Current Events > My boss just informed our team that we're freezing hiring for several months

(+) Yeah! (+)

Were recruiters. Its a startup. We were planing on hiring a ton next year.

Im reading between the lines and feeling really nervous rn. I am almost done filling the top priority roles and after that I highly doubt they will keep paying me to do nothing.

Working for a start up sounds like a huge gamble tbh

Tech?

honestly do your due diligence and start looking for a backup plan

When my company started going through this several years ago, I made sure to learn other roles/tasks. We finally had a 70% layoff and they kept me because of versatility.

If that's even possible at your job, I would start now just incase.

Internal hiring? Or external hiring for companies?

time to pivot

Eramir posted...

honestly do your due diligence and start looking for a backup plan

This, better to be safe and find something stable just in case than live with the stress of uncertainty

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Working for a start up sounds like a huge gamble tbh

Yeah it was and they told me they had all these plans to hire a ton and double in size next year. But honestly recruiting anywhere is risky right now. Were getting laid off everywhere in tech. I dont think my last company that I left for the startup is any less risky because I know for a fact they overhired and when I left they were slowing down hiring and cutting costs.

mustachedmystic posted...

Tech?

Yup

Eramir posted...

honestly do your due diligence and start looking for a backup plan

I already have two interviews scheduled because Ive been picking up a weird mood since I joined.

modena posted...

When my company started going through this several years ago, I made sure to learn other roles/tasks. We finally had a 70% layoff and they kept me because of versatility.

If that's even possible at your job, I would start now just incase.

Yeah thats a good point. Maybe I can pick up project management or something. But my boss doesnt like me much from what I can tell so I cant help feel vulnerable

emblem-man posted...

Internal hiring? Or external hiring for companies?

Internal. I havent done external in years but if shit hits the fan I have a good enough network that I can go independent but its a slow ramp up and it will hurt financially for the first year.

Get ready to jump ship

Also something that made my spidey senses tingle more. Yesterday my boss hinted at a slow down coming up in our synch and said I should start doing other things. I told her about a training Im working on for the team and shared all the content I was putting in
it. Today in our meeting she repeated verbatim what I said I was working on but made it sound like it was all her idea and something she was putting together for the team. Didnt mention my training at all. So yeah I sense she is phasing me out.

How long have you been there?

SwordMaster13X posted...

How long have you been there?

Less than 2 months. So yeah

Your workplace sucks. That's all I've got. No actual advice to give

It doesnt help that my feed is filled with Roku recruiters posting about being laid off today. And it has been filled with recruiters talking about being laid off for several weeks now. Coinbase, Meta, Amazon, Stripe, etc

Feeling very anxious now.

Oh and not to mention very few recruiting jobs are available and they have hundreds of applicants now. Last year we were highly sought after. I had a shit ton of options. Messages almost daily. Now almost nothing. Im so grateful I have interviews at all. But feeling immense pressure.

This is the unfortunate risk of working jobs with no unions.

Don't get caught with your pants down like the twitter workers.

My degree on info systems and analytics is finishing up next May and I'm scared it will be just in time for the recession and I'll lose any job offers

Doe posted...

My degree on info systems and analytics is finishing up next May and I'm scared it will be just in time for the recession and I'll lose any job offers

Could be worse. I graduated right at the start of the pandemic and wasn't able to use my degree to get another job until 2 years afterwards.

Time to work at Burger King

inloveanddeath0 posted...

Time to work at Burger King

recruit them fries into the fryer

Cleo_II posted...

Today in our meeting she repeated verbatim what I said I was working on but made it sound like it was all her idea and something she was putting together for the team. Didnt mention my training at all.

Oh, thats really bad.

Even if you werent in danger of losing your job, that incident shows your boss does not have your best interests in mind. Its time to go. Maybe that just means a lateral, internal transfer but it needs to be away from that person.

any chance you could get your old job back? I remember it seemed pretty good.

this place doesn't seem too great to work for

Doe posted...

My degree on info systems and analytics is finishing up next May and I'm scared it will be just in time for the recession and I'll lose any job offers

I wouldn't be too afraid with that major. I'm sure you can find a position.

Master_Bass posted...

I wouldn't be too afraid with that major. I'm sure you can find a position.

Idk tech is having the big layoffs right now

thronedfire2 posted...

any chance you could get your old job back? I remember it seemed pretty good.

this place doesn't seem too great to work for

If these interviews dont pan out I plan to hit them up to see if theyd take me back. It wasnt a great job but it wasnt bad either. I just wanted to have more say in things and a startup sounded perfect for that. Actually minus my boss being crazy and the impending lay off, I genuinely love what Im doing here so it sucks

Master_Bass posted...

I wouldn't be too afraid with that major. I'm sure you can find a position.

New grads are at most risk in this market. Tons of new grad offers are getting rescinded and most being affected by layoffs are entry level. I have a friend who is a software manager at a FAANG that got a crap ton of laid off folks applying but almost none were senior enough for the job

Also I wrapped up interviews with one company yesterday but they need to finish up with a few more candidates. Trying not to panic and just hoping for the best. I can only imagine how many recruiters theyve had applying with so many laid off recently from Amazon, Meta, Netflix, Twitter, Roku, Coinbase, etc

This market is giving me so much anxiety

Didnt get one of the jobs. It came down to me and one other. They picked the other person. Im seriously crushed. This was my top pick

Havent heard back from the second one either.

Same thing happened at my friends recruiting job recently. He was safe but a lot of good people got let go I heard

This is the third time this year. Each time its between me and someone else and they pick the other person. Its silly but Im just a crying mess right now. About to be laid off and no options. Keep striking out.

Guess that's the risk you take with an unproven business. When the burn rate is outpacing the revenue it's hard to pull up.

Solid_Sonic posted...

Guess that's the risk you take with an unproven business. When the burn rate is outpacing the revenue it's hard to pull up.

Its not just unproven businesses. All of tech is experiencing cuts and layoffs. Nowhere is safe right now in tech.

If you haven't done so, consider applying to a company that heavily does business with public institutions (government, education, etc.). The "pure" private tech sector is taking a beating right now, but there is a degree of security in the hybrid private-public tech sector, for lack of better words, even if the pay isn't as fantastic.

edit: Also, I think you have development/engineering credentials if I recall? Speaking to a tech saleswoman this past weekend who was recently laid off, it sounded like there may be more opportunities available applying to roles of that nature.

TheMikh posted...

If you haven't done so, consider applying to a company that heavily does business with public institutions (government, education, etc.). The "pure" private tech sector is taking a beating right now, but there is a degree of security in the hybrid private-public tech sector, for lack of better words, even if the pay isn't as fantastic.

edit: Also, I think you have development/engineering credentials if I recall? Speaking to a tech saleswoman this past weekend who was recently laid off, it sounded like there may be more opportunities available applying to roles of that nature.

Yeah the problem is the pay. I dont know how much of a cut I can reasonably take and still afford our bills and mortgage. I already took a pay cut to get this job and were ok but not by much.

Trying to apply to jobs but its demoralizing. Hardly anything good out there and the ones that are interesting already have hundreds of applicants. If you dont know someone at the company then youre not getting any interviews.

I did see one opening that looked interesting and matched my experience perfectly. I do know someone there so theyre going to refer me, thankfully.

Just have to hope that more roles will open early next year and Im still employed by then

Maybe you can help State/Federal government recruit for their IT departments?

That might offer more Job Security / Consistency?

Im really glad I found a stable accounting job three months ago. About three months ago I was at a job that I really hated but I was messaged on LinkedIn about a job from a recruiter. I never had luck with recruiters but I was like okay and the guy said it was helping to manage restaurant investments of a hedge fund. At first I thought Ill give it a go but I wasnt expecting much but somehow they really liked me in my interviews and I quickly got the job. Went from 53k to 70k a year but I also have been hearing the accounting market is pretty hot lately.

but anyways I like where I am at and it seems like the company is growing because they have hired like four people since I began.

I remember never getting calls back and it stung but you never know. One day it could all change

Good luck Cleo, hope it all works out! :/

I'm a little worried about all the news about lay-offs in all these sectors myself. I'm not too worried about my job I guess, but more so about being able to find a new job if needed in the future.

yeah state/govt jobs are very safe. They don't pay much but you can wake up in the morning and know you'll still have your job. Stuff like this topic is why i'm kinda scared to go private

I cant afford that much of a pay cut without downgrading my house which Id rather not do. Id recruit independently before I did that. I have a good enough book of business to get started but it will take a few months to ramp up. First year might be a hit financially but Id recover after and be in a good position for when the market shifts back. My husband said he will help me set up the LLC if I dont line anything up in the next couple of months.

SwordMaster13X posted...

Im really glad I found a stable accounting job three months ago. About three months ago I was at a job that I really hated but I was messaged on LinkedIn about a job from a recruiter. I never had luck with recruiters but I was like okay and the guy said it was helping to manage restaurant investments of a hedge fund. At first I thought Ill give it a go but I wasnt expecting much but somehow they really liked me in my interviews and I quickly got the job. Went from 53k to 70k a year but I also have been hearing the accounting market is pretty hot lately.

but anyways I like where I am at and it seems like the company is growing because they have hired like four people since I began.

I remember never getting calls back and it stung but you never know. One day it could all change

Im glad you got a good recruiter. I know we get a bad rep but the good ones really do make a difference. Ive helped negotiate big increases for my candidates, sometimes over what theyre asking. Most of the time they dont even know it. I just look at pay ranges and make sure they get fair compensation. One time a candidate asked me for 80k and I gave them $105k they were freaking out on the call. Things like that make me really love my job because I feel like I can make a difference for people.

SwordMaster13X posted...

Im really glad I found a stable accounting job three months ago. About three months ago I was at a job that I really hated but I was messaged on LinkedIn about a job from a recruiter. I never had luck with recruiters but I was like okay and the guy said it was helping to manage restaurant investments of a hedge fund. At first I thought Ill give it a go but I wasnt expecting much but somehow they really liked me in my interviews and I quickly got the job. Went from 53k to 70k a year but I also have been hearing the accounting market is pretty hot lately.

but anyways I like where I am at and it seems like the company is growing because they have hired like four people since I began.

I remember never getting calls back and it stung but you never know. One day it could all change

Ive downloaded some salary guides for 2022 and 2023 and it does seem to me like the market is hot, especially for entry level positions. Apparently the current trend is that there is not a lot of new interest from younger folks in the accounting and finance market, so you have more the case of senior level people trying to make moves and scout out positions. Not sure exactly why thats the case, but yeah, accounting tends to always be a great thing to get into. Theres always been a decent variety of options (public vs private), and I think its been found that some of more high-level accounting tasks are not the easiest to offshore, and you open up risks when it comes to controls and fraud.

Speaking from experience Im pretty senior level and have seen what Cleo mentions when it comes to new accounting jobs. For the higher paying positions, you have hundreds of applicants and its difficult to get into. I like where Im at now so Im not super actively searching, but from a passive perspective it seems like you do really need to work with a recruiter, or know someone on the inside and get a referral, to have any chance of landing an interview. Again, specifically speaking on senior level positions.