I’ve been thinking a lot about friends this week. So many of my friends have reached out to support me and others in this layoff that I’m humbled to have so many great people in my network. Beyond just the network, having friends reach out provides a great support system for this challenging time. These people have met me for coffee, lunch, and beers or even dropped off dinner for my family one evening to show their love and support. I hope that everyone affected by layoffs is getting similar support.
However, I was challenged this week as I realized that I have so many friends, and yet for the last (nearly) seven years, I have never been this intentional about spending quality time with them. I have been very focused on my team, my career, my family, and more, and friends were a distant afterthought. Sure, I wanted to have more time with them, but when they didn’t call and I was super busy, time just got away from us both. I was intentionally scheduling time with friends during the first year of the pandemic, but that slowed down dramatically in 2022 and 2023. I’m bringing back that intentionality with a plan to maintain and grow my friendships even after I find another role, and I encourage you all to do the same.
Looking Back – On Mission With Friends
Indeed inspired me with its mission (“We help people get jobs”) even before I joined the company in 2016. I loved working on products to help job seekers find new roles and others for employers to find the right hire. In the first month, I saw firsthand how the mission would be used to gauge product success as a feature that was good for revenue but bad for job seekers was shuttered to protect the experience.
I’ve been a big believer in intrinsic value for a long time and always tried to help my teams understand the value they were creating, not just the revenue they extracted. Our User Experience teams were also instrumental in regularly refocusing the team on the customer experience, problems we were solving, and how we could help job seekers. Rallying around these problems with coworkers made them much more than peers; it grew so many new friendships. This article in Forbes on the importance of a mission-driven company shows the data behind that intrinsic motivation and a few questions you can ask to understand company culture around motivation/mission. (4 min read)
Looking Forward – Leadership & Worry
Another great article I read this week was on worry by RandsInRepose. (4 min read) Rands lays out that worrying/pessimism may seem engaged, helpful, or even essential but is doing more damage than good. Good leadership is the counter to worry: listening, understanding, staying curious, hoping, and more. I want to work with friends who exhibit this kind of leadership in my next role.
It’s easy in a layoff to move to a place of worry. Will I get another job? Will my budget work out? Will the market continue to get worse before it gets better? If we instead focus on listening to the feedback we’re getting, growing our skills during this downtime, we’ve been given, and most importantly, never losing hope, we will see brighter days.
We were laid off because the company made a mistake. Hiring you was a good decision, not a mistake. The mistake was not aligning hiring to the business needs. Your skills are valuable and are in demand somewhere. You have something unique to give. I hope you find that spot this week!
Today’s Tip – Negotiating
I’ve heard some folks have already gotten offers and are deliberating which to accept (and some have already accepted new roles, congratulations to everyone who’s seeing progress). Let me share a tip I’ve used in previous job searches with those closing in on a decision. Recruiters or hiring managers will ask you what your salary expectations are (where that practice is still allowed, here’s a list of places it is not.)
Preparing for this requires a bit of thinking about your budget, growth, and the longer-term opportunities in this role. My tip (I’ve lost the source for where I originally started this) is to develop three numbers: 1) your must-have salary, e.g., the take-home pay you have to get to make your budget work; 2) your desired salary, a reasonable balance of what you need and some extra to make things more comfortable, and; 3) your “happy place” salary, the amount you’d be very happy to get and would make you stop searching anywhere else.
When you share your desired salary (if you choose to share), share your mid and high numbers as a range. If the company comes within that range, you’ll be able to accept it comfortably. If they come in under your mid-point but above your must-have, you’ll know that the budget works and determine whether you want to negotiate. And, if the offer comes in below your must-have salary, you’re armed to push back and potentially walk away from an offer that won’t work for you.
Fun Stuff
Final Words
If I can help with your search, please get in touch with me. Please give me feedback on what you like or don’t care for in this newsletter, and I’ll adjust. For full transparency, I have no affiliation with any of the tools, companies, or resources I share. These are my impressions, not tainted by any outside influences.