#ExperiencedProfessionals #JobSecurity #CareerSuccessTips #AvoidingLayoffs
Have you ever wondered how some experienced professionals manage to avoid layoffs throughout their careers? It’s a common concern for many individuals, especially in the ever-changing landscape of various industries. For those with over 10 years of experience, maintaining job security can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. So, what are the secrets of these seasoned professionals, and how can you apply their strategies to your own career? Let’s dive into some valuable insights and tips from experienced individuals who have successfully weathered the storm of potential layoffs.
##Luck, Industry, Skills or Something Else?
When it comes to avoiding layoffs, many factors come into play. Some may attribute their job security to pure luck, while others point to their specific industry or rare skills as the key to their success. Some may even suggest that it’s a combination of various factors that have helped them steer clear of layoffs. Let’s explore some of these potential factors and how they have contributed to the job security of experienced professionals.
###Luck – Is it a Factor?
✅ Some individuals may attribute their ability to avoid layoffs to sheer luck.
✅ Being in the right place at the right time or having a stroke of luck during turbulent times can play a role.
✅ While luck may indeed be a factor for some, relying solely on luck is not a sustainable strategy for long-term job security.
###Industry – The Power of Stability
✅ Working in certain industries known for stability, such as healthcare, government, and education, can significantly reduce the risk of layoffs.
✅ Industries with high demand for specific skills or those less susceptible to economic downturns offer a greater level of job security for experienced professionals.
✅ Transitioning to a more stable industry or seeking opportunities within resilient sectors can enhance job security.
###Rare Skills – Setting Yourself Apart
✅ Professionals with rare, in-demand skills and expertise are often sought after and less likely to face layoffs.
✅ Continuously developing and honing unique skills through ongoing education, certifications, and training can elevate an individual’s value within their organization.
✅ Emphasizing and leveraging rare skills in negotiations and performance reviews can solidify job security.
###Adaptability and Networking – Navigating Uncertainty
✅ Being adaptable to changing industry trends, technologies, and job roles is crucial in avoiding layoffs.
✅ Building a strong professional network and maintaining connections within the industry can open doors for new opportunities and provide a safety net during uncertain times.
✅ Staying informed about market trends, job outlook, and potential layoffs in the industry can help professionals navigate their career path strategically.
## Strategies for Job Security
Now that we’ve explored some of the potential factors that contribute to job security for experienced professionals, let’s delve into actionable strategies that can help you safeguard your career and avoid layoffs.
###Continual Skill Development
1. Identify and prioritize developing rare or in-demand skills within your industry.
2. Pursue additional certifications, advanced degrees, or specialized training to enhance your skillset.
3. Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends to remain competitive and adaptable in the job market.
###Diversify Your Experience
1. Explore opportunities to gain experience in different areas within your field or related industries.
2. Diversifying your skills and expertise can make you a versatile and valuable asset to employers.
3. Consider taking on new challenges and roles that expand your professional repertoire.
###Value Building
1. Consistently demonstrate your value to your employer through exceptional performance, innovative contributions, and measurable results.
2. Actively seek feedback and strive to exceed expectations in your role.
3. Communicate your dedication and commitment to the success of the organization.
###Networking and Visibility
1. Cultivate and maintain professional connections through networking events, industry conferences, and online platforms.
2. Show genuine interest in the success and well-being of your colleagues and peers.
3. Share your knowledge and expertise through thought leadership articles, speaking engagements, and mentorship opportunities.
###Industry Research and Preparedness
1. Stay informed about the health of your industry and potential market shifts that could impact job security.
2. Be proactive in preparing for potential layoffs by maintaining a robust emergency fund and exploring alternate job opportunities.
3. Seek guidance from career coaches or mentors to develop a comprehensive career protection strategy.
## Conclusion
Navigating a career with ten or more years of experience without being laid off is an accomplishment that comes with strategic planning, adaptability, and continuous skill development. While luck and industry stability may play a role in job security, leveraging rare skills, networking, and prioritizing value building are key strategies for professionals aiming to avoid layoffs. By implementing these strategies and staying informed about industry trends, you can proactively safeguard your career and maintain a secure position in the ever-evolving job market. Remember, job security is not solely about luck or industry trends – it’s about your ability to adapt, innovate, and position yourself as an indispensable asset in your field.
I’ve never been laid off, I think mostly because I tend to work for small companies so they don’t really do the “big layoffs” thing.
Also, I work in some weird niches like industrial automation, realtime systems and things like that, it’s an industry where if you can do the work, you’ll keep your job because there aren’t 1000 juniors lined up around the block who can do the same thing.
unrelated take: it’d be really dumb to stay for more than 10 yo in a position due to salary stagnation unless you are really at the far end of your career.
Be one of the best people on the team. Be on a strategic product. Have competent management who doesn’t over staff. Don’t be apart of a merger and acquisition. Network with people outside of the dev team.
I have almost exactly 10 yoe, have never been layed off, and never been part of a company or team that laid more than 1% of the people off at a time. The way I avoided those layoffs was not be the bottom 1%.
I’ve never been laid off in my 15 YOE. I worked a medium sized companies, < 1000 employees that was in a niche area. In my case I was working on safety critical medical devices, think dialysis machines and insulin pumps.
Management was old school top down. They were more concerned about burn down rate the staffing out. Teams were routinely understaffed for what management wanted as goals.
We missed a lot of management defined goals over the years and nobody said anything. It’s like they expected them to be missed, but wanted to challenge teams to work harder. Nobody really fell for that game.
In fact the companies I’ve worked for had never done layoffs as far I know. The only reason I’m out of a job is because I got fed up and called management out on their BS. Got fired and collected unemployment.
To me there is a difference between a layoff and being fired. If you consider those the same thing then disregard my post.
Luck. I mean I would love to say its because I was irreplaceable or valuable. I have at times pushed myself harder than it seemed other people were. I have coasted a lot too.. Big layoff rounds have very little to do with skill/value/personality. Top brass can just say “fire 10%” seemingly on a whim to please shareholders.
My GF has been very unlucky and laid off multiple times. Tech adjacent role (project manager in tech field) Most recently like 2 days after her review where her new manager said “You’re the best one on the team, I dont know what the rest of the people are doing. We need to really skill them up” then blammo, they fired a ton of US employees and kept the offshore teams 2 days later.
I answered this in another thread.
You are a cost center and need to demonstrate the value you provide.
I can’t get fired because I can root around my employers code base and make money for the company where no one else could.
Made myself indispensable. I became the lead on a very complex and important application, and excelled.
Story time – I couldn’t even get in trouble when I decided to take a Friday afternoon off and get shit faced. Got called into an emergency meeting from the director of our huge department. Don’t remember much but I pissed the dude off and he wanted me fired. Maybe one thing that saved my ass: Sunday night I wrote an email to my manager, admitted to everything and apologized. He was already invited to an early Monday morning meeting with HR and the director. Ended up having to sign a letter that said I would review the employee handbook and that was it.
Laziness. I was too lazy to job hop during the boom and kept my steady position. Now I’m just so comfy and knowledgeable in my role I don’t feel like I’m at risk of losing the job. Who knows though.
Experienced people aren’t invulnerable to layoffs, the only answer here is luck.
I’ve only had 2 jobs, first one was for 13ish years, this second one was 11ish. First one was startup that eventually died. Second one my job was offshored after many acquisitions and mergers. My 9 lives ran out.
There is no secret though, its just blind luck. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Anyone that answers this as “I can’t get cut” is usually on the bubble and they just don’t realize it. No one is untouchable.
I made it 30 years before I was laid off two weeks ago. If the people you work with trust you, can make it. Working for smaller companies also helps to insulate you…well until recently for me.
I was always a top performer in critical money printing roles.
I’ve been laid off once so far. It will probably happen again.
I was so happy to have been laid off. The company was such a a shit show – I got two months pay and had a job lined up in a week. This happened in October. There was another round of layoffs right before Christmas. And then the company folded in February. I basically just got a head start in interviewing. My boss had three interviews lined up before the escorted is out the door.
Not being laid off isn’t the blessing you think it is. Most of the time the layoffs happen because the financial picture of the company is poor, you get a severance package (usually not always), and if you do manage to survive the layoff – all you are going to get us more work in a company that will likely just sputter along without allowing you to grow your career.
Just rip the band-aid off and get the job search over with.
Mostly by working for small companies founded by rich guys who can afford to weather downturns over the past 15 years.
The last company I worked at laid people off last year – a huge %35 RIF. I wasn’t part of it, but it pissed me off because it included some really stellar people, and the corporate culture afterward was about as fun as a fart in a spacesuit. I’d been lucky to be super paranoid up to that point in my career, and over 10+ years I had built up an enough of an emergency fund to last me several years.
So, I took the email the CEO had sent announcing the 35% RIF, changed a few words to turn it into an announcement that I’d made the difficult decision to conduct a 100% RIF of the work I do for the company, then sent to to my manager, my manager’s manager, and HR. They found it funny enough that they let me work out my notice period and leave on good terms.
I guess the answer to your question is I mostly did it by picking companies that weren’t very vulnerable to slowdowns in the economy *and* had sizeable war chests to weather downturns. And the last place, I figured a layoff that large didn’t bode well for the company’s future, so I got the hell out of there to ensure I wouldn’t be part of any future RIF (and also to save my sanity!).
I got laid off while doing embedded work lol
Got laid off once back in 2013 at the start of my career. Nothing since then (knock on wood). I went to work in higher ed which tends to be more stable at the expense of paying like shit.
Was laid off 3 months into my career due to an accounting scandal at the company That was 22 years ago. Haven’t been laid off since. Get a job outside of tech at established companies if you want stability. This sub seems way over represented by people in tech or at startups that rely on funding, which are obviously highly sensitive to interest rates. For every one of those jobs there are 10 others out there.
I’ve been through (survived) 6 layoffs across 3 companies in my 15 years. The first three were in my first 2 years and pure luck, I wasn’t on a team or product that was targeted for layoffs for two and just not picked for the third. The next two I made it through for performance reasons. The latest was last year at a big non-FAANG company and while I initially thought it was luck, I later found out that a higher up I’d never really interacted with liked what I was doing and wanted me to do it in another part of the company, so I was moved around instead of laid off. But plenty of strong performers were laid off while plenty of mediocre/shitty performers got to keep their jobs in that one, so I’d be hard pressed to say I didn’t feel there was some luck things played out the way they did.
tl;dr it’s a combo of luck and strong performance, but you won’t know which until after it happens.
It’s luck. I know several folks that were up for promo and got laid off. I know several folks that were SME’s of their domain that got laid off. I know some folks working on high level goals that got laid off.
It sucks, but I think the only thing to do is to always be ready to leave. I don’t LC or anything, but I do keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities, and I do update my cv once a quarter.
I’ve never been laid off in my professional career (2008 – present). Survived multiple rounds of layoffs within the same company even. I suspect it’s a combination of being liked, being good, being close to the sources of revenue, not being the most expensive, and giant portion of luck.
Not being laid off is luck.
Layoffs are usually based on seats, not anything about the individual. So if the seat I happened to be sitting in at the time was removed… I would be laid off.
You could be the master of your domain, a person your manager views as irreplaceable… but none of that matters if budgets have been changed around and your entire product has been deprioritized, and your whole team is laid off.
A product that’s the top priority for a company today, could literally not exist tomorrow. Big companies have all sorts of reasons they reorg and shift priorities. An important part of being a small company or startup is being able to pivot strategy on a dime to beat the market. Sometimes that requires getting rid of teams that used to be the company’s bread and butter.
I’ve got 11 YOE, and haven’t been laid off. I’ve survived 3 big layoffs, and 1 small one. A 4th big one if you count my internship, but they weren’t laying off interns so there wasn’t any risk for me.
I didn’t achieve this by being “indispensable”, I didn’t get into anything niche. I achieved this through luck.
“How do I not get laid off?” is the wrong question to be asking.
The question you should be asking yourself is how to make it so if you are laid off, you’re confident you can find another job in a reasonable amount of time, so it’s not a big deal. I recognize I can be laid off at any moment, but I’m not scared of it.
the trick is to not work in the USA
6 jobs in some 15 years (not counting internships), never been laid off.
Its a mix of becoming impossible to replace, with recognizing when things are gonna turn to shit so you find a new job before that happens. Never regretted quitting any of those 5 jobs.
A combination of
* Contrarian tendencies
Chasing the popular thing means you will eventually be part of the oversupply. People who know the obscure stuff are scarce.
* Keeping a close eye on cues
What are the externalities, things your company can’t control like disruptive tech?
What are the internal issues? Did your company participate in “talent warehousing?” Did they buy another company, resulting in redundancy?
* Luck
I’m debating making a standalone post about this, but I genuinely think “how do you avoid getting laid off” is the wrong question, and “how do you never stay laid off” is the right question.
You could be laid off for any reason under the sun. If you have a truly strong network and track record (not “connections” or one-off conversations, but people that will go out of their way to actually help you) it’s very unlikely you’ll stay unemployed for long.
It’s called luck. Never got laid off yet in 15+ years. I did always work on critical software and am usually a top performer as well.
I’m always worried about being laid off and working my ass off to prevent it. I’ve also managed to avoid burn out so far, but it gets harder every day.
Never been laid off or fired in 20yrs – i have been through several layoffs.
Maybe because:
– I am one of a small group of people that is too critical to fire and very good to work with, (the guy with root passwords)
– i network a lot across companies internally and have great relationships with external teams and seen as “make it happen” guy
– my current boss seems very moody though and a lot of backstabbing seems to be happening so my days may be numbered
I always make sure to position myself in projects that deliver tangible value to an organization. Sure, everyone is idiealy doing that. But if you ask enough questions about requirements and large scope objectives, you start seeing where the chips fall and what to stay away from.
However, I’ve never stayed with an org longer than 2 years, and I make sure to avoid interacting with “brilliant jerks” in high positions as I know we’ll naturally clash when I highlight flaws in their passion projects. When we do clash and it’s noticeable, i professionally submit to them emphasize that “the organization gains no value in me continuing that engagement/discussions.” There’s no point in arguing a valid point if the person you’re trying to help doesn’t want to listen, and is a child with seniority’s favoritism.
Usually, when these conflicts happen (and it’s everywhere), it’s a subtle signal for me to switch roles. That’s because even though you’re a professional in a professional setting, not everyone you work with understands that and keeps petty grudges. They will pounce at an opportunity to put you on the chopping block during moments like layoffs or downsizes.
I’ve been at it for about 8 years. One org had my tenure for about 3 years but pivoted to another team in the 1.5yr mark. Job hopping regularly is annoying, but after a while, you figure out the process like binge dating and moving onto the next body. In all honesty if you’re hoping and actually have close involvement with large project development each time, it’s a great way to make sure your skills are fresh and you’re challenging yourselves with diverse project experience.
I worked in science and research for the first 12 years of my career. Seisomolgy, then quantum computing research, then autonomous sensing. Now i work for a small start up
Government
Its still a lot luck, but these things can help:
Being too knowledgeable/important to fire
Working for small-ish (not startup) companies
Not making the most money in your company for your position
Work for a company that has basically a monopoly in whatever product it’s selling
Work for the gov’t
Luck and leaving when I sense things are going downhill.
Luck is a big part of it, but here are some strategies that (I think) helped in my early career. These have been useful in 20-person startups, Bay Area unicorns, and companies in between:
– be a top performer (definition varies by company)
– work in a profit center, not a cost center. Companies will try to streamline costs but if they depend on your work for their profit, you are much safer
– be the person that reduces your manager’s stress rather than adding to their stress. Be as independent as possible, don’t cause drama, do/build things that make your team more effective or productive. It doesn’t mean that you have to suck up to your manager.
If you see that your company is in bad shape and that layoffs are imminent, leave on your own terms by polishing your resume and getting offers on the table asap. This keeps your options open and gives you more negotiating power when landing that next role.
I’ve never been laid off and am 13 years into my career. I’ve worked for 4 different companies. We’ve had rounds of layoffs but somehow I never got hit.
I anticipated layoffs with rising interest rates and moved to insulate myself where I thought layoffs were unlikely. Went to Walmart for a year and then Apple. Wish my brother had taken my advice when I warned him in Jan 2022.
The key is to keep your steady and stable job once you found it, even if it is the most boring thing in your life. And find a hobby outside of work.
God’s grace
Defense contract was in a weird recompete. Jumped ship before I could get fired (skipped out on retrospectively lame retention bonus).
Then stayed in defense with bigger corp, super safe as long as you don’t break the law or HRs laws.
Left there for tech, but could’ve stayed forever. Surviving tech the last 2+ years? Pure luck. Maybe I’m underpaid coming from defense so I’m safer.
I’ve never been laid off, and I’ve been working as a software professional since 1996. There’s definitely a lot of luck involved, but there’s also some strategy. When I feel that a company is not doing well, I tend to switch companies. I also don’t take high risk positions.
My job right now is extremely boring and unfulfilling. My company just had a bad quarterly earnings report and said that they’re going to take aggressive cost cutting measures in the next quarter. They just had some quiet layoffs yesterday.
A couple of weeks ago, I was approached for an extremely interesting internal position on an R & D team. I told the team that I wasn’t interested. Why? Because R & D is one of the first places companies cut since it typically generates very little revenue.
I may still get laid off, but I feel that I’m doing my best to shift the odds in my favor.
I’ve worked for a lot of companies over the past 25+ years. The only answer is luck.
In 37 years of working, laid off less than 4 weeks. One time.
Paranoia is a survival trait.
I have looked for early signs of trouble and tried to move before the storm.
2001 I was laid off, and it was a difficult time through 3 different jobs losing 30% of my income before it was restored in 2006.
Big companies that aren’t tech companies are the safest for layoffs imo.
Advice 1
Work in money generating part of the business.
All though my career I was an engineer, but also was good with customers and most importantly good at supporting the sales teams. So close to the money generation.
Yes, the company did layoffs – both in sales and engineering – but there was only 1 person with my mix.
Advice 2
Learn some financials and pay attention to it.
At a big company, not so much.
Anything under 300 people – get a handle on the revenue, and you can estimate the costs. You don’t have all the facts, but it’s not hard to track trend lines.
Costs are easy. Number of people time an average.
Revenue is harder, but usually you can get a feel for the number of new vs churned customers.
Why does this matter? It gives you an early warning system. Best way to avoid layoffs is not be there when they happen.
Company 1. Layoffs happened. I was sure they were coming because of my rough maths, and I knew I’d be ok. So I stayed. They sorted themselves out – I ended up with a good career there.
Company 2. Looking grim. I jumped ship. They closed their doors completely about 2 months later ( Dotcom bubble startup ).
Company 3. Never managed to get growth, so they stagnated but were ok moving forward. I felt it was risky place to because some external event would tip them over the edge ( it did about 12 months after I left ) – they did a 30% cut.
Coming up on 30 YOE and never laid off. Worked for the same company for 25 years.
I’m a high performer in a role not many can do in our group but more importantly, I work for a defense contractor and have a high level security clearance. There are meetings that only I and one of two others on the team can attend. And it’s expensive getting someone a security clearance so they would rather not go through all that again.
Get a new job before it happens.
And I don’t mean a pip, I mean when it looks like there will be layoffs.