Field guides · free · no signup
The season after a layoff, mapped calmly.
Practical reference for the paperwork, the money, the story, and the nervous system. Written for operators in transition — no hustle theater, no toxic positivity, nothing gated behind an email address.
01 · Threshold
The first 48 hours after a layoff
Stillness before tooling. What actually needs to happen in the first two days — and the long list of things that genuinely can wait.
7 min read
02 · Paperwork
Negotiating severance, calmly
What's typically negotiable in a severance agreement, how review timelines usually work, and when it's worth consulting an employment attorney.
8 min read
03 · Benefits
COBRA vs. marketplace coverage
How continuation coverage and marketplace special enrollment actually work after a job ends, and how to compare them without panic.
7 min read
04 · Benefits
Filing for unemployment, without the dread
How unemployment insurance generally works, why you should file promptly, and what to expect from the process — state by state, it varies.
6 min read
05 · Money
Runway math for a calm search
How to turn severance, savings, and monthly burn into one number you can trust — so money anxiety stops making your career decisions for you.
7 min read
06 · Interviews
Explaining a layoff in interviews
Dignity-first scripts and reframes for the 'so what happened?' question — brief, honest, and pointed firmly at what comes next.
7 min read
07 · Learning
Rebuilding your skills with AI, at your pace
A practical, hype-free starting map for learning AI, code, and data during a career transition — small daily reps over heroic sprints.
8 min read
08 · Recovery
Layoff grief, identity, and the nervous system
Why a layoff can feel like losing a person, why your body reacts the way it does, and what gentle recovery actually looks like.
8 min read
09 · Narrative
LinkedIn, references, and owning your story
Announcing (or not announcing) a layoff, lining up references before you need them, and keeping narrative control through the transition.
7 min read
If a guide isn't enough
Datum is the quiet room behind these pages.
The free tier opens with the same pacing the guides describe: one deliberate action a day, a private vault, learning paths for AI, code, and data — and permission to stop.
Prefer the argument to the checklist? Read Field Notes, our essays on the category itself.