Over 200 thousands of tech workers were being laid off globally this year. If you are one of them, here are some advice for you on how you should approach it and what practically you could do to be successful in your next step.  

Accept what had happened

Many people chose to respond to a layoff event with denial just because they don’t like it. They might shy away from friends and other acquaintances. They will be telling themselves, ‘It can’t be happening on me!’, ‘They must be making the wrong judgement letting me go but not XYZ, look, they will regret it!’ These thoughts will not serve them well. 

Jon Kabat-zinn said, ‘acceptance is seeing the actuality of things.’ Let yourself come to terms with what had happened to you. Choose to focus on what is within your control and knowing what is beyond is the first step to get your feet on the ground.

Tips: 

• Understanding how the macro environment has shaped this layoff event help you process it better and stop grinding yourself for being laid off. (link to the other article)
• List out what value you had created for your employers and update your CV and LinkedIn. 
• Change your LinkedIn status to ‘Open for jobs’. 
• Tell your friends and network that you are looking for jobs.
• Talk to a recruiter. 

Be resilient

It is okay to take a short break to recuperate from the shock of being laid off, but the faster you can bounce back the easier you can land on another job. 

Tips: 

• Most layoff events happen before the big holidays, and while people tend to put off their job application until the holiday is over, Vicki Salemi, expert at Monster.com says, ‘job seekers will have less competition when they apply considering majority of people pause their search until January. Don’t wait’. 
• You will be four times more likely to be hired when you apply in the first 10 minutes when a job is posted, so get all your documents ready and set up job alerts.  

Be wise

Be resilient doesn’t mean you need to thoughtlessly apply to whatever jobs available. A layoff event is the perfect occasion for you to plan and pivot your career path. Take the time to reflect on what matters most to you and how you want the next job to bring you to a new level.

Tips: 

• Draw a blueprint on your career to help yourself seeing how your experience is contributing to that. On this, we recommend Elaine Welteroth’s master class. 
• List out your professional and personal goals and work out a plan on how you want to achieve them.

Be openminded

Industrial structures are reconfiguring itself for more sustainable growth. Don’t be disheartened though. It is reported that tech workers are still in high demand. According to a LinkedIn expert, there are currently 3.5 million open roles in Asia- Pacific in sectors not limited to tech, such as professional services, retail, healthcare and financial services. Your tech skills could be used to drive innovation and grow other ‘non-tech’ sectors. 

Tips: 

• Don’t filter your job search with ‘sectors’, ‘employers’, and pay more attention to the job descriptions than ‘job titles’ as titles tend to vary across sectors. 
• List out all your skills on LinkedIn. Skills have become the new currency and ‘skill-first’ approach to hiring is on the rise. According to LinkedIn data, 40 per cent of hirers on LinkedIn explicitly used skills data to fill open roles in 2022, up 20 per cent year over year. These hirers are also 60 per cent more likely to find a successful hire than those not relying on skills as part of the hiring process. 

Be realistic

Although working for big tech companies have become the hallmark, or even end-goal of many people, it is time to reflect on the vanity of it. Acknowledge the fact that growth in tech industries will slow down significantly. The boom time for tech is over. Peter Kafka called the layoffs a culture reset, working in the Silicon Valley or in the tech companies will not give the same halo anymore. 

Tips: 

• List out your financial needs and work out how much time you have before you secure another job.
• Study the industry and salary statistics and don’t blindly ask for salary increment when you want to land on a job quickly.
• Instead of seeing ‘tech’ as the end-goal, identify the intrinsic values in the projects that you have worked on, or you wanted to work on. This should lead you to other opportunities that align with your values and life purpose.