Change is the only constant in life.
Heraclitus
As I type this, somewhere north of a quarter million tech workers have been laid off from their positions in the past few months alone. The reasons for it vary; companies may be healthy but simply overhired. They could also be financially unwell and taking drastic steps to survive.
If you work in a technology role it’s very likely you know someone affected by this, or may even be one of these people facing down a tech layoff yourself. Regardless of why it happened, it’s important to understand that you aren’t alone. There are things you can do to help care for yourself and find your next big thing.
Layoffs come in many labels. Sometimes they’re called just that, often when the number of people being let go passes a critical number requiring an announcement. Other times they take the form of reorganizations, RIF’s, restructuring, or any number of other words CEO’s come up with to make it make sense. It doesn’t matter however, the result is the same.
Why It Happens
The first thing to know is that this is unfortunately normal. I’ve lost count of the number of layoffs I’ve been through in over two decades of working in tech. I’ve survived most of them, but have been unlucky a few times as well.
Earlier in my career the causes were easy to spot. Companies with incompetent leadership that ran themselves into the ground, or they simply lacked the revenue-generating business necessary to sustain weighty operations. When an entire company goes under it’s hard to take it personally, but in other cases it was more difficult to assess why colleagues were let go.
The harder math comes into play when you’re part of a group that doesn’t survive but others do. It can be difficult to see through this objectively, and that perception can lead to significant personal distress (more on that in a minute). What’s important to realize is that a company exists to make money, and sometimes decisions are made which affect the lives of people on that basis alone.
Where You Stand
Now I’m going to say the quiet part out loud. This is going to sound harsh, but it really can take a while to grasp it fully: you are a number in a spreadsheet. Once you get past the corporate Kool Aid, “we’re all family here” speeches, and slogans expounding the value your work creates in the world, the simple fact is that employees are a (very expensive) budget item.
Objective numerical decisions are made around money. For most businesses these choices are a last resort item, though for others it’s actually regular practice.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t do your work well. It’s important to find something you’re passionate about and do the best at it that you can. Grow and learn, and always try to become a better version of yourself. You should find importance where you work, and feel like the thing you’re helping create is useful. Just do so with a dose of reality in mind.
Self Care and Your Mental State
If a tech layoff has happened to you, it’s likely you will experience a rush of emotional response you may not be used to. This can trigger fear of the unknown, stress about finances, feelings of failure or regret, or even a sense of confusion about why this happened at all.
I want to tell you that this is all completely normal! You need to let some of it play out to allow space for your mind to move on to what’s next. Be careful though, it’s easy to let yourself get into a dark place mentally.
One of the most helpful things you can do is talk to those around you. Start with your family, though I know that can be difficult if you’re trying not to worry those at home. Look to your professional network as well! Find one or two people you trust and go from there. Grab a coffee or set up time for a call.
Get some outside perspective from people who know you; it helps crystalize your thoughts. Hearing a friendly voice of reassurance is also incredibly beneficial to your mental state.
Avoiding Harmful Behavior, and Reaching Out
Your own self care can become a problem, especially if you are predisposed to depression or anxiety – though anyone can fall prey. It’s important to control what you can when you can. Eat actual meals – when stressed our appetites tend to decrease, which means your brain has less energy and nutrients to draw from. Drink water (yes, in addition to your caffeine fix). Go outside into natural sunlight if you can.
This will sound cliche, but please avoid the substance abuse trajectory. It’s deceptively easy to start drinking excessively, chain smoke your lungs into oblivion, or even fall into drug use when stress hits the ceiling. These things only postpone the emotions for a while along with deteriorating your physical state in sometimes permanent ways.
If you feel like your emotional response is getting out of control or you’re becoming drawn to self harm of any kind (even just heavy drinking), please talk to someone! It can be as simple as reaching out to a colleague or friend so that you remember you have people who care about you.
Talk to your partner if you have one, even if you feel embarassed about what has happened. You can even reach out to me to talk if you want. Don’t hold it all in or start to believe that you can’t get past this. People have let stress from events like these build up to the point of suicide, and it should be taken seriously.
If you see someone you know starting to act or talk in ways that make you worry about their well being, talk to them. Phone, email, even a LinkedIn message, it doesn’t matter. Extend a bit of humanity and kindness. Sometimes that’s all the difference they need to come back from the abyss. After all, it’s often a cold lack of humanity driving them there.
Finding What’s Next
Once you’ve had time to process the initial thoughts and emotions, you’ll need to find new income unless you’re already set up with other sources. I strongly suggest pausing any interviews for a couple weeks to let yourself settle down.
The urge to jump right in is powerful and may seem necessary to regain control, but you still need some time to filter things out. Your prospects actually improve if you take a little while to exhale before putting your best self forward in another stressful scenario like an interview. Stress can be cumulative, so give your brain a break.
Remember that network I told you to reach out to? This in-between period is a great time to update your resume and get other people to read through it. Try to find colleagues who have some understanding of your particular field, though it isn’t totally necessary. What you’re after here are extra eyes who can look for mistakes you’re too deeply involved to see.
For example, in my last round of personal network review this process actually turned into a total rewrite of my resume. I had the content I wanted, but the format was too cumbersome. I couldn’t see it for myself but others could. Be willing to ask for and receive feedback.
Updating Your Public Profile
Once you’ve revisited your resume/CV, this is a great time to take a look at your LinkedIn profile. Ensure your work history is up to date, and take another look at your About section – particularly after others have advised you on how to best represent yourself. This section is a pitch on your skills and abilities so make sure it speaks to who you are. Recruiters and hiring managers will often read it.
I also suggest setting up the Open to Work section on LinkedIn. This lets recruiters know you’re available for something new and adds a small #opentowork image overlay to your picture. It will also let you quickly establish some search criteria including location, work type (e.g. contract, full time, etc), and some example job titles you’d like to find. From there you will get regular job search emails and notifications targeted to your preferences, and it will help highlight your profile in recruiter searches as well.
Evaluate Your Path
I encourage you to look for inspiration at this point in your life. It’s possible you were doing exactly what you wanted to, and just need to find another role like that one. I think more often though it’s common to desire something different as our own preferences and personal values evolve.
Remember that it’s your life, your career, and your possibilities! Don’t let someone else’s pre-written expectations of a career path dictate where you go. I’ve been in this game long enough to tell you that even people doing the same job title and function can have very different walks of life getting there. You Do You because nobody else will.
If you’re struggling for possibility, my suggestion is to look beyond your immediately obvious skills. What are your passions? Try seeking out employers that fit a certain mission or have values aligned with your own.
It has also never been easier to launch a business – maybe you have an idea for the next big thing. Go get it! Bounce ideas off of people you trust. Many of my own ideas were considerably improved by talking to smart people around me. Just be careful that you don’t violate any privacy or confidentiality agreements you signed previously.
Continue Being Awesome
What you need to realize is that you’re still the same badass you were before layoffs happened. The skills and drive that got you there haven’t disappeared. Quite the opposite, you’ve probably added some – plus the benefit of experience, which is one of the most valuable commodities of all.
Leverage what you know to bring your success to the next level! It’s common to let yourself get mired down in what happened, but you can do amazing things if you treat this event as the launching point to something better. Tech layoffs are a normal occurence and I don’t think they will ever get more comfortable, but if you have the right mindset going in they won’t be a surprise.
Take care of yourself and good luck! You got this.
Photo by ahmad gunnaivi on Unsplash
