For 2 years I worried when I would get that call that so many of my colleagues did. When I began my post-MBA career in July of 2000, it was “Champagne and Cavier Days.” The NASDAQ was at an all-time high. Hiring was over the moon - my MBA classmates held multiple offers and were wined and dined by multiple organizations from coast to coast.

In my second week at my consulting firm, at the end of new hire training, there was the firm’s annual event. Cirque de Soleil greeted us as we were dropped off in limos at Navy Pier in Chicago. We navigated by red carpet to a vodka ice bar, shellfish buffet, and an evening capped off with an orchestra booming us past midnight dancing with the stars.

It was an incredible time and one I will never forget. Then, I went to work.

Then, Y2K passed. The lead up to the turnover from 1999 to 2000 stimulated enormous tech spending to avoid all IT systems from blowing up and shutting down the world. I traveled to Paris to celebrate the New Year (partying in 1999…not “like it was 1999.” I felt if it was going, I’d be in style!

IT did not blow-up.

But, Y2K slowed.

Then, 9/11 happened. The tragedy of that day sent many shockwaves beyond that terrorism in and of itself.

Next, a series of enormous corporate frauds became center of mind.

2001 - Enron
2002 - Worldcom
2002 - Tyco
2003 - HealthSouth
2003 - FreddieMac

What History Tells Us

What we are seeing right now is not a new set of events.

Meta, Twitter, Amazon, Lyft, Stripe, Coinbase, Shopify, Netflix, Microsoft, Snap, Robinhood, Chime, Tesla…plus a large number of start-ups, prominent and lesser known, layoffs are here and likely more are coming.

Numerous companies, especially start-ups closed doors in 2001-2003. The big business environment shuffled.

I also watched and experienced from the inside how individual careers were impacted. I think this first hand experience taught me a lot and has created insights on career strategy, particularly to ride the volatile waves of the business cycles.

The history lesson is: What rises will fall. All growth will end. Business is about profit and generating shareholder returns. Often, shareholders need to “see” action being taken. CEOs desire to keep their job and will do what is needed to keep shareholders happy, which allows the CEO to stay in the seat.

Choices Made in Human Capital

In consulting, the ONLY way to deal with business decline and sustain profit is to let go of people. People are the biggest cost. This is true in technology too. People are the most significant P&L expense. It is important to understand this about business.

Let me repeat - Human Capital is a cost to a business. An expense line item.

I personally believe human capital is a critical asset for companies. I also am trained as an accountant and I understand the profit drivers. I will come back to the value of people but for some of this discussion, my focus will be on people as an expense to the business.

What I saw first hand was this:

Revenue declined due to either less interest in consulting services or a change in focus which might have meant less expensive consulting resources.
Step 1 was leadership taking a pay cut. Yes, the leadership at my firm did this. Long-term play.
Step 2 was compensation. All employees took a pay cut of 25% and no bonuses were paid. This was a team-effort approach.
Step 3 was a furlough. This meant that individuals were on leave, first at 25% of pay, then at 0%. This began as voluntary. Then, it was involuntary. The involuntary was done in an equitable approach and one that created the least disruption to clients. If you were not billable/staffed, you were furloughed.
Step 4 was a layoff. First voluntary, then, involuntary. The same approach was used, not staffed, minimal client disruption.

Phew. I am feeling a bit of stress just remembering this time period, from mid-2001 to late 2002. During that time, I and many of my colleagues worked extremely hard and frankly:

LIVED IN FEAR

Fear of a call. Fear of mistakes. Fear of a client conflict. Fear of burnout. Fear of project changes. Fear of not knowing.

What I Know Now

In the past 20 years, I have thought about that experience - quite a lot. Many of the memories are a bit vivid. Frankly, it creates PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) which can be problematic if not recognized.

This then, is my advice for those experiencing this now.

1. Your situation is not your creation

There are macro-economic and firm-specific factors in your situation. It is important not to over-rotate into negative self-talk. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Yes, we have heard the news and projections of decline in the tech industry for the past 6 months or so. Why all of a sudden in a 2 week period are things happening? It’s quarterly earnings time! One firm goes and then, the industry goes. All outside your locus of control. BTW, this is not just isolated to the tech industry - but, often, tech is more spikey up-down than other industries.

2. Focus on the immediate, pragmatic steps next

This is a very personal element and everyone’s situation is different. I think you have to do a few things. Look at the bank. What is the present financial situation. Can you pay bills and for how long. Do you have a partner? Have a heart to heart and figure out how to work together. The best career situations involve a team. Same goes for family and friends. Do you have kids? In the way that relates the most given age, explain. Share that the company made changes, you are no longer there, and looking for a new role. Say it will be scary but not to worry.

BTW - I am a parent and have had to deal with several very difficult situations with my kids. I’m not a child therapist and don’t dole out advice. I just know what has scared and worried my own kids.

In this time, focus on your health, stress, and emotion.

I took a voluntary exit from a consulting firm mid-career. About 4 weeks in, I was very upset. Not working was far harder than I imagined. On a walk one day, I just started tearing up. I was emotional and feeling all those self-criticisms. It happens and it is ok.

3. Get your plan together

I am seeing a lot right now about “start your own company” or “do independent consulting” until you find a job. I am going to be really honest here…that may not be the right approach for YOU. It is not easy. It is just as scary, frustrating, and uncertain. Not everyone is a natural born entrepreneur! It is easy to say. Harder to do.

My first piece of advice if you want to go down this path is determine how much you like SALES! You have to generate business. You have to have a service or product and ask people to pay you for it. Going from $0 to $125,000 in revenue is very hard. Also, in many businesses, $125,000 in revenue might mean $60,000-75,000 in profit (aka, take home pay).

Then, the other plan is a job search. Determine what factors are critical deal breakers/makers for you. Here is our list of categories that often have the highest impact in a job search:

Same role/industry or change?
Compensation - must have, desired level?
Work location - willing to relocate, office/remote/hybrid, time of commute
Benefits - must haves and need to haves
Corporate culture - does it matter, what are your priorities, where do you work best
What do you bring - consider what you can help an organization do and take advantage of your skills
What can you learn - what are opportunities for growth, short-term and long-term
Manager - what is the approach that works best for you, what direction/feedback do you need/expect
Ego - yep, ego! We all have it - what do you need to feel proud of your work
Timeline - How much time do you have to explore/search and optimize items 1-9, or deal with issues like a visa

For every individual, you must weight these 10 things. No one is in the same spot. It is unfair of any of us to judge others. We don’t know what is going on in personal matters.

4. Be open minded / apply a growth mindset

When I go to college campuses and talk to graduate students, I will ask, who are the companies you want to work for most. No surprise.

MAANG + Goldman + Disney + unicorn start-ups

+++ many elite consulting firms

I will not say there are ZERO jobs at this companies (in fact, financial services likely will continue to do a lot of hiring!) but, the number of open doors might be smaller.

Also, you may read these names and say, that’s not for me. Some people are in certain industries. Others in a geography that is important to you. Maybe the culture of these firms does not fit who you are.

No matter who is on your “dream” company list, I think it valuable to look more openly at a wider variety of firms. I read a lot of publications - from Fast Company, to WSJ, and Business Week AND listen to podcasts. There are tons of companies profiled and I think, wow, that organization seems really interesting! Some are cited for best work culture, best place for women, offer perks that are unique, and have a chance to make an impact or apply your skills in a new way.

The key is - can you figure out of things are in any given organization are in growth mode.

One of my business school friends joined KPMG in 1999. Eh…accounting. Not really growth. However, he went into M&A advisory, where KPMG was small. Let’s say for my point, it was $10M in 1999. He joined and the business flourished (due to him….???? Maybe????). Today, that business is 100X.

Growth.

I have another friend who got into the cold storage logistics business after a career with Whirlpool (where he knew a lot about refrigerators!). That business has boomed and his company was acquired, creating an ever bigger role for him.

The point is - figure out if the business is doing something interesting. Ask people. Learn. Read. Find small or big companies that don’t have a “household” name. There are 1000s of businesses out there.

AND, they are hiring.

Sexy, cool, hoodie with logo - yeah, might be nice.

For me, show me the $$$$ and that comes from growing businesses.

5. Get ready and take a little more care than usual

One truth now is hiring organizations will be pickier. The flow of candidates is even greater and potentially, fewer roles. There is a concept using in hiring called “The Purple Squirrel.” It refers to the perfect candidate. Hiring managers go in search of purple squirrels. Interviewing candidate after candidate after candidate. Yet, like purple squirrels, finding the perfect candidate is elusive. What is means: People are picky.

How do you address this. Hear is the focused list:

Polish your LinkedIn. Get a NEW photo. Look at your background, wear bright clothes, keep your face front and center. Be the best version of YOU. Change your headline and put in your functional skills clearly. Clean up employment and education. Put non-relevant employment and volunteer work in another section so people can see your employment easily.
Generate a high impact resume. Clean template. Content with skills and impact. Write it facing forward - for your next role. Do research to know the key skills employers seek. We are doing an awesome project right now called Resume Meta(mor·pho·sis). Walking step-by-step to create high impact resumes for your future role. Watch the first few episodes here! Resume Meta(mor·pho·sis)
Do research. Before talking to someone, review their LinkedIn profile and look through the company website. Focus on products/services, industries, mission/values, press releases, and financials (if public). Get a baseline and show you are excited about the organization and person.
Prepare for interviews. What does prepare mean? Outline your interview stories. Yes, in writing. Then, practice. Ideally, practice each story 5-10 times. Record yourself. Get your responses to 2-3 minutes. People tell us all the time, “I know my experience!” Then, they get a rejection after an interview. We all benefit from practice.
Don’t just apply - network. Applying is the California Gold Rush. You will pan a LOT of dirt before you get any nuggets of gold, if any. If you apply to 300 jobs, you may get 8 interviews. You may or may not then get 1 offer. Focus on 10 companies at a time, that you know are hiring. Go deep. Then, apply to roles with a strong fit based on your background.

Is there Magic? Are there lessons from Tech history?

Yes and yes. The magic is from applying job search best practices. The lessons from history are clear.

Markets go up and down. Hiring expands and contracts. Layoffs come and they spare no one.

My personal and expert advice: Manage your grief and emotion. This is tough no matter the situation. Anger - channel it. Embarrassment - f@%k it.

Back to tech history. I have spent my entire career in and around technology businesses. First in telecom in the 1990s (pre-mobile phone!). Then, in the start of the digital/information age in the early 2000s. Before maps were on your phones, I worked for NAVTEQ who created content for in-vehicle navigation systems. Now, I lead a CareerTech start-up based on mobile technology.

Look at the chart. Technology is just more volatile. Green top line is the NASDAQ. Blue bottom line is the S&P 500. Technology is full of wonder and excitement and when it burns, it burns hot. When it fizzles, the embers lay around. Keep this in mind. This is not new, but, history requires we look at it to discover its lessons.

Good luck with what comes next.

Join Archer Career for our upcoming Get Ready Job Search Workshops. Coming Dec 1. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Dream big and keep focused on your career goals and ambitions.

Pam Schilling, CEO and Co-Founder, Archer Career

Tech Industry history lesson: Yes, history repeats itself.