Beauty For Ashes

The Back Story

In a company divisional All Hands meeting, the vice president announced that "We have some organizational challenges to meet." There had been a couple of rumors of reorganizations, but they had primarily been focused on other groups more in contact with customers and less to do with internal affairs. Corporate customers had been pre-purchasing goods and services in the previous two years in anticipation of pandemic-related governmental restrictions and supply-chain upset. In 2023, the revenue dropped as customers now needed to work through their purchases and/or did not need further purchases at this time.

The Reaction

Even when you can see layoffs coming and know it is primarily a corporate financial decision, the event makes you question your value. There is an initial sense of loss, despair, and (depending on the company and team), there may even be a sense of relief. Employees worldwide, and most Americans in particular, must realize no matter how invaluable you make yourself to the company, the company has no effective loyalty to you the employee. The company exists to make money. Just because a vast expanse of work exists, does not mean that anyone will or can pay for that work to be done. This should not discourage employees from practicing their craft, but it should be a cause for reflection.

In this layoff, I initially felt frantic, isolated, and I was sad for the team struggling through yet another organizational restructure. I had some anxiety over my financial situation, since I had a mortgage and family to support, but with good prior fiscal choices, I had a few months of emergency funds to fall back on. From employment perspectives, I had fear of applying for other positions due to feeling like I had already put myself in a position of "needing" a certain salary to support my chosen lifestyle and locale which makes switching fields difficult, if not impossible. There is no doubt that it was a traumatic experience. Trauma can make you feel distressed, helpless, and trapped. So, it is important to take time to reflect.

Some Reflections

In many layers of management, there is a quest for a quantitative productivity metric because "you can't manage what you don't measure." Large organizations cannot rely on subjective perception to make employment decisions. To remain competitive for top talent, the need to make data-driven decisions that optimize performance, motivation, and development is paramount.

When management sees a paid-for product stalled and the engineer is having problems getting the deployment functional, there are basically three response options: assign it to another engineer, stop using the product and attempt a prorated refund, or get help from vendor and local subject matter experts. Sometimes the first option is quite helpful. When a different engineer is assigned the project and must work through the same problems, they approach the problem with fresh eyes and a different perspective. It helps when the original engineer will communicate that problem and additional resources (time from other engineers) are donated.

In team communications, organizations of any size will design systems that copy their communications structure. "Corpspeak" needs to translate into road maps, requirements, and task definitions and needs the feedback from the team when items are not clear. Customer communications are also an essential element of any team. It is imperative that teams clearly, concisely, and correctly disseminate the necessary information courteously to customers where they can discern information, risk, priority, or any actions to take into consideration. All of these are good lessons learned to be taken to new opportunities.

While Unemployed

It is important to do things when you would otherwise "have to run to a meeting." Do things with your family, go for a walk in the morning sunlight, cook healthy meals, socialize with neighbors and friends, knock a few things off your personal projects list - things that remind you there is more to life than work.

While there is more to life than work, you also want to invest in yourself - make sure your tools and skills stay sharp. You need to develop "Job Search" skills for this time and place in life, but you also need to do skills reviews for all the interviews you will be doing. For example, if you are in the technology space, do some code challenges, do some personal side projects like Software Defined Radios, or set up a DNS redirect on your home network, or a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system. That will help you keep some skills sharp.

Set up a schedule for yourself like you would at any profession. Dedicate time to research on companies, other fields, different sorts of occupations you might enjoy. Block out time to job applications - figuring out how to tailor the text of your resume to what the job listings are actually looking for. Spend time networking, interviewing, sending follow-up communications, and ask for help. Call your friends, family, recruiters, etc. If nothing else, talk to people, you are more than your position, you are more than what you do, and there is probably more that you could do outside your normal sphere (local handyman, small side business, etc.)

The Job Search

There are a plethora of companies always looking for all sorts of technology positions - along with, literally, "697 other applicants." It is small wonder that employers use computer systems and AI to help sort through the bog of applicants. That is the real reason (when applying online) that applicants need to tailor their resume. The systems scanning the applications need to look for key words and phrases to filter the pool down to a reasonable interview set.

While that was going on, every day there seemed to be more news of layoffs in the tech sector in particular, "IBM", "Facebook", "Google", "Glassdoor", "LinkedIn" - and the talent shuffle just kept going. The third-quarter of the calendar-year is the time when many companies need to adjust for their bottom line and employees have the most immediate impact on their books. It seems ever since companies "discovered" this tactic of layoffs, very few do substantial hiring in Q3. During Q4 and Q1, hiring picks up as the budgets get set and the talent shuffle continues. There are also companies that have listings out there for compliance purposes, but are definitely not actually hiring externally for those positions.

While applying, I kept track of the applications I had out, where the office would be, how much the position was advertised for, the link to the job description, and whether I needed to do any additional follow-up communications with the company.

The Resolution

After over 120 applications and lots of interviews over three months to many companies for in-office, hybrid, and remote positions, I accepted an offer for two primary reasons: 1) I need to support my family and medical insurance is expensive. 2) A company that uses lasers to talk to space robots is pretty cool.

There is now a whole new fire hose of information and learning to attempt to consume: How does this team operate? What tools do they use? How are the tools similar or different from tools I have used in the past? How does the team interact? What can I do that will aid this team most in achieving the goals set for it?