What to do while in between jobs.
The job market has been crazy this year with the high inflation rate and high-interest rate to cool off inflation meaning funding from venture capitalists and financial institutions have reduced due to high-interest rates.
In January 2023, prices had increased by 6.4 percent compared to January 2022 according to the 12-month percentage of change in the consumer price index.
Few companies especially in the tech sector are downsizing and reducing their burn rates which mean cutting jobs to properly navigate their way and continue operations during this uncertain economic crisis. Also, other yech organizations feel over-bloated due to the hiring spree during the pandemic and feel that they need to cut jobs to have a leaner and more focused staff strength in meeting specific objectives and delivering solutions based on their product strategy. It is reported that over 100,000 tech jobs have been cut this year alone with companies doing multiple rounds of layoffs according to Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks layoffs in the technology sector. The tech industry has been hit the hardest after a hiring spike during the pandemic year with multiple people making the switch to tech and an arms race to give the best perks.
What to do when you are in-between jobs.
1. Breathe: Losing a job is not the end of the world neither are you the first person to be in between jobs. The most rational thing to do is to declutter and untangle yourself from the old job and give yourself some time before you jump back into the job market. This gestation period will help you access your weaknesses career-wise and what you could have done better at your old job.
2. Upskill: This is the best time to learn a skill related to your career path, giving you an extra advantage and an edge when you jump back into the job market. It might be a technical or non-technical skill but this way, you get to learn and play around with a new skill. If you want to pivot fully to that new career path, it will be much easier with this route. Think of that new programming language or tool you have been meaning to learn, read books about it, watch tutorials, and read how-to documents to better understand the framework.
3. Grow your network: Networking is a great way to get a job and to know who is hiring, market trends, and requirements. Studies have found that some vacancies are not made public and are filled by referred candidates. Reach out to recruiters, speak to colleagues, go to tech events/conferences, socialize, and do everything aside from living in isolation. Growing your network is valuable while in between jobs and seeking your next role.
4. Build your portfolio: This is the best time to build your portfolio, especially as a tech talent. Work on side projects, contribute to open source projects, build or replicate something, and document the experience. There are numerous projects you can work on to build your portfolio. You can add your portfolio to a GitHub or Gitlab repo and share via newsletter, medium, or social media page. You can also build a simple portfolio website.
5. Update your resume: Update and upgrade your resume based on the new skills added and your portfolio. There are more modern resume templates online which can be best suited for your upgraded and updated resume. Services like Woosulting and GreglangStaff are great resources for resume upgrades and this tool by google is amazing for prepping for interviews. Also, to know if your resume is of a great standard and to have a 3rd party review, ChartGPT will do the trick.
6. Stay Productive: Keep a positive mindset and stick to a productive schedule. Lookout for things to do that will add value to your life. Look for opportunities to learn through meetups, conferences, and symposiums. Volunteer to tech community projects, contribute to open source projects, read books, etc. The realization that you no longer have a job may take some time to set in, but that is normal. The excess time you spend moping will cause you to become stuck.
The job market is wild right now, especially for tech talents but this crisis can also be an opportunity to learn new skills, grow in confidence, and amass knowledge in your chosen career path.
I will end with this quote by Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb “The hardest thing to manage in a time of crisis and uncertainty is your psychology”. Always be optimistic.
