There's No Such Thing as Job Security: Three Lessons on Layoffs

21 Aug 2023 #career

I’ve been laid off more than once.

I know how it feels. I know that momentary feeling of relief followed by the uncertainty of a “What am I going to do now?”

If you haven’t been living under a rock, I bet you have heard the news about layoffs in the tech industry.

They’re so common these days that there’s even a page to report and track companies laying off their people: layoffs.fyi.

Some days ago, I got a message from a close friend who was laid off. These are three the lessons I’ve learned on layoffs I shared with her.

1. Job security is an illusion

I don’t know who makes us believe there’s such a thing as “job security.” That’s an illusion.

In my early days at college, I thought the safest route was being an employee. I was so wrong! I only needed being laid off once to change my mind.

We could lose our jobs anytime for reasons we don’t and can’t control. A pandemic, a company going bankrupt, or a recession.

Based on layoffs.fyi, the site that tracks layoffs I just told you,

• 165,269 US tech employees lost their job in 2022,
• 263,180 in 2023, and
• 89,193 in 2024 until May.

The real question is when it will happen, not if it will ever happen to us. We’re better off preparing for that.

2. Have an emergency fund

I can’t stress this enough. This one of the things I wished I had learned earlier: have an emergency fund.

An emergency fund is enough savings to cover our essential expenses for some time. The longer, the better.

That’s the breathing room until you figure out something.

And it’s the difference between being picky about the next job or accepting anything to pay the bills.

3. Always be ready

Let’s always have our CVs updated. Stay in touch with our colleagues and ex-coworkers. Build our professional network.

Let’s always be ready for an interview. Have our data structures and “tell me about yourself” muscles in shape.

Interviewing is broken, I know! But let’s always be ready to leave.

Don’t wait for a layoff to establish an online presence and grow your network. By then, it will be too late.

Voilà! Those are my thoughts about layoffs. I learned that after losing a job, there’s always a positive change. That takes us out of our comfort zone. “Pastures are always greener on the other side,” I guess.

For more career lessons, read these five lessons I learned in my first five years as a software engineer and ten lessons learned after one year of remote work.

Happy coding!