Job security

Meta (ex Facebook) just rescinded a bunch of already signed job offers in their London office. That is after they already eliminated ~13% of their staff last November. Amazon recently layed off about 18,000 people. Whole lot of other tech companies are either freezing their hiring or laying people off.

People say that the era of low interest rates and basically free investment money is over. During the past three years a lot of company experienced huge growth and overhired as a result. Amazon more than doubled their staff since 2019, from 798,00 to 1,608,000 in 2021. And now, a lot of folks are expecting a recession soon and companies are tightening their wallets. Being profitable is suddenly a valuable thing again and burning money is not an option.

What should we do as tech workers right now? Should we be worried?

Well, I suggest we focus on things within our control. If the company is going down - that's really out of your hands. But there are a few things that you can try to do in order to feel safer in your career.

First, focus on essential skills. And not just technical. Soft skills, hard work, and great work ethics are great indicators of a valuable employee.

Second, take initiative, make decisions, and take resposibility. Decisiveness and initiative can carry you very far. If you take on the problems others don't want to do - you will be an incredible asset to any company.

Third, communication makes wonders. Talk to people, learn things, be aware of a broader context of your work. A lot of folks are very comfortable in that one project they know and own, and don't take any chances exploring further. Usually that means that if that project is at risk of budget cuts - they have nowhere else to go. Learning about what other people do and getting connections and extra knowledge means you can be helpful elsewhere too!

Even disregarding the economic situation, I believe the skills mentioned above are just a generally good approach in any career. They will make your a better engineer and will help you advance and get promoted.

Hope that this helps and that everyone stays safe and sound in these troubled times!

This post is part of the #100days project, where I try to write a post a day. Today is #day13