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Make sure you have a marketable skillset, even in a down economy. Having been a tech recruiter for both good times and a couple downturns, I noticed that the pe
by fecak 9y ago
Make sure you have a marketable skillset, even in a down economy. Having been a tech recruiter for both good times and a couple downturns, I noticed that the people who got released first were doing tasks that managers felt could be passed along to others somewhat easily. No real surprise.
Since tech was my field, I first saw project managers who were non-technical (couldn't code or add other value) getting let go. Tech leads were handed PM responsibility. Sysadmins, DBAs, and some QA were also let go when there were devs who could pick up the slack. Companies might not need dedicated resources there, so contractors might be a more efficient solution.
Try to expand your skillset and have the ability to contribute in a few areas. Companies may be more likely to get rid of someone who is only good at one thing.
- osrec 9y agoDefinitely agree with this. If you're a PM, make sure you can code. Similarly, in finance, if you're in the front office, be sure to understand risk and compliance - those are often the departments that begin hiring in a recession, while the others cut back!
- purplezooey 9y agoI've known 30-40 PMs in my time in the valley and maybe 2 of them could code professionally if it came to it. Mostly they are people who like to be the decision maker.
- muxator 9y agoIt's interesting that, in my country, the ones that are retained are the PMs, because they are the "decision makers" and thhus the ones that really add value. Developers are perceived as mere technicians, who can be cheaply replaced, if not directly hired as contractor. I worked in other countries were the power balance was like the one you described, and it definitely felt more rational. My point is: it is incredible how much variety you can find among the various countries/cultures. What is true in the US can be false somewhere else.