Tech career coach, interview coach, and trusted confidant to Silicon Valley's top talent via CaffeinatedKyle.com. Layoffs are unpredictable. They can happen to anyone at any time in their careers. More than 100 tech companies, including the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft, cut jobs in the first month of 2024. But how exactly do you prepare for a potential layoff? Continue reading for strategies to get and stay ready for an unexpected job loss.
For starters, you want to ensure your résumé and LinkedIn profile are updated with your current role, latest skills and top career accomplishments. While it’s always good to have your career documents up to date, it’s particularly important when in a tough job market, since you don’t want to waste valuable time working on your documents that could be spent submitting applications.
If you find writing your résumé to be challenging or overwhelming, consider breaking the process into smaller chunks. This might look like carving out 20 minutes every Friday to capture and organize your accomplishments from the week.
With fewer roles attracting more applicants, it’s vital that you also get clear on your unique value proposition (UVP), or what I like to call your “fabulousness.” This is the only way to truly stand a chance and set yourself apart from the hundreds, or thousands, of people applying for the same positions as you. Thankfully, you don’t need to recreate the wheel here. Rather, you can turn to those around you and gather feedback. This can be as simple as asking your colleagues, “What makes me fabulous?”
Despite mass layoffs across the industry, tech jobs are experiencing consistent growth. Consequently, you may consider deepening your knowledge by gaining education in computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning or a similar area. Importantly, your training doesn’t need to culminate with a formal degree. Many of the job seekers I speak with share that the greatest value these programs offer is being able to better speak the language of tech.
Networking can further accelerate your job efforts, particularly if you’re in the tech industry, where open positions receive many applications. While not a silver bullet, and every company’s recruitment process is different, a referral from a current employee has the potential to increase your chances of securing an interview.
Networking can take many forms. You can begin by networking with your existing connections, which can be particularly fruitful if they have recently worked at your target company. You might also consider tapping into position-specific and industry groups, meetups and conferences. If you’re a product leader in tech, for instance, you could explore both product conferences and tech conferences.
You can also dive into your specific interests within tech, such as trust and safety, innovation or generative AI, since each of these niche conferences will allow you to deepen your knowledge base while building your network. And please don't be afraid to reach out cold to people who work at your dream companies, as I've found most contacts will respond so long as your message is kind and concise and has a clear call to action that isn’t asking too much of them.
Finally, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one job search basket. Instead, you want to diversify your efforts and widen your prospect funnel. Here’s what that might look like at a high level:
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile.
- Apply to open positions online.
- Talk with headhunters in your niche.
- Build relationships and network with industry colleagues.
- Write thought leadership pieces and speak at industry conferences.
While it can be stressful to think about a potential layoff, it’s best to be prepared and proactive, rather than caught off guard. You’ve got this!
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