SV-style companies are going through a typical cycle where the money was cheap and flowed freely, and now it does not. So those companies are adjusting. Sure as rain, we will come full circle again, eventually.
In the meantime… Having lived in the Bay Area a few years, but having spent most of my life and most of my career outside of it, I can tell you that tech in general is not downsizing. It can seem that way if you are based in SV or in a VC-funded company.
“Boring businesses” are still hungry for good tech talent. Those companies might actually be profitable and even have a long track record of being profitable. Consider a short tour of duty to see what comes of some time at one of those companies.
As fair warning, these companies can be unfriendly to tech outsiders who charge in and think they know better how to run their businesses (see mention of long-term profits). So maybe that is where an idea of bias against Twitter employees comes from. But this is just about personal mindset. Most of these companies would very much like to bring on more tech talent with the right attitude to help them modernize.
Best of luck to all who are looking. Stay positive, and consider expanding your search horizon. Many industries have low-hanging fruit for people with the right skills, and you could make a real difference. It doesn’t mean you have to stay forever.
We are profitable and have been for nearly 100 years precisely because we don't have the same perspective on "modernization" that many not boring SV companies have.
We've been burned enough hiring folks who would end up refusing to give any effort the minute they found out they would be responsible for adding small features to systems that have been in production for 20 years (we inform them of this, but they generally think they will be able to impress us of their genius and get us to change our mind). Or they refuse to adhere to processes that they falsely believe to be outdated, or they suck at anything that isn't JavaScript/Web, or constantly try to expand requirements in the direction of vanity efforts.
Additionally, everybody I've ever met from these places almost universally think they are hotshots that ought to immediately be given senior level salaries and responsibilities due to prior experience at a tech company. Sorry, but at real businesses that actually make money and have survived dire economic circumstances in the past, it doesn't work like that.
I'm sure there are exceptions, and certainly there are plenty of actual hotshots at companies like Google. But they are generally hotshots at things that boring businesses don't need. We will never in a million years have any reason whatsoever to implement Kubernetes. Sorry.
As of right now, we prefer to hire from other similarly boring businesses, or train up from entry level IT positions, or hire directly from local colleges.
Why?
So, just software engineers being toxic gatekeepers based on dubious opinions.
I've noticed trying to interview at smaller companies with a big tech company on my resume, I get a lot of weird pushback - like the interviewer is actively trying to discard me just to say they did. (anecdotal - so for what it's worth)
It's a quick, guilt-free way to get out of a dead-end situation without having to spend a multi-week notice period writing documentation, handing over, and pretending you'll be lifelong friends with a group of people you are sick of that don't have your back.
- you have enough money to be out of work for a while
- you are not on a visa
which is definitely not the case for many people. And what if you like your job ? Then layoff does suck, no ? You seem to think the alternative option to layoff is quitting, but what about staying at the company ?
Not so great when you are in your 50s with family, health expenses & loans and nobody wants to hire you.
You should be actively getting the consent of these people on these lists. They consented to have their info in lists created and shared by colleagues, not as part of your service.
And please, use this time to sharpen your skillset! You'll be back in the grind before you know it, so don't let this little vacation pass you by.
If you want to hire talent, you poach the people who weren’t laid-off but are now more willing to listen to opportunities today.
It reminds me (forgive the harshness) of the real estate downturn, when you might be able to buy a foreclosure cheap, but most of the time it's still not a place you can do anything with.
I recommend you shut this down immediately and email everyone on the list to apologise.
One note of feedback: When I first loaded the page, all I saw were listings from Starry Internet, and when I reloaded it was just Lyft. This makes it look like you only have people from one company.
My suggestion would be to randomize the listing on each page load (or even bias the list towards diversity of company and role). Then people can see the depth of the people signed up and start exploring filters.
Recruiters are the ones being laid off the most aggressively anyway.
"The main takeaway is for companies that process personal data gathered from public sources to tread carefully. Be mindful of your GDPR article 14 notification obligations. Be sure you document your processing decisions, particularly if you decide not to inform affected individuals how you process their personal data. And most importantly, be prepared for regulatory scrutiny and engagement."
