Tech stocks had a rough year in 2022: the tech-heavy NASDAQ index was down 33% (versus the overall S&P 500’s decline of “just” 20%). Consumer confidence fell in the first half and negatively impacted tech revenues before recovering. Meta made some mistakes. Interest rates rose, further dampening the party. Investors decided that other stocks represented better inflation hedges. (See Source.) All in all, it wasn’t pretty.
And the tech companies responded in late 2022 and early 2023 in a litany of bad news for tech employees:
The same source goes on to quote the respective CEOs generally along the lines, “We hired too many as the pandemic subsided and now, we have to right size the company for the business we expect.”
Here are a few selected facts from this source:
The New York Times also notes that Amazon, too, has apparently hired 728,000 employees since 2020, a net gain after the recent layoffs of more than 700,000! (See Source.)
He shared that he had received a reasonable severance package. And that only about 1,700 of the reported 12,000 layoffs were in the San Francisco Bay Area. He also confirmed that the cuts were at all levels. His one complaint was the impersonal nature of the message: he was cut off from his company account in the middle of the night and informed of his firing by email.
But he also agreed that there is plenty of demand for the tech skills that are being liberated at the moment, and “having Google on your resume is not the worst thing in the world.”
Over the last three decades the Barrett Group has seen plenty of business cycles. Inevitably, a large share of executives ultimately comes to the conclusion (sometimes because of force majeure) that they are in the wrong job. With the wrong company, the wrong industry, and then they face a significant obstacle in “recharting,” their professional careers, especially if all they know about is executive recruiters. That is because, in general, recruiters have been hired to fill a role with someone who exactly fits the job requirements. An executive who wants to change industries or roles will rarely fit such rigid requirements… which is where the Barrett Group comes in.
Working with the Barrett Group you are at least seven times more likely to land the job of your choice than when you work only with recruiters because we serve a vastly larger market: 75% of our clients land via the so-called “unpublished market.” [Read More.]
We actually track transferable skills and are adept at helping executives recognize and explain the transferability of their skills and experience to new employers. [Read Do you have tremendous transferability? for more information.] Here is how one recent client, Ned, described his Barrett Group experience through which he accepted an offer as VP of Business Development:
“I don’t have experience in this field but, thanks to the skills I worked on with George [his Barrett Group career consultant], I felt confident and was able to portray myself in the best possible light.”
“There were times where I felt in a rut during my job search, but regular engagement with George kept me energized and on path. That was the most helpful aspect of my job search experience.” [Read More.]
And by the way, being downsized does not mean you have to be down in the mouth. Consider the Upside of Downsizing… After the emotional shock and assuming you have at least a small financial buffer you are free to investigate. To all of those other professional avenues you have never been able to look into before. Especially, if you have a tried and true Barrett Group team backing you up to facilitate your rapid recovery.
That is why we call the current phase “upsidedownsizing.” First, the drastic headlines scare executives unnecessarily because the market for executives is very vibrant. Second, even if you are downsized, this is most likely your chance to discover new opportunities.
Naturally, we suggest you improve your odds by hiring the Barrett Group. We make it our job to help you find yours.
Peter Irish, CEO
The Barrett Group
CareerChange.com powered by THE BARRETT GROUP
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__cfduid | 1 month | The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. |
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
bcookie | 2 years | This cookie is set by linkedIn. The purpose of the cookie is to enable LinkedIn functionalities on the page. |
lang | session | This cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website. |
lidc | 1 day | This cookie is set by LinkedIn and used for routing. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
YSC | session | This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 2 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. |
_gcl_au | 3 months | This cookie is used by Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the website. |
_gid | 1 day | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form. |
_uetsid | 1 day | This cookies are used to collect analytical information about how visitors use the website. This information is used to compile report and improve site. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_fbp | 3 months | This cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website. |
bscookie | 2 years | This cookie is a browser ID cookie set by Linked share Buttons and ad tags. |
fr | 3 months | The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. |
IDE | 1 year 24 days | Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile. |
MUID | 1 year 24 days | Used by Microsoft as a unique identifier. The cookie is set by embedded Microsoft scripts. The purpose of this cookie is to synchronize the ID across many different Microsoft domains to enable user tracking. |
personalization_id | 2 years | This cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting. |
test_cookie | 15 minutes | This cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 5 months 27 days | This cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_gat_gtag_UA_1327882_1 | 1 minute | No description |
_gat_gtag_UA_1327882_6 | 1 minute | No description |
_gat_UA-1327882-1 | 1 minute | No description |
_uetvid | 16 days 6 hours | No description |
AnalyticsSyncHistory | 1 month | No description |
asp_transient_id | session | No description |
CONSENT | 16 years 10 months 3 days 7 hours | No description |
UserMatchHistory | 1 month | Linkedin - Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences. |
X-Mapping-iliahmoa | No description |