Dear Lucy,
I work at a MAANG and have been there for a little over a year. With the recent rounds of mass layoffs from Google, Meta, Amazon, etc I'm very concerned for my job. I'm in a non-tech role and I feel like companies are moving back to basics focused on tech roles that are most relevant when "trimming the fat", and I'm also worried about being "last in, first out". I am sometimes crippled by anxiety late at night as I doom scroll through Blind. Do you have any advice for me? I have an 8-months old baby at home.
Thank you,
Very Worried
Works at: Google
Dear Very Worried,
You have every reason to feel the way you do. The threat is real, and the anxiety is real. I'm sure you have to deal with internal "crabs in a bucket" as everyone is rushing to take their cuts of project impact, regardless of whether they deserve them or not. In addition the news these days don't help - they love to dump on tech giants in an almost schadenfreude fashion.
Here are some tips I can offer. Many people I know personally and my coachees too have been on the receiving end of layoffs, so I see some approaches being more successful than others.
1. Prepare for the logistics regardless of your future
During times of uncertainty, nothing is more reassuring than taking action. The worst thing you can do is to sit on your hands and leave your fate to a higher power. Do an exercise instead - imagine you suddenly got notified today that you are being laid off - what are the things that bring you the most anxiety? Is it losing the critical work files to a locked computer so you can't retrieve them ever again? Is it lack of clarity on what happens with all your benefits? Is it applying for unemployment insurance? Is it not knowing how to sign up for COBRA? Make a list, write it down, then whenever you have time, start gathering information for yourself. Any kind of change will always put our brains in a threat mode, and we tend to think it's worse than it actually is. Breaking it down into tactical actions can help manage this threat and put yourself in a more proactive position to handle whatever may come.
2. Start your job search now and never stop
Job searching is a skill, and like all skills, it needs to be practiced and honed. In my career I've processed many, many rounds of corporate restructuring and often those employees getting hit the hardest are the ones who are most tenured, who are "lifers" at the company, who couldn't possibly imagine leaving the company or doing any other job. It costs to be comfortable and capitalism is not going to remind you of this until it is too late. There is no loyalty in this market (not that there ever has been any other time). Update your resume, never stop networking, always say yes to recruiters. Interviews are a dance of various scenarios and unless you get loads of practice especially under real pressure, you're not going to easily navigate your path in the moment because it won't feel natural. Also, aren't you curious about what you could be making? I've seen many candidates who have been re-energized by actively entering the interview process (again), in addition to finding reassurance of the values they bring to a role by putting themselves on the market.
3. Go easy on yourself
Layoffs happen all the time and it is never a reflection of who you are - just the cyclical nature of the market. While we tend to think it is one of the worst kinds of rejection there is and rather hopeless in nature, people do find jobs again! It helps now to practice holding this mindset - this will help strengthen your network with even those who have just been laid off (practically many talented folks at MAANG companies end up doing spectacular things after the reins have been cut) instead of unconsciously being judgmental, and also practice a certain gracefulness with yourself and the world at large. Changes are always beautiful moments of opportunity, and layoffs are no different. In many ways, I'm sure you will admit that it would be a blessing in disguise.
Layoffs are never easy - personally we had immigrated from China to Canada circa the 2000 dotcom crash and it was so hard to see the pressure my parents were putting on themselves to still offer me a good life. But we eventually did make it through and they were able to financially support me through college, graduate school, and buy our family home. There is always hope and the important thing is to not let external events define you.
Many hugs,
Lucy