Laid off: No, I'm self employed (software business). That does not mean that I'm impervious to macroeconomic conditions, but it does mean I have developed a fo

Laid off: No, I'm self employed (software business). That does not mean that I'm impervious to macroeconomic conditions, but it does mean I have developed a forecasting mindset that generally keeps me ahead of downturns. Hiring: No, not at the moment. But that doesn't have anything to do with COVID. I tend to hire very little and no one permanent. Honestly, I struggle with tech people who run out of cash or say they can't get hired. I understand that not everyone can ace an interview or makes enough to save up a large cushion -- at the same time you have one of the most valuable / sought after skills in the market today. A little late for this advice, but: MAKE SURE YOU GET PAID WHAT YOU'RE WORTH AND SAVE SOME CASH. SOME AS IN MONTHS' OR YEARS' WORTH. Really, you don't have to be "rich" to have a 1% level of financial stability. It's really about having enough cash to have enough time to weather a downturn or move into a new area without pooping your pants. The response I usually get is "but x happened!". Yeah, no shit, that's the whole point. We can't see into the future but we can buffer cash. If this downturn ends up hurting you -- learn from it!