A guide to navigating layoffs as a tech worker (new blog post)
Just got laid off from your tech job? Here are some best practices that we learned from talking to many other tech workers who were laid off
This is just a summary, but you can read the full blog post for free here
❤️🩹 Step 1. Recover
Don’t blame yourself
Layoffs are mostly random, and nobody is ever safe.
Check out how many L9 level and VPs got laid off at big tech companies recently!
Don’t sign the separation agreement without a meticulous review!
Check the math. Talk to an attorney. Collaborate with your colleagues. We have heard countless stories of massive errors being spotted in these documents (shocker: these errors are almost never in the employee’s favor!)
H1B addendum
Keep in mind there’s a 60-day grace period as well as a 10-day LCA certification when you accept a new offer.
This Linkedin post outlines details you should be aware of if you’re on H1B
📝 Step 2. Organize
Join alumni communities
Most tech companies have alumni Slack communities, with tons of resources.
In addition to alumni/company communities, our friend Stephanie Sakoda has a great newsletter and community for folks who were recently laid off.
Evaluate finances
If you do choose to hold significant cash, it’s a good idea to take advantage of current high interest rates by parking the majority of your cash in a high-interest account. Some places that are currently paying high rates on cash:
Interactive Brokers (4%+)
Wealthfront (4.55% as of May 8 2023)
Learn/prepare
This is a great time to grow and learn new skills that you’d never have the freedom to pursue when your days are occupied by a full-time job!
Specifically for software engineers (Chris and Steven are both career SWEs, so this is our bread and butter):
We love Taro- they are building the discussion platform for career advice. Use this link for 20% off a yearly subscription. (Once you do join a company, you can likely expense this subscription with the Learning and Development budget, if they provide one).
You can follow them on LinkedIn for great career content as well
Rahul Pandey & Alex Chiou — Taro cofounders who post very helpful career & job search insights
We also love The Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter
💼 Step 3. Job search
General job search methods
When it comes to robo recruiters, Hired.com is a great option. They have a very efficient process and lots of employers on the platform.
For job sites, everyone knows Indeed.com. We’ve heard very positive things about ZipRecruiter for tech positions as well.
Niche job boards
Niche job boards lessen choice paralysis and give you more details about companies with respect to a certain dimension or vertical
focuses on new grads/entry-level tech jobs
General interviewing resources
If you're a software engineer, check out Steven’s article outlining how he landed 18 FAANG+ software engineer offers after not interviewing for 5 years. The article is tailored toward software engineers but much of the article is applicable to everyone.
Kadima Careers has great resources for job search in general. You can follow Alan, the founder, for free content on LinkedIn
This is just a summary, but you can read the full blog post for free here
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