Always Be Preparing for the Next Opportunity
Always Be Preparing for the Next Opportunity
It's a new world in IT. With massive layoffs happening, you could be excelling at your job and still find yourself out on the job market. You need to start preparing for your next opportunity now. It is taking people multiple months to find jobs, and they are competing with hundreds of others in the same position. You will need something to stand out, and now is the time to start working on it.
I wrote about the need to chaos engineer your life in an earlier article. It's about assuming the worst situation and making sure you are prepared.
Let's run the simulation now:
You just got laid off.
What are you going to do next?
Who are you going to talk to?
What will you need to "freshen up"?
What will you do to stand out?
What is your interview plan?
All of these things can be answered today. You don't even need to start interviewing and actively job searching, but that may be a good option if you feel like you are in a situation where layoffs are likely.
The Basics
There are a few things you can do to make sure you have the basics covered:
Keep your CV up-to-date quarterly. As you finish goals, add them to your LinkedIn profile.
Keep an eye on job opportunities. Which companies are hiring? Do you know people who work there? Stay in contact with them so that if you need their help, you already have a good relationship.
Look at the skills and qualifications mentioned in job descriptions and make sure you are building that experience.
Interview
This can be time-consuming, so I would recommend it only if you feel that your risk of a layoff is high but you are happy at your current job.
Go through the interview process if you can secure an interview.
If you can't get an interview, you need to figure out why. It's better to know now than when you are out of a job.
If you get the interview, use it as an opportunity to practice. Figure out what the company is looking for and anticipate the questions you will be asked.
Use this experience to improve your current job. Build the skills and experience that the job market is seeking and make sure you have answers to common interview questions.
Advanced
This substack is part of my advanced strategy. I am laying the groundwork in case I need to stand out. I will have months and hopefully years of writing about my own philosophy and methodology when it comes to leadership and management. I will have built connections through the act of putting myself out there repeatedly.
Find your own niche. Build a community. Imagine if you could be known as the "angular component guy" and someone needs a frontend developer. Your name might even be recognized by the team who is interviewing you. There are lots of small niches, areas of technology that can have a public champion. Find those and create content. It might take a few months, but you don't want to be trying to create content while you are actively job hunting. You want to leverage it while you are on the hunt.
Good luck to all of those out there looking for jobs. I know it is hard. If you have a job, now is the time to think about your next opportunity, even if you are happy and committed to your current one. To do otherwise would create a vulnerability that Murphy will exploit.
If you liked this, consider subscribing to my Substack. I publish an article about software engineering and software engineering management every Tuesday. If you want even more, consider joining my paid content where I am writing a course in real time about making the jump from developer to manager.