CAPE CANAVERAL: Why wait to be fired when you can get hired right away when job cuts are happening in tech, finance, and other industries?
The strategy, known as "career cushioning," entails creating a backup plan while remaining employed, which is especially important when layoffs are imminent. Most of the time, this is done in private, like making a networking call during lunch or getting in touch with old coworkers.
While still working for Amazon.com Inc., some employees are going one step further by declaring publicly on LinkedIn that they are "OpenToWork." Everyone can see everything, including their bosses and bosses' bosses.
Kayla Look, who works as a recruiting coordinator, is one such Amazonian. Look stated in an interview that when layoffs were announced in November, her anxiety was high: She was preparing for the holidays, had just finished college the year before, and was getting married. The uncertainty and costs were rising.
The unease started when the Seattle-based business stopped hiring a few weeks earlier. When she made it through the first round of job cuts, she thought she could relax, but when the company said this month that it would be cutting 18,000 jobs instead of the 10,000 that Bloomberg and other outlets had originally reported, her sense of relief vanished.
She was aware that it was time to act. She stated, "It has been two and a half months since the initial worry of being laid off." I'm getting sick of being anxious. She stated that because her managers don't know more than she does, no one can answer her questions.
Amazon claims that eliminating jobs was a "difficult decision."
In the most recent note regarding the upcoming cuts, which will be particularly concentrated in its People, Experience, and Technology department, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy wrote, "We don't take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted." We are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support to help those who are affected. Amazon declined further comment.
It was like a green light when one of Look's team managers posted on LinkedIn last week that she was #OpenToWork. She stated, "If she doesn't seem confident in our odds, I should follow after her because she is one of my leaders." I had the impression that if I did this, I would not be demonstrating loyalty, and as a result, I would be fired because I was still new to the workforce. But no, it reassured me that it is acceptable to take care of oneself.
As layoffs spread throughout the tech industry, the banner, which LinkedIn introduced in 2020 following the arrival of Covid-19, has become an increasingly common sight on the platform.
Look has been sending out resumes, despite her ultimate desire to remain at Amazon.
The posts, according to Robin Ryan, who works as a career coach across the lake from the e-commerce giant and has advised numerous individuals considering joining or leaving the company, are a form of pushback, a way of saying, "Hey, I can go somewhere else."
The recruiter's job at Amazon, which has 1.5 million employees, is difficult: It's hard to believe the churn there. Ryan stated, "It's a very stressful place to work, and the majority of it is quitting." There are a lot of open positions for recruiters to fill, many of which require in-depth sourcing and thorough interviews and are highly technical.
Ryan stated that people who are subjected to months of uncertainty are more likely to feel resentment. Also like Look, many recruiters are entry-level professionals who don't get paid as much as experienced engineers do. They frequently don't have much left over after paying rent, car payments, and other expenses, which makes the possibility of losing their job even more terrifying.
Bloomberg News looked at more than half a dozen #OpenToWork posts from current Amazon employees. Similar messages were sent by other employees last month, some of whom accepted voluntary buyouts.
Ryan stated, "In this case, you are attempting to bring people into the organization, and they have just kicked you out."
Look is optimistic that the waiting game will soon be over. She stated, "They are supposed to begin sending letters next week." Sincerely, I'm looking forward to that because I'm eager to determine whether or not I'm here so that I can move on.