Your 2023 Tech Job Search Guide
Six Recession-Proof Tips to Upskill Your Mindset
The Revelation
This past Friday night, I hit the Submit button on my computer screen before heading out to bed. I had just applied to the Winter 2023 LinkedIn #REACH Engineering Apprenticeship Program as a Data Science & Machine Learning apprentice candidate….
*Pause* I know what you all about to say, “Christina, I thought that you were this firm future product management advocate that was ready to make her mark in the tech world. Man, I read that Beyonce post like it was the blueprint!! Now, you’ve gone and broke my soul! How could you betray me like that?!?!”
Yes, for the last several years, I was on an unyielding quest to become the greatest product management master that no one ever was (I hope you get the reference). As much as I love talking about how I would manage products for companies, it was until last month when I finally realized that I don’t have to be a product manager to have a central role in shaping the software development ecosystem of a product. A product manager is not the be-all, end-all tech position; it serves a particular function and purpose in the greater scheme of things in the business world. That’s it.
I could talk all day about a new product feature in detail if I were a product marketing manager or data scientist. My transferable skills will take me far into places that I didn’t know could be possible — I just have to be vigilant about what I want to accomplish. I was so fixated on one particular path that I didn’t focus on other similar tech roles out there that were just as pivotal, if not more, in defining and shaping our favorite applications and devices, but are more attuned to my talents, temperament, and career aspirations.
I didn’t want to face my own music, but my intuition kept telling me subconsciously to pull the plug the week or so before I went on my vacation last month. When I applied to the IPMA Program in August, I was certain that I would get in. However, I’m also a realist and at the end of the day, product management is still a super competitive field to get into and I was competing with 1300+ other candidates who were just as eager and motivated as I was to make this career switch.
I didn’t get in and I’m completely fine with that decision because I know that there is a career opportunity out there waiting in the distance for me that I know I can make a profound impact with. The tides just turned to an alternative direction and I must continue the course. After I returned to the States and had a heartfelt conversation with my career coach about my fall job search strategy, I officially pulled the plug. I concluded that product management (at this time) is not the career path for me to pursue.
I guess my time away from home put things into perspective and now I’m more motivated to pursue and explore more product-adjacent fields such as program management, product marketing management, and data science/data analytics.
Some additional examples are the following for reference: Quality Assurance (QA) engineering, DevOps, software engineering, product operations, digital marketing, UX design, design program management, and so forth.
As a Millennial professional, I now know how to react and incorporate internal and external circumstances into my plans more times than I like to admit. Maybe the reason why I didn’t get any traction was because I didn’t have the hard technical expertise in launching successful products with the right KPIs under my belt to wow recruiters and subsequently, hiring managers. Maybe I could take this future product-adjacent role, gain that technical experience, and then make that lateral move to product management in due time. Maybe product management is indeed a personality mismatch for me. I’ll reassess this situation privately later this year. But in the meantime, I’ll continue my hunt to find my next home (whatever that may be) where I can continue to grow my authentic self.
What You Can Do to Prepare
If you could take one thing out of this post, it is that there will be certain moments in your life where you must be super vigilant and act accordingly. This pandemic has proved us that the non-linear path can in fact be the most beneficial path towards long-term success, self-improvement, and the advancement of society after all.
Now that everyone and their Mom want to enter the tech industry, you must be even more effectively strategic about your next chess move when you’re surrounded by new competition and an economic beast that is about to come out of the shadows. We ‘re already in a recession, and as a highly intuitive person, what I foresee may be far worse than the Great Recession or the economic downturn of the 1970s.
2023 may shape up to be one for the history books when all say is done and I want you all as job candidates, working professionals, and/or entrepreneurs to be mentally, physically, and spiritually prepare for what may possibly transpire. Don’t take this too lightly. Always be up for any challenge.
Here are several tips, strategies, and additional insights that I’ve gathered on my tech journey so far that can help you land your first or next tech move.
Tip #1: Know the global landscape like the back of your hand.
For the past month, I have been in these social media streets gathering intel about the state of the global economy. While others are seizing these times to advance their brands and multiple passive income streams (which I recommend you all do), it’s not looking too good.
If you already know this, then you’re ahead of the curve. Meta (Facebook) has plans to lay off up to 12,000 employees due to a combination of recent poor quarterly revenue earnings and a losing war with its Chinese-based rival TikTok for Internet consumption dominance. Google and Goldman Sachs are also getting ready (or have quietly started) to lay off their most worst-performing employees. Since this spring, startups and other FAANG companies alike have laid off or fired thousands of people. Senior executives keenly know that the writing is on the wall. If you think this is just a normal cyclical period, wait until we get those highly anticipated Q3 2022 company earnings reports later this month.
The news will most likely cause a severe domino effect of economic instability we haven’t seen since the early days of the Great Recession — or the Great Depression for that matter (I hope it’s not). If you believe in astrology (I do, but there’s a whole other story), this economic shift was already predestined. The United States, in particular, is undergoing its first Pluto Return since the nation was first founded in 1776.
That means that once this period of upheaval and transformation is over, we will completely be in a more elevated, collective mindset. All that we have ever known about self-validation, self-worth, and our financial institutions, policies, habits, and expectations will be completely removed to usher in a new, more balanced system that all Americans can partake in to seek financial freedom (That’s the ideal plan). There are entities right now indulging in market manipulation, money laundering, insider trading, and other serious white-collar crimes — all to amass their pockets, while the rest of us are finally realizing that we want generational wealth too and the choice to live true work-life-balance lifestyles on our own terms. If you still don’t believe me, then why are millions of Americans are still participating in the Great Resignation?
People are flocking to the tech industry because they are more opportunities to make a difference in the world and build the generational wealth pipelines in their communities that have been historically denied to them for centuries. But the tech industry has its own gatekeeping processes in place and so, the competition for diverse talent rages on. If you think pivoting into tech is hard right now, imagine competing for the same tech roles with hundreds of freshly laid off former Google and Meta employees who also need those jobs to help them weather this impending storm. I know that the pandemic, social unrest, high commodity prices, and geopolitical wars may have dampened your morale and spirits, but you must stay tune in to the noise as you adjust your career plans moving forward. If it’s still too much to decipher, just keep one ear to the news and the other ear to your work. The odds are in your favor, you just have to move accordingly to the challenging times.
Extra Tip: For those who want to get into project or program management, how you strategize and prepare yourself during this time outside of work will set you up better for the field than any degree, certification, network connection, or prior work experience could ever do.
Tip #2: Do the damn soul-searching work.
Do the damn soul-searching work. Do the damn soul-searching work. Do the damn soul-searching work. Do the damn soul-searching work. Do the damn soul-searching work. Do the damn soul-searching work.
I think it’s self-explanatory. The Internet is at your fingertips. You want to learn data science or tech sales? There are tons of free or affordable courses, bootcamps, certifications, and degrees out there that you can take to learn the fundamentals. What you have to do is the following:
- Have a strong idea of what field you want to go into. You may want to write it down somewhere.
- Pick one or two roles that initially interest you.
- Conduct the research. If the field is not what you thought it would be, repeat Steps #1–2. Take notes, lots of notes. Those notes will formulate into your plan.
- Narrow down a few course resources to start your upskill process.
- Fully develop, tweak, and stick with your plan to boost your career development.
Pace yourself. Thorough industry research takes time, tenacity, and patience. Also reach out to as many people inside and outside your network as you can to see if the tech industry, their respected organizations, and the job position/function that you’re passionate about are all right fits. The ones who invest in themselves and broaden their networks will ultimately win the race, regardless of how long it takes them to reach their destinations. If we enter a global recession later this year or at the very start of 2023, your network will become your lifeline and vehicle you use to navigate, survive, and thrive in the uncertainty.
Extra Tip: TikTok is an awesome search engine, but I would trend very carefully and take those “The Day in the Life as a XYZ Professional at XYZ Tech Company” videos with a grain of salt until you can cross-analyze the users’ arguments with outside substantial evidence. Do your due diligence, that’s all.
Tip 3: If you’re not a white cisgendered man, you’ll have to assess your chances a bit differently.
We already know the statistics and talking points. In a global recession (or whatever this is going to be called), underrepresented communities are going to find it much harder to secure well-paying jobs, regardless of industry. For the last month, I have seen quite a tech apprenticeship and bootcamp programs on Twitter and LinkedIn alone. Many will see an influx of bright and intelligent BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other non-traditional candidates, but only a few will get in.
There’s a very strong demand and interest in these communities to pivot into the tech industry, but there is also a shortage of well-developed rotational/apprenticeship/returnship programs that canter to their needs. Sometimes, I think there isn’t a lack of well-qualified, non-traditional candidates. It’s just that many companies don’t care about reaching out to those communities to create those long-term relationships. If we can find new planets millions of light years away from Earth, then we can find 25 recent HBCU computer science college graduates on the East Coast who would be interested in applying to your new rotational program. Just saying….
But beyond these realizations, I think the tech industry will be more cutthroat. That’s why it’s best to have your portfolios, websites, case studies, and side projects ready to go at all times because those artifacts will most likely get your foot in the door to show these employers that you have the enthusiasm and perseverance to learn the new skills and frameworks. Better yet, create your own side businesses and startups so that there are pipelines out there for people that look like you and/or share your life principles. Don’t wait for Superman to save the day. You are your own best advocate.
There will be a subset of job candidates who will feel discouraged from pursuing the tech industry after receiving multiple rejections from these sought-after job positions and programs. My advice to them is that rejection is part of life. Maybe they were misled into thinking that the process would be super easy. That seems fair, but if they have done the research and planning first, they would have known that landing a job in any new industry is going to take longer on average. Just be mindful that there are other ways of getting recognized for your talents. Think outside the box.
Tip #4: Take as many mental breaks as you like.
I took a well-deserved break from my chaotic life last month when I traveled to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico for the very first time. It was the best investment that I have ever made in recent history. I feel calmer and more content with where my life is heading. You want to be the most confident version of yourself at work and outside of work with family and friends when times get rough. Don’t let your job search or your job control you or become your core identity. That’s one of the hardest lessons that I’m learning to deprogram myself and I personally don’t want you to go down the same rabbit hole. If you’re frustrated with your search due to various events in your life, take a week off to totally do something unrelated, and then refocus your energies the following week. If you need more time than a week, take that damn vacation you’ve put on pause for so long or I’ll go on your behalf! Let me just send out that Zoom invitation……..
Tip #5: You don’t have to be in the tech industry to be in tech.
Once major tech companies have slowed down their hiring, they may not too attractive to you. Remember that there are nonprofits, small businesses, smaller startups, and legacy organizations out there that need qualified technologists and non-technical folks to help them get ahead of the curve. Some need to migrate their infrastructure to agile or on the cloud, while others need a strong social media presence on multiple platforms so that they can successfully advertise their products and services to new customers. Some may even have business problems that you may be able to solve with just a few lines of code in Kotlin or Python. You probably could make a bigger, lasting difference in that organization than in any FAANG company (Let’s be real here). You just have to take the time to do the necessary research and be aware that every organization that has a product or service can be considered a tech company, whether they brand themselves as such or not.
Extra Tip: In times of uncertainty, you have to think ahead of the crowd. If a global recession was announced tomorrow, where in the tech industry would you see immediate growth potential? Consider these options.
Tip #6: Be Open to Change Even When You’re Hesitant About the Changing World
I came out of college about eight months into the Great Recession. I had no blueprint for success, but I made my own. I swore up and down that I was going to be a product manager and after years of trying, I saw the signs, reassessed the situation, and is now moving towards my goal in a slightly different trajectory. I applied to the LinkedIn REACH program because for the last year or so, I’ve realized that to make those tough product or business decisions as a technologist, I must understand and coexist with Big Data. No ifs, ands, or buts. Data analytics is a skillset that I’m still learning and have made it my goal this month to further that knowledge as I continue to decrease the numbers that I job search. job search. My sanity is my wealth.
If you have seen any of my previous work, I’m a storyteller and freelance writer by trade and data science, for example, is all about visually telling untold stories about data to an audience that is willing to listen and react to the information. Do I wish that I could get interviewed and then be offered a spot in the program? Oh, absolutely! I have the confidence, discipline, and the manifestation power to make it happen. But like I’ve said, I can only hope for the best because that’s the only amount of control that I possess in the application process. I’m leaving it up to the universe now. There are so many other ways that I can enter the field — this program is just one vehicle that I’m using to get there. I’m just thankful that I’m more open and receptive to new opportunities around me and that I’m shedding these old paradigms about who and what I should expect to be in this world that I firmly and aimlessly stood by for all these years. I can’t wait to see the fruits of my labor.
I hope that you continue to see your successes as well, because it will be worth your while. Stay the course, change the course if needed, and you will get there. May you have a blessed rest of the month! :)
