Events from the past years have been slowly but increasingly fueling the dangerous situation we now face in IT, where companies are putting the brakes on hiring tech talent and, in some cases, even going for massive layoffs. The recent hiring freeze is no joke.
“Some of the biggest market players, including Google, Microsoft, Meta (formerly Facebook), Twitter and Apple, among many others, have imposed hiring freezes for the foreseeable future.” — Forbes
Developers are now finding it harder to enter the job market as hiring positions are reduced, and competition between devs grows. However, not all is lost, and there are several things developers can do to increase their chances of getting hired in times like this.
Here are some tips to face the hiring freeze if you’re searching for a new tech job.
5 tips to face the hiring freeze
1. Don’t assume the worst
First things first: if you’re in the market for a new job, don’t automatically assume that a hiring freeze will lead to layoffs. One thing doesn’t imply the other. If anything, it means the companies are being careful about their trajectory and protecting plans for the future.
Another assumption you should avoid is thinking it’s useless to look for a new job now. Finding one might be harder than before, but it’s not mission impossible. Many companies are experiencing growth right now, and the great thing is that most of them need tech professionals.
Keep the search going, and make sure to do it in a mindful way — keep reading for tips 2 and 3.
2. Target companies with growth
When job hunting, search for companies that are experiencing growth and will likely continue experiencing it long-term. You should seek out companies that raised venture financing recently.
If you land an interview, one of the useful things to ask about is the company’s short and long-term goals and growth plans. Not only will it show your interest, but it will also give you the insight you need to make a decision when it comes to it.
If you’re unsure how to land that interview, here are 5 tips for doing it at Landing.Jobs.
3. Be extra mindful of your applications
If you’re not upgrading your skills, you’ll find it hard to keep up with the competition and the volatile market. Besides, as I said in another blog post, the tech industry is constantly evolving, trends change over time and if you don’t keep yourself updated, you can get behind reality very fast.
You can do many things nowadays to help keep your skills and brain stimulated. The simple Google search “How to practice coding”, for instance, gave me 10 websites to practice coding for free, and that’s just the first result.
We’ve also gathered our own list of 6 things you can do to make yourself a better developer in 2023, so have a read.
4. Don’t burn bridges
The thing about rejection, whenever it might fall on you, is that it sucks. No one likes to find out that they didn’t get the job they spent hours refining the application for. But you live and learn, as they say. And the more experience you get in this jungle that is the recruitment world, the harder-skinned you get.
This hiring freeze nightmare and the whole market shift are an even more critical time to hone those rejection-dealing skills. Learning how to take the news and not burn bridges along the way is essential.
It may not seem worth the effort if you’re suddenly dropped during a recruitment process by a company, hearing they will put a halt on all hiring, but trust me: you don’t want to leave a bad impression on the company because of that.
Don’t vent on social media about it, and don’t scream at the world about it. It will probably backfire really fast, and you never know what the future holds. Who knows if you’ll be working there a year, two years or ten years from now? Or if you’ll meet their tech recruiter at another company in the future?
That brings me to my final tip.
5. Put things into perspective
This is probably the most important piece of advice among the five: take care of your mental health. I know a hiring freeze is scary, and it makes your life harder, but putting things into perspective will help you stay strong throughout the process.
The thing is: it’s not impossible to find a job right now. It’s just harder. It’s far worse if you keep a negative mindset, slack off on your application, or just give up altogether.
It would be far worse if you were hired by a company and then let go five weeks later. Them halting the recruitment process might be a blessing in disguise. At least it means they are being mindful of their objectives and thinking through their hiring needs.
If you’re looking for a new tech job, start browsing open positions at the Landing.Jobs platform, where you can refine the search by using several different filters.
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