About 9% of tech workers feel confident in their job security, according to a June survey from the anonymous professional networking site Blind.
Undoubtedly, labor market fears are fueled by months of headlines about hiring freezes, job offers being canceled and wholesale layoffs from growing startups and tech giants alike, including Robinhood and Oracle.
In the year More than 32,000 people will be laid off from the US tech sector by 2022, according to data from Crunchbase.
Today’s lack of confidence in the job market represents a 180-degree change from months ago, said Rick Chen, head of public relations for the Blind. In March, 80% of tech workers had confidence in the job market and were considering looking for a new job.
News of layoffs has hit tech workers in a variety of industries, especially e-commerce, real estate and businesses closely tied to the stock market, which saw significant growth in 2021 during the Covid-19 recovery, but are feeling heightened volatility in today’s economy.
Employee job security concerns have increased with companies announcing layoffs in recent months. Companies with the highest share of highly concerned employees in the blind survey conducted on June 20 and 21 include Compass, with 95% feeling less confident about their job security, as well as Twitter (91%), Robinhood (90%), Instacart ( 90%) and Coinbase (83%).
Employees are taking their worries online, Chen says: Hiring and hiring discussions doubled in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 2021, with conversations including the word “failure” increasing 15 times.
Tech workers ‘being taken away within weeks’ despite layoffs
Broad pessimism is at odds with a still-warm labor market, economists say. June cuts remain just under 1% as hiring and layoffs near record highs.
Employees They may not have as much bargaining power as they did in early 2022, but Chen said tech workers still have a good foothold when looking for a new job or if they’re laid off.
“We’re finding that companies are still hiring, and the people we’re placing are being snapped up within weeks,” says Chen, referring to activity in the blind recruiting marketplace. And as of June, 64% of tech leaders say it’s getting harder or significantly harder to find skilled workers for their open positions, according to a CNBC survey.
Alistair Shirazi, 34, works under contract with Apple as an engineering project manager. Although his contract ends in November, he is “not at all” worried about continuing to work for the tech giant or getting a new job.
First, notice that the boss has talked about how difficult it is to hire and retain employees to properly manage her team. Shirazi expects the contract to be extended, or he may come as a full-time employee.
He also sees recent layoffs as temporary: “We’ve had a lot of growth in hiring in the technology sector,” says Shirazi. “Booms are often followed by busts, but busts are often followed.”
Shirazi expects established companies to win by letting go of startups that put tech workers at risk: “I don’t see these layoffs as time for people to spend more time sitting at home,” he said.
How to future proof your new job
If you’re considering taking it, Chen recommends taking this time to reflect on what you want more from your job. “In the good times, people were leaving on average every 12 to 18 months and they were looking for roles with higher pay and compensation,” he says. “Now is a good time to evaluate what’s most important to you, whether it’s work-life balance, remote work, a flexible work schedule, or opportunities to advance your skills or career.”
You can also ask additional questions to gauge a prospective company’s stability: “Be wary of statements like ‘high growth’ in the job description and dig deeper,” says Ginny Cheng, Career Contessa coach. “Learn more about the steps you’re taking to support employee retention or how you’re growing responsibly.”
Regarding the future of technology jobs, “every company is a technology company,” Chen added, “and they need programmers and data scientists and product people to create digital products and services. There is security in technology roles.”
check out:
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