hand in supporting individuals who have experienced layoffs.

There are a few episodes aired as of January 2024, and I am currently lining up guests to join me and share too. Among the existing guests I've lined up are:

• individuals who were laid off and their stories,

• leaders in an organization that had to shift their learning and development strategy (and more) due to multiple rounds of layoffs in their organization in a short period,

• researchers in the field of organizational change,

• recruiters turned career coaches to share their perspectives,

• a financial advisor, to talk about what to do with a 401k, Roth, etc. when you’re laid off,

• a life insurance broker, to talk about the criticality of having life insurance that is NOT attached to the company you work for,

• an accountant/tax specialist, to talk about the impact on your taxes, especially when it comes to severance payments,

• and more!

Open to additional individuals to join me on a podcast episode to share more insight too.

How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the landscape of layoffs and career transitions, and how have you seen career coaches adapt their coaching and content accordingly?

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly reshaped the landscape of layoffs and career transitions. It triggered a wave of job losses across industries, compelling individuals to rethink their career paths and adapt to a rapidly changing job market. Remote work became the norm for many, opening up new opportunities for job seekers and transforming the traditional office-based model. Additionally, the pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of businesses, increasing the demand for skills in technology, digital marketing, and e-commerce. To remain competitive, individuals found themselves reskilling and upskilling, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning.

In response to these shifts, career coaches and professionals have had to adjust their strategies. They now focus on providing guidance for remote work success, helping clients acquire in-demand digital skills, and emphasizing the development of crucial soft skills like adaptability and communication. Moreover, they offer programs and resources for reskilling and upskilling, recognizing the necessity of staying up-to-date with evolving job requirements. Mental health support and well-being strategies have also gained prominence, acknowledging the emotional toll of career transitions amid uncertainty. Overall, the pandemic has prompted a reevaluation of career coaching and content to better serve individuals navigating the dynamic job market.

What are your future plans and goals for your career coaching and "Let's Talk About Layoffs" platforms?

I am excited about the future of my career coaching agency, The Career Compass Collective, and the “Let’s Talk About Layoffs” platform. With the career coaching agency, I am looking forward to continuing to build out a robust set of products and services to support individuals focusing on their career development. In addition, I am excited about the future of the business as I am beginning to bring in additional career coaches to support our clients. Eventually, I would like to bring in additional employees to help manage the back-end processes and marketing for the business.

With regards to the "Let's Talk About Layoffs" platform, I am excited to continue to grow the podcast, blog, and community. Whenever someone searches for insight on layoffs, I desire that they come upon these resources. Within the free community, I am excited to continue providing monthly free CareerChats on topics of interest from the group, and to begin offering paid Empowered Professional workshops to dive further into topics and integrate the opportunity for participants to not only gain knowledge but to take action, during the workshops.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and visit my website for more info!

Read more from Tracy!