Layoffs slowed down in 2024, but it is still a painful topic in the tech job market. Things are tough, it is essential to maximize your chances of protecting your job and avoiding being laid off. This article discusses how engineers and managers can protect their jobs during layoffs and how to proactively prepare yourself for inevitable changes.
- Tactics to keep your tech job safe during layoffs
- Strategies for developers to survive layoffs and be one step ahead
- How to protect job during layoffs
Due to the nature of my work I talk to those who decide whom to fire, as well as those who witness the destruction of their teams, and, finally, those who are actually fired. This is a painful process for everyone involved, even for those who keep working after layoff. Having less trust in the place you spend the biggest part of the week affects productivity and well-being.
As a result of talks with people at various roles, I came up with the list of things that help to protect job and be one step ahead.
Tactics to protect tech job during layoffs
First let’s discuss short-term tactics to protect your job during layoffs. It is relatively easy to apply suggestions below, some of them are as hard as dropping a message to your manager in Teams.
Be useful
From time to time you have to clean up your house to get rid of old and useless things. Apply the same approach to cleaning up your responsibilities and day-to-day work. Leave only valuable things, be more useful for the company in the current situation.
Ask your manager what are the problems and what to improve to help the company. Look for things to optimise cost-wise. Strengthen your reputation as an employee who cares.
Be useful during the crisis, this is a truly valued quality
Focus on business, not tech
This tactic is especially useful for engineers and architects who define the technical vision. Stop any technical things that do not bring value to the company and do not lead to financial gains. Any technical initiative has to answer two questions
- how much money it is going to save or earn
- how much effort it is going to take to complete it
Raising awareness and stopping blindly pursuing purely technical goals will positively impact your image as a person who thinks about both business and tech. This is quite rare quality, honestly, it will definitely protect job from layoffs.
Business has to make money. Help the business.
Be ready to make s**t
Usually it sounds like “temporarily changing quality requirements”. In fact it means that the company wants to speed up development of critical features and sacrifice the quality during tough times. Readiness to lower quality is not a sign of a bad engineer or manager. It is a sign of maturity and long-term thinking.
Companies pay money for the development of features needed for business, so if this decision is openly communicated, there is an agreement on temporary dip in quality metrics and increase in number of incidents and bugs, there is no reason to resist and stick to your ideals.
Perfect codebase does not help when the company is bankrupt
Strategies for developers to survive layoffs and be one step ahead
After you keep your job during tough times, it will not take long for another crisis to erupt. This is completely normal and this is how things work, you need to be ready to face it.
What if AI replaces 90% of engineers? What if the government regulations will enforce pay transparency and it destroys the tech job market?
You need to have a plan B. Let’s see what you can be ready for almost anything happening in your career and life.
Have savings
When layoff hits, there is a big difference between people who have nothing in savings and those who can sustain their life for some time. This is the most obvious advice, but it is never a bad idea to mention it.
If you have debt – pay it off or lower the credit load. If you plan a big purchase – think twice. If you have fun by investing all money into risky stocks and derivatives – maybe it is time to choose good old S&P for some time.
Despair and no savings make you blind and ready to take any job. Despair and a cushy bank account makes you conscious and pursuing your interests.
Let’s meet at X 👋
And talk any time
Have side projects, do not put eggs in one basket
Diversify your income and explore new opportunities. It does not mean that you have to go full founder mode to hit thousands of dollars in MRR in a couple of months. If you have an idea that is useful for people and it can make money, maybe it is the best time to try it. Layoffs are good for those who hire, as the costs of development might be historically low.
Counter attack layoffs and hire yourself in your enterprise
Learn and be one step ahead
There is a popular saying in “Alice in Wonderland” that you need to keep running even stay in the same place. This describes the situation in tech and in life. If you have not learned something new today, somebody else had. Constantly increase your price on the market, or, at least, keep it on the level.
Talk to people, keep an eye on technology, look at things from the perspective of business, engineering, consumers, be proactive and spot the trends.
Any crisis is change, and any change brings new opportunities
How to protect job during layoffs
Today’s tech job market is volatile, everyone is at increased risk of layoffs. This is why it is essential to adopt certain tactics and strategies to increase your job security.
As a short-term measure, become more valuable to the business by aligning work with organisational goals, focus on projects that deliver real business results, and demonstrate flexibility in quality standards to support critical projects.
For long-term resilience, cultivate and invest your time in side projects, expand your soft and hard skills, and proactively stay informed about market shifts and technological trends.
In the end, life is not about work, but it is really nice to do something you like and to be paid for it.
Be prepared for anything ahead and let’s hope for the best!
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