Question: As a student who’s majoring in a tech-related field, I’m seeing a lot of layoffs in the news and on LinkedIn. What does this mean for my career goals? Do you have any tips on how to navigate this changing industry?
Answer: For the last several years, we’ve been experiencing a tech talent shortage. There were more roles open than qualified people to fill them. This created a very competitive environment from a company perspective, leading them to over-hire and offer all-time-high compensation packages. From a candidate perspective, finding a job in tech was fairly easy because dozens of roles were open at any given time. Candidates had the upper hand, and companies were left to fight amongst themselves to attract the best talent to their organization.
Toward the end of 2022, however, we saw a paradigm shift. Companies started to lay off talent in droves as they became over-leveraged. It was no longer feasible to over-hire and over-compensate; as a result, the mass layoffs to cut costs began.
Presently, candidates no longer have the upper hand because in many disciplines within the tech space, there are more candidates than open roles. The hiring process has become extremely competitive, and candidates need to come more prepared than ever before.
With thousands of people from various disciplines within tech now unemployed, the future of tech related industries can seem grim for students getting ready to start their careers—but rest assured, all is not lost. These tips will help you understand and prepare for the road ahead.
Tip #1: Leverage LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most powerful tool candidates and prospective candidates can utilize. Linkedin gives candidates a way to speak directly with recruiters and decision makers. Sending connection requests to recruiters and hiring managers at companies of interest is a great way to stay up to date on open roles within that organization, and it allows for an opportunity to engage with potential decision makers.
It is also important to be active on LinkedIn. This can be done by sharing articles relevant to your industry, creating your own content and engaging with posts from your connections. With hundreds of candidates applying for a single role, it is important to find a way to stand out, and LinkedIn can do just that. It is never too early to start building connections on LinkedIn.
Tip #2: Be Resilient
Candidates entering the job market will have an uphill battle when it comes to finding a position, and that is largely due to the high number of candidate applications submitted for open roles. It is not uncommon to see a job opening on LinkedIn that has 200 applications submitted. It is important to not get discouraged by the number of applicants applying to a given role.
Come up with a set number of job openings you want to apply to weekly, and focus on hitting that application goal. Be sure to apply to roles that match your skill set and background. The market is highly competitive, but as long as candidates are consistently applying to roles that they are interested in and qualified for, they will be successful.