A laid-off Grubhub worker created a tracker to help others find jobs. 18 months later, recruiters are learning from it.

Irvin Thevaranjan was blindsided by his layoff.

The time before, the caput of governance consequence and controls at transportation work Grubhub had a stellar capacity reappraisal pinch his boss, who told him that he had tons of opportunities successful beforehand of him astatine the company.

Less than a time later, though, he recovered himself connected a telephone wherever astir participants weren't visible, and nary 1 could unmute themselves. "That's erstwhile I was for illustration 'Oh crap, this is the incorrect telephone to beryllium on,'" he said.

In the hours afterward, Thevaranjan started piecing together a database of the hundreds of others who mislaid their jobs astatine Grubhub that time successful February 2025. Then, he had an idea: What if he created a database of everyone who was laid disconnected that time to thief them find caller opportunities?

One-and-a-half years later, Thevaranjan still runs the Ex-Grubhub Talent Network, which has listed 326 laid-off alumni looking for activity aft layoffs. Most person recovered caller jobs, according to the tracker.

"Irvin makes it his individual ngo to get everybody employed," said Paul de Lucena, a erstwhile Grubhub worker and web member.

Workers astatine tech companies from Amazon to Meta to Uber person faced layoffs this year. Many person to fig retired what's adjacent pinch their ain networks — or, perhaps, pinch immoderate thief from a group chat of chap laid-off labor that goes acheronian aft a period aliases two.

Thevaranjan's web represents thing different, according to erstwhile Grubhub labor and others who person interacted pinch it: A grassroots effort to supply the support that's typically lacking aft a layoff.

From the 'empathy window' to a tracker

The astir publically visible portion of the web is a tracker that Thevaranjan built to showcase laid-off labor and their acquisition to imaginable employers.

There's besides a Slack workspace wherever laid-off workers commiserate complete the occupation search, stock links to unfastened roles, and station astir their hobbies. Grubhub workers who were much precocious laid disconnected tin besides subordinate the group by filling retired a Google Form that Thevaranjan and different administrators review.

Thevaranjan said he sewage the thought from Kristen Ubaldi, the erstwhile main group serviceman astatine Groupon. Ubaldi created a akin database and promoted it pinch the thief of Groupon's executives aft the institution laid disconnected labor successful 2020.

Originally, the Ex-Grubhub Network was mostly astir helping folks navigate the days aft the layoff, Thevaranjan told Business Insider. He recalled introducing a laid-off workfellow to a recruiter astatine Reddit, wherever Thevaranjan had antecedently interviewed, the aforesaid time arsenic they were laid off.

"It's not moreover astir getting him a job," Thevaranjan said. "It's the truth that he feels supported."

Thevaranjan said he drew connected his skills arsenic an auditor to create the database of laid-off employees. To get much eyes connected it, though, he tagged immoderate of Grubhub's executives successful a LinkedIn station days aft the layoffs.

"I telephone it the empathy window, this short play of clip wherever group consciousness bad for you," he said.

As Thevaranjan kept promoting his effort connected LinkedIn, the web attracted much laid-off Grubhub labor — arsenic good arsenic others willing successful what he was doing.

Katie Cavote, a erstwhile recruiter astatine Grubhub, said she advised Thevaranjan connected really to make the web much charismatic for recruiters astatine different companies to use. The 2 ne'er knew each different erstwhile they were still astatine Grubhub.

People who oversee hiring are often looking for candidates from a circumstantial institution aliases pinch a circumstantial background, Cavote said. The locator sorts laid-off workers by specialty to make that easier.

"Recruiters are getting imaginative these days successful uncovering the correct talent," she said.

C.J. Cross, who worked successful workforce analytics astatine Grubhub, mislaid his occupation successful the aforesaid 2025 layoffs arsenic Thevaranjan. That summer, he started a caller occupation astatine Uber acknowledgment to a referral he sewage from the Ex-Grubhub Network.

When he sewage laid disconnected again earlier this period arsenic portion of Uber's cuts, he rejoined the community. "The very first point I did was spell backmost to the Grubhub group chat," he said.

Anne Stamer, a profession modulation coach who led webinars for the ex-Grubhub Network, said that large profession networking sites for illustration LinkedIn supply tons of imaginable connections for precocious laid-off workers.

With millions of members, though, it tin besides beryllium overwhelming to devise a strategy that leads to a caller job. "It's a double-edged sword," she said.

Tamara Pohle, different career-transition advisor who led webinars for the group pinch Stamer, said she hasn't seen different layoff support group past arsenic agelong arsenic the web that Thevaranjan created.

A watercourse of tech layoffs complete the past fewer years shows really weakened the connections betwixt companies and their labor person become, Pohle said. The layoffs person besides made the connections that Thevaranjan's group provides moreover much important.

"Genuine quality relationship has ne'er gone stale," she said.

Ubaldi, the erstwhile Groupon main group serviceman who created a akin database of laid-off employees, told Business Insider that she wanted to make it clear that the layoffs weren't the workers' fault.

More companies should usage their networks to thief the group they're laying off, she said.

"I don't cognize why much don't," she said.

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