The 24-hour layoff export.

Brag sheet — wins, metrics, quotes

Every quarter you shipped, every metric you moved, every screenshot of a thank-you Slack. Paste into a Google Doc titled 'Wins-YourName' in your personal Drive.

Performance reviews (all of them)

Self-review, manager review, calibration notes, promo packet. HR portals disappear the moment IT revokes SSO. Download PDFs to personal email now.

Portfolio artifacts you personally made

Non-confidential decks, design files, code samples you're allowed to keep (check your IP agreement). Redact client names if unsure — you can restore later.

Contacts: colleagues + clients + recruiters

Export LinkedIn connections (Me → Settings → Data privacy → Get a copy). Email your 20 closest colleagues asking for their personal email — one line, no drama.

Calendar of the last 12 months

Screenshots or Google Takeout. Proves scope, meetings led, projects owned. Great for résumé bullet recall.

Ask 3 people for a LinkedIn recommendation TODAY

Not next week. Recommendations written the week of your exit read authentically; recommendations written 6 weeks later look like breakup posts.

Your original offer letter + equity docs

Grant agreements, vesting schedules, post-termination exercise windows (often 90 days — you may need $$$ to exercise ISOs). Save all PDFs.

Confirm your review window in writing

US ADEA (age 40+): 21 days solo / 45 days group + 7-day revocation. Under 40: whatever the offer says — always ask for more. EU/UK: statutory consultation windows apply.

Check state WARN + mini-WARN pay you may already be owed

Federal WARN: 60 days notice or pay for ≥100-employee sites. Stricter mini-WARN in CA (Cal-WARN), NY (90 days), NJ (severance + notice), IL. Owed WARN pay is separate from severance — don't let them merge it.

Run the COBRA math before you decide

COBRA typically costs 2-10× your paycheck deduction (you now pay the employer share + 2% admin). Compare to a Healthcare.gov Special Enrollment plan — layoff is a qualifying event, subsidies often apply.

Ask for unused PTO paid out

Required by law in CA, CO, MT, NE, and others. In non-mandate states it's still negotiable — most companies pay it to close the file cleanly.

Negotiate the equity acceleration + exercise window

Ask for: unvested cliff acceleration, PTE window extended from 90 days to 12+ months, or a cashless-net-exercise option. Two email sentences can be worth $20k+.

Read the release carefully — non-compete, non-disparage, non-solicit

FTC banned most non-competes but enforcement varies by state and status is in flux. Non-disparage clauses gag you publicly. If any clause blocks your next job or your ability to warn peers, push back.

Get an employment lawyer to review (flat fee $300-800)

For packages >$25k or when clauses feel off. Many offer free 15-min consults. UK/EU: employer often pays for your legal review — ask.

Get your manager on record BEFORE you leave

One 15-min call, one ask: 'Can I use you as a reference?' If yes, get their personal cell + personal email. Managers change companies too — the corporate email dies.

Get one skip-level or cross-functional reference too

A manager reference alone reads as expected. A VP + a peer PM + your manager = a defensible story.

Draft the reference bullet points FOR them

Write 3 bullets you'd love them to say — scope, biggest win, one honest weakness handled well. Send it: 'Would love a reference — happy to use these bullets or your own words.' Reference calls take 8 minutes when you make them easy.

Request LinkedIn recommendations from 3 people this week

Public recommendations survive company exits, email changes, and time. Reciprocate — write two of your own the same day.

Preserve public artifacts of your work

Public GitHub commits, published blog posts, conference talk recordings, patents. Screenshot and archive anything hosted on the company domain that may go 404 after your exit.