Recession tips from old timers
Hey all, having spent some time on blind the last couple of weeks, it's becoming super clear that most of the website skews relatively young and y'all haven't lived through a recession as a member of the workforce. As a sort of an old timer who worked through 2008, I have some thoughts. Others who have 12+ YoE please feel free to chime-in. Before y'all jump on me for working for Airbnb, I'd like to clear up that yes, Airbnb is impacted by COVID, but so is all of travel and a ton of other industries. This is a once in a lifetime Black Swan event. Remember that careers span 30+ years (at least). To base a career decision purely on this would be just as bad as putting all your life's savings into a high performing stock in a bull market. 1. The bread and butter of other "it girls" of tech like SNAP, Google, and Facebook are advertisement. When a recession hits, the first cost-center that's looked at critically is marketing. Advertising dollars will drop, and so will top-line revenue. My point for bringing this up is to let you know that no industry is free from impact. So just find a company you fundamentally believe in long term and try to stick it out by creating impact for the company. 2. Even when you are individually creating impact, sometimes entire orgs are let go in RIF (Reduction In Force) - this is truly outside your control. So always keep an eye on the job market, keep your resume updated, and your interviewing skills in good shape (this is good advice in general, but especially useful during a recession). 3. Since the early 2010s, the tech industry has been on a tear in terms of growth and TC. This might slow down. So just have realistic expectations, be willing to take jobs that you may currently consider "beneath" you. I took a significant pay cut during the 2008 recession when I had to start a new job in 2009, but in retrospect I learned a lot and learned to always count my blessings. Finally, this too will pass. We will get through it. I know it doesn't seem like it when you're in the middle of it, but we felt this in 2008, we felt like there was no way we're coming out of this, but we did. The fundamental power of tech to transform the world isn't going to go away just like finance and investment banking didn't go away after 2008. #career #tech #recession
Good advice, never stop interviewing. Probably the best thing said in this entire thread. Learning to sell (yourself) is key to leveraging opportunities
Yeah I interview all the time. I had a manager who felt I was betraying them. I said it made me a better resource to him.
My advice is to interview at least twice a year. For practice and also because you never know what’s out there. I fell off that wagon since I joined Expedia several years ago and am finding it very hard to get in the gear again. But during 2008 crisis I doubled my TC because of this habit.
Pragmatic and thanks for sharing these. Job loss is real, losing job is tough on anyone, so is living in constant anxiety of losing job. It happens to the best of people. I don't wish it on anyone but if you end up being the unlucky one , please take it in your stride and don't ever constantly beat yourself up for it. To the great points above. Always save some money for the bad days, ensure you can look after yourself for 6 months at least, without a job, this is even more important if you have a family. Health is important, get out of the couch, exercise, stay fit. If you are healthy that's half the battle won. Nothing is permanent, success or failure. So be kind and be nice to people. I know of a family friend, who was Director in one of the tech companies, that got let go, he struggled but stared working in real estate. He stayed put even when he didn't make enough money back in 2008-2010 time in real estate, with time he got so successful, he made enough money and never looked for a job in the IT industry. Open yourself up, explore, best time to explore because, you hardly have anything to lose.
Wow- I actually picked our realtor because not only did he have years of experience and massive reputation behind him but he came from tech //same story
Graduated just after dot com boom and ended up going the self employed route for about 8 years - it’s easier than ever to start up a side gig so that’s a good idea for some income you can easily save and might carry you through.
I had everything crash down in 2008 and didn’t claw my way out until 2012. The point about working for a company you believe in is key, but also working is not beneath you. Some people on here act like there’s a hierarchy of people and some are just better than others. Recessions bring this falsehood down and show the truth. No job is beneath you. Supporting yourself and your family is the first priority. Even if it’s for a massive pay cut. If you’re smart, hard working, and make prudent decisions over the next decade, you’ll end up just fine with a great TC. If you worked in tech and after 2008 you were assistant manager at a fast food restaurant, you know who didn’t care? Hiring managers. Better to see you worked through adversity than you didn’t work at all.