Tech layoffs dominate the headlines, but they are not only misleading, but potentially damaging to those making decisions about the future of their careers.
The US economy added 223,000 jobs in the last month of the year alone. Yes, Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees this month, but did you know that it is nearly 80,000 jobs added to their staff since 2019?
Amazon has also been in the news because they just fired 18,000 people but did you know they hired 300,000 people in 2021 alone to grow their workforce 1.6 million employees?
So, what’s really happening in tech and how should you think about career opportunities in the industry in 2023.
Jobs that are prioritized by employers
Vacancies in the next 6-12 months will favor those who can contribute to improving business results. That means you’re in luck if you have direct sales or customer experience, or the opportunity to drive brand awareness for a company, which can result in more revenue.
While tech companies may continue to cut expensive technical and operational features, they’re shifting their budget to business-related roles that are aimed at maintaining healthy cash flows for the company.
If you don’t have those skills, consider taking free self-paced classes on platforms like Coursera to learn the basics, and live tutored courses on places like School16 that helps you quickly develop technical business skills while working on projects to show off to employers.
Tech industries that are still growing
Yes, some tech giants have recently had to cut their workforce after years of unprecedented growth and overload, but most people looking to break into the industry aren’t really competing with this kind of senior talent.
Furthermore, there are specialized industries within technology such as healthcare (healthtech) and education (edtech) that still exist keep growing.
Develop skills for the industry is still the best investment you can make in yourself but if you are new to technology remember to focus on specialized industries that others ignore to secure a role in a healthy company that you can help grow your skills during this economic downturn, setting yourself up for a big pay rise at another company once the economy picks up in the next 1-2 years.
How to identify companies that are still healthy
To find companies that are still doing well during an economic downturn, it’s good to look at how investor behavior is changing.
Billions of dollars have been poured into technology over the past decade, contributing to rapid hiring and rapid growth, but during an economic downturn, investors are more likely to give money to a company that already has its revenues and expenses under control. In other words, they take fewer risks.
Today, investors are looking for resourceful, early-stage startups that are already generating revenue, rather than larger, high-spending companies that could quickly burn through their capital.
When looking for companies to work for, avoid low cash flow companies that raised money several years ago. Chances are they will run out of capital and soon have to lay off workers.
Instead, look for organizations with a clear value proposition that you believe in that grow their customer base because of the value of their product or service to the end consumer.
You can also use resources such as angel.co or crunch base. com to see which companies have recently raised a round of funding. These companies raise money to hire workers quickly, so if your skills match their needs, chances are they’ll want to talk to you.
While layoffs in the technology sector are likely to continue into 2023, many companies in the technology sector will continue to hire. It’s easy to get discouraged by the news cycle, but remember that attention grabbing headlines are meant to generate clicks and are not necessarily a reflection of what’s really happening in the market.
Stay focused improve yourself and narrow your efforts to opportunities at growing companies. When the overall economy picks up again, you’ll be way ahead of others who stood still because they were misinformed.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.