“We regret to inform you that as of today, your position has been eliminated” — emails bearing this tone and tenor are the most dreaded and can often turn employees’ lives topsy-turvy, especially for those used to a certain lifestyle that the tech sector promises.
According to Layoffs.Fyi, as of July 2024, 360 tech companies laid off over 104,400 employees this year alone. And now, Intel plans to cut around 15,000 jobs, which amounts to 15% of its workforce, in a strategic move to save $10 billion by 2025.
Hate us not, but layoffs can be good news parading as bad – a blessing in disguise.
Recently, filmmaker and executive producer Monica Medellin said that she is grateful for her layoff. If it hadn’t happened, she would have never carved her own career path.
She is not alone. A Reddit user wrote that he was laid off from McKinsey last year and received a 4.5-month severance package. He took a two-month trip to Europe and then secured a contract role that was converted to a full-time position within a few months.
Besides, he also started a side hustle that generated $33k in income last year. Overall, he earned the highest income he’d ever made and attributed this success to the layoff. He mentioned that there is definitely hope! One should update their LinkedIn profile.
Another story is that of a Meta employee who worked for seven months before being laid off just as he was about to close on a house. He subsequently joined New Relic as a lead data engineer for a similar salary but received a double paycheck for one month and a severance package, which significantly improved his finances.
With the signing bonus, he earned a substantial amount of money in less than a year of work. Well, he’s now grateful to Meta!
And the stories go on.
Source: LinkedIn
Better than Burnout
Burnout has always pushed employees to silently quit their jobs. A recent Indeed report reveals that employee burnout is increasing, with 52% of workers feeling its effects. Stress, fatigue, and mental health challenges are impacting employees of all ages and job types in the corporate environment.
This encourages many to build a startup.
Kishore Indukuri left his job at Intel in the US to return to India and start Sid’s Farm, a dairy delivering unadulterated milk to Hyderabad residents. Now, his dairy brand earns Rs 44 crore revenue.
A layoff could also nudge out the successful influencer in you waiting for that one push.
According to Influencer Market Hub, YouTubers make an average of $0.018 per ad view. However, the amount also depends on factors such as the number of followers, views, clicks on ads, ad quality, ad blockers, and video length.
Here’s an interesting story: Vanessa Chen, a 23-year-old content creator in Boston, shared that she was a computer science undergraduate with plans to become a software engineer. But she became a full-time content creator with more than 4 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok and earns a mid-six-figure income.
So, creating a YouTube channel can be a great part-time job, especially if you fear job security at your workplace.
Meanwhile, to dilute the effects of burnout, some companies like Zoho are leveraging cloud computing, unlocking the potential of rural talent, and creating employment opportunities in the process.
Zoho’s Rural Revival is an initiative where miniature farming sites are built to grow fresh produce and provide a way for everyone to bring their families together, connect, and help relieve stress.
Further, they have set up mini-offices in the hinterlands, enabling people to stay close to the ones they love, invest in a home of their own, cut down on travel costs, and stay out of debt.
“In five years, 50 percent of our employees will work from smaller, rural centres. We want to keep people rooted in their towns and villages and provide world-class jobs in these places,” said Sridhar Vembu, CEO and co-founder Zoho.
When near home and family, burnout will not be in the picture.
Time to Rewrite Your Resume
As most companies continue to believe that reducing staff will provide the best and easiest solution to financial problems, it’s evident that your resume needs an overhaul.
The stories of Vizzy CEO’s unconventional hiring practices, the self-taught journeys of individuals like Izam Mohammed, and the insights shared by industry leaders all reflect a fundamental truth that expertise and skill in technology are no longer solely defined by degrees.
Well, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, thinks, “University degrees are IMO status and not substance at this point.”
