Sailing through the recession
The recession can be tough for job searchers as well as people who are on the job.
The recession has been here for ~2.5 years now. Waking up every day with layoff news and news about lowest placement record in top institutes has been a constant. The situation is bad for everyone - big enterprises, startups and of course employees. The market has been “fixing” for a long time now and there is no estimate on when this all will end. To top all of it, the advances in AI have been making people worry about being “replaced”, so what do we do? This newsletter issue is a rundown of personal experiences and learnings from various folks in the industry.
Before I get into the details, let us not forget how employees have been treated - A significant percentage were laid off via email, some companies hired "bouncers" to escort employees out the door, and others woke up the next day unable to log in, only to realize their time at the company had ended. These incidents serve as reminders that IT IS JUST A JOB. No matter how hard you work or contribute, during hard times those hardly matter, and you are treated like a “resource” who needs to be cut down to save money. I wrote about this in one of my previous issues, you can read it here.
Now, back to the topic. So how do you sail through the recession that is going to stay for who knows how long?
Let me start with people who are fresh out of college, or willing to start a new career:
The good old way of hiring no longer works(where you print some pattern, and get asked basic questions). The market expectations are very very high (even for a fresher), so you need to be a good generalist. Companies want somebody who can get the job done and is quick to pick up skills.
Now is the time to put your creativity into action. Applying for a job that you really want? Be creative! Find ways to stand out from other candidates. I have seen folks contribute to code (if the company has open-source projects or is open-source), and make video resumes showcasing their skills. You need to put in some extra work to get shortlisted from the pool of thousands of applicants.
Things like cold emailing/DMs have worked in the past (for me as well), you can try too, but do not expect to get the same results as other folks. It was good as long as it was unique. Now, even cold emails are templated, and recruiters/hiring managers tend to ignore them.
The final tip is - be vocal about your skills. Build projects, and demos, write about them, talk to people who are in the same industry, and build connections. This is a long process but will help you in the long run as well.
Now, coming to the group who already has a job, and knows the drill, I know most of you wake up anxious every day thinking “Do I still have a job?”
While you cannot make yourself recession-proof, these tips will have you prepared:
First things first, save a part of your salary and have a decent runaway. This will help you panic less if you are caught up in a situation like this.
Next up, find time for yourself. Tech as a domain demands time. You need to be always learning and upskilling. Build a project, do a certification, take a course - whatever works for you.
We all love a comforting job, don’t we? But, do not choose this over learning. Dennis wrote it in a better way 👇
Finally, call your own shots. Nobody knows it better than you about what you want to do next. In all fairness, at this point, even I do not know what I want or where I see myself in the next five years. You can either chat with your peers to learn from them or find a mentor and seek guidance, you may also take up a career coach who can guide you.
With that, I end my monologue. I hope there is something that you could take away from this issue.
P.S. - I write a newsletter issue every month, if you have any topic suggestions for me, send a DM to @HaimantikaM