“The biggest challenge people have in that group is they’ve not written a résumé in 15 years,” said Christopher Fong, who administers Xoogler, a network of former Googlers that doubled in size after last year’s layoffs. Fong said Google has rehired some, but most are still seeking full-time jobs.
In its job search support, Xoogler offers psychotherapy coaching to increase members' confidence. In person, a slideshow presentation early last year reminded attendees that “most layoffs are not about performance” and that “This was not your fault.”
Some laid-off tech workers started their own businesses. Samaraweera went “all in” on her startup Canopy, a “less chaotic version of Reddit,” with her severance.
Now that Silicon Valley has seen a slowdown in funding, Samaraweera said the software's trial phase is challenging. As a tech firm owner in this climate, she noted, “I’ve been lean and frugal.” Others aren't ready to leave corporate life, even if it means working outside tech.
Early this year, 65% of IT users marked themselves as “open to work” on LinkedIn before commencing new jobs, up from 56.7% in April 2022. LinkedIn reported 61.6% of “open to work” techies moving careers in January, as Cisco, PayPal, and Microsoft continue to lay off workers. Many tech and media personnel have left for marketing, project management, and sales jobs, the company stated.
Continuum founder Nolan Church claimed the layoff “bloodbath” touched many IT industry nontechnical professionals, including recruiters and HR staff. Church said some laid-off techies may “transition into software sales because they understand tech as an industry,” adding that they are still in the “early innings” of their careers.
Following being laid off in DocuSign's 10% employment reduction last year, months following a 9% cut, Ash Yao, a former Tesla account executive, founded a non-tech startup. She started Kace, a nationwide ready-to-drink tea company, with her severance.
She learned to “use those skills you worked hard to gain to build for yourself,” adding, “When you’re working for a tech company, all those hard efforts are going into their brand.”
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