US designer goes from divorce, sudden job loss to building a layoff support tool using Claude AI

When Amanda Snyder Cathey, a senior product designer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, lost her job at a real estate tech company, it was the second of three major life disruptions in a matter of weeks.

However, instead of succumbing to the post-layoff “fog”, she channelled her experience into building a free tool designed to help others navigate the complexities of sudden unemployment.

Cascade of crises

According to a Business Insider report, February brought a wave of upheaval for Cathey.

The day after finalising her divorce, she was laid off from the company where she had worked for five years. Though she knew job cuts were possible, her former employer had gone through several rounds of them, and the news was still a shock.

The instability quickly compounded.

Just weeks later, her landlord forced her to move out rapidly due to a septic issue at her rental home. Meanwhile, her oldest of three daughters was preparing to start college in the fall, forcing Cathey to reapply for financial aid at every prospective school, a reflection of her drastically reduced income.

Having successfully bounced back from a previous layoff without needing unemployment benefits, Cathey knew this time would require a different approach.

Recognising that the current job market would necessitate a longer financial runway, she took time off to regroup and avoid feeling like a “deer in the headlights”.

Identifying a widespread need

The inspiration for her next step came during a late-night brainstorming session with a friend, Cathey told BI. She was looking for ways to build something using artificial intelligence, as her recent job interviews consistently asked about her practical application of AI tools.

Drawing from her own frustrating search for post-layoff resources, and noticing a surge of people on LinkedIn struggling with similar issues, she identified the perfect use case: a comprehensive layoff support platform.

Demystifying the process

The result is RIF Surfer, a one-stop website that allows individuals to search by state for essential resources. The platform directs users to information on:

• Unemployment benefits
• Health insurance and coverage
• Food assistance
• Mental health resources

Including mental health support was a priority for Cathey, who notes that losing a job delivers a severe blow to a person's self-confidence.

RIF Surfer also features a post-layoff checklist and highlights crucial information that Cathey herself found surprising. The platform aims to demystify complex rules, such as the fact that individuals can still qualify for Medicaid, or that receiving a severance package does not necessarily disqualify someone from receiving unemployment benefits.

‘Vibe-Coding’ a solution

Despite being a designer rather than an engineer, Cathey built RIF Surfer in just one week by “vibe-coding” with the AI assistant Claude. Treating the AI as a cognitive partner, she told BI found the process natural, comparing it to the familiar role of an art director.

Inspired by the utilitarian, straightforward design of the gov.uk benefits finder, she kept RIF Surfer's interface basic and functional. The project was also incredibly cost-effective. Aside from her standard Claude subscription, her only expense was roughly $50 in usage fees incurred one night when she hit her limit but was too engrossed in the build to stop.

Soft landing

Cathey planned to keep RIF Surfer free for individual users. While she sees potential to monetise the platform by white-labeling it for enterprise companies or outplacement firms to tailor for their departing employees, her primary goal is community support, according to BI.

For now, the site is a free resource designed to help professionals bounce back. As Cathey puts it, it offers a soft landing while we all learn how to surf this wave.