Note: This week’s newsletter is a departure from the format of the previous 18 weeks. I’m playing with the structure and content to see what resonates. Let me know what you think.

There have been a lot of firsts with this layoff. My first layoff. My first time spending 18+ weeks searching for a job. My first weekly newsletter. As we roll into August, I want to try something else new. The feedback I’ve been getting from readers of this newsletter, on the whole, seems to indicate two things: 1) People appreciate my honesty, the reality of my position, and updates on my work to find a new role, and 2) People have been encouraged by the upbeat attitude and the helpful reminders and links. Those aren’t going anywhere.

All of that is good, but it was getting hard to avoid drifting into mostly meaningless self-help content, and as much as I enjoy that from time to time, just getting a dose of it in my email every week doesn’t seem like something I’d sign up for. Since the last 13 years of my professional career have been in leading teams and organizations, I wanted to mix some of that content in too. I am going back to publishing chapters of my book on running innovation teams. So, here goes everything. I hope you like it. Either way, let me know.

Refreshing Numbers

8,231 additional people were laid off in July, according to Layoffs.fyi, continuing the downward trend since January.

Over 50 tech unicorns were founded during the 2007-2009 recession. Source

28% of Americans have been laid off in the last two years (notably not including the COVID layoffs of 2020). Source

Encouragement – A Refreshment For Your Soul

While vacation was a great time with family, it was also exhausting. We walked five to eight miles daily on top of lots of standing around looking at things and figuring out where to go next. Keeping all four kids satisfactorily fed, rested, hydrated, and safe took a huge physical (and emotional) toll on me. I was ready to get home and get “back to work,” even if that work was job searching.

I’ll confess: I didn’t read this article. I skimmed it (skim time ~1 min, read time ~9 min), but it had what I was looking for: reminders of some good ways to practice “self-care.” Now that I’m back, I’m scheduled for a massage, and I went for a long walk this morning (both for the exercise and the time away,) and I’m about to pick up a novel for the first time in I don’t remember how long. It’s time to get my batteries fully charged; expecting that I’ll be starting a new role this Fall, and I want to start with high energy. 

Please take some time this week to do something for yourself.

Refreshing Teams

I’ve heard many rumors about the post-layoff reorgs (at Indeed and elsewhere), and I’ve been through a few big reorgs in my career, and the biggest thing I’ve learned from them is that reorgs hurt. They hurt a lot. Morale can plummet. Productivity can be destroyed. Even profits and revenue can be negatively impacted by reorgs. 

Of course, experienced managers would only take on a reorg knowing that it will tank their next three, six, or twelve months of metrics because they sincerely believe that the other side of the reorg will more than pay for that investment. But the truth is that I’ve never seen a team stop to measure the loss and gains from reorgs. Not that it’s easy to measure, of course. And even if you did measure it, how do you use those measurements? How do you compare intangibles like morale and happiness with tangibles like retention, revenue, and user experience?

I’m sure there are times when a complete reorg is necessary, just as I’m sure there are times when a whole system rewrite is needed too. But, having much more firsthand experience with system rewrites, I believe in incremental rewrites whenever possible, and I have seen how incremental reorgs (or micro-reorgs if you’ll allow it) avoid much of the “big bang” reorg pain.

Here’s the micro-reorg process in three simple (albeit not particularly easy) steps:

1. Create a shared understanding of what is valuable across the team (especially leadership.)
2. Regularly assess which projects are producing positive ROI vs. those that are not.
3. Adjust staffing levels to maximize organizational ROI as often as possible.  

Micro-reorging several times per year by moving a few percent of the team to better projects/products opens up the possibility to extract more value from key projects and right-size projects that are overstaffed and gives new opportunities to team members as they move to new teams. You have to set expectations upfront of course, and make sure not to move anyone around so often that it negatively affects their career growth.

We ran a program like this with 40-80 engineers over 6 years, and while it wasn’t perfect, we avoided full team reorgs the entire time (assuming you don’t count COVID’s impact in early 2020, which I don’t.)

Career Refresh

At the moment, I’m in the early stages with one sizeable multi-national company and various stages of interviews with three or so startups in Austin. I’m torn between looking for a company the size of Indeed again or jumping back into the wild west that is “startup land.” So, I’m toying with both sizes and looking to see what connects. My passion aligns more with the startup side, but I worry about the financial impact of putting everything in one startup basket again.

Additionally, I’m hitting the networking circuit again hard now that I’m back in Austin. So, if we haven’t caught up in a while, let’s chat and reconnect.

Refreshingly Fun

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

This week is effectively the last week of Summer break for our family. School is still a few weeks away (although that is just around the corner in mid-August). However, the sports tryouts and workouts begin next week, so as a family, we’re gearing up for those. Summer has flown by, and with it ending so soon (okay, we’re in Texas, and the Summer feelings will hang on until October), I’m contemplating how every ending creates a new beginning. Over the last few months of interviewing and networking, enabled by the layoff in March, I’ve been able to meet a lot of people, spend quality time with friends, coworkers, and family, and generally start a lot of new things that I hadn’t had the time to do when working full-time. Something new is just on the horizon, and it’s just a matter of finding it.

Looking Back – The Ending

With employment ending so abruptly, it left most of us in shock. There was a lot of activity to establish new insurance, start the job search, and develop new routines. Now that we’ve been out of Indeed for several months and the severance is running out, many have to reevaluate those decisions again. Several of these tips in this HBR article are things I’ve said before (focus on self-care, use your network and others). Still, the tip to regularly review positive reminders of the value I bring is one I’m putting into practice starting today (5 min read).

Looking Forward – Ending Means Beginning

All this thought about endings has me thinking more and more about what my first day, week, and month at my new job will contain. I’m still in the early interview stages with the companies I am interviewing with, so it may be a bit premature, but I want to be prepared. Many articles on the Internet about your first day, week, month, and beyond mainly include the same things. This article on inhersight.com had some practical tips on implementing conventional wisdom and a few unique thoughts (7 min read).

Today’s Tip

As job seekers, we don’t have many opportunities to provide feedback (to companies, recruiters, or hiring managers.) Record what parts of the process worked well and which could be improved. That way, if you get the role, you can work to enhance the company recruiting process. 

While we’re on the topic of feedback, if you’re still reading this deep into the newsletter, I’d love some feedback on what you like in these newsletters and what you wish it would include or would change. Drop me a line.

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

I’ve been battling the rejection blues this week. I was in the second round with a company and felt like things were going well, but got the feedback that I wasn’t a fit and wouldn’t be continuing and it’s got me down. I’m not really back to square one on the search, but definitely a few steps backward. I can see now how I didn’t put my best foot forward in the final interview and how that feedback reflects that, and it’s very disappointing, but a very good lesson for my next set of interviews. I’m thankful for the chance I got to get deeper into the interview process and practice some additional skills I hadn’t practiced in quite some time.

Looking Back – Compassionate Rejection

I’ve often heard that companies don’t want to give feedback to candidates in the rejection letter because it opens the door for debates, or worse lawsuits over why they were rejected. Now on the receiving end of those rejections I can completely understand both how hard it can be to get that feedback, and also how valuable it can be. This article on Hubspot gives some advice that I’ll be trying to follow going forward when it comes to rejecting candidates. (3 min read)

Looking Forward – Healing From Rejection

This article on BetterUp (7 min read) covers not just the phases of rejection but also has some meaningful tips on bouncing back from that rejection. In particular, the concept of growing from the experience completely hit home. 

Today’s Tip – Bouncing Back From Rejection

Take care of yourself by being around those who bring you the most joy. We’ve had the pleasure recently of spending quality time with family and friends and it has been a big lift in my spirits to share about my job search troubles and the new opportunities that are coming up soon.

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

As we start month four since the Indeed layoff (for those laid off by other companies, your timeline likely varies), we’ve reached a pivotal moment where the severance package provided will begin to run out. On the face of it, this sounds like only bad news, and for those who are still job searching, there is minimal upside. But there are a few positive signals. First, you should be eligible by the end of this month for those who haven’t been able to get unemployment up to this point. While that won’t replace previous full-employment income, it certainly helps. Secondly, if it feels like the layoffs have slowed, the data backs that up. Comparing Q1 to Q2’s layoffs, there were over 70% fewer people laid off in Q2 than in Q1. That’s significant progress, although, unfortunately, there were still another 45,000+ people laid off in Q2, so we still have a ways to go to get back to complete hiring. All in all, there are enough positive signals of a slow-down and a turnaround coming to gain confidence and bolster our faith that the jobs will come back. 

Returning from our family vacation in Europe, I’ve had the chance to tour several churches, cathedrals, and temples, which has me thinking about that faith. Much of my faith is rooted in my experience in the tech industry’s history for the last 20-plus years. I started my career in the final throws of the dot-com bust, weathered the housing bubble burst while at a startup in 2010-2012, and now I’m experiencing the tech downturn of 2022-2023. I’ve seen various technology pendulums (thick client vs. thin client, server-side or client-side, Java or anything else) swing between their various endpoints and back again. I still have faith that software is a great place to be. There is still so much opportunity to bring software to many spaces, so many new markets to be created by software startups, and so much more. I expect this downturn to spawn many new ideas, products, and markets that will be exciting to watch over the next three to five years.

Looking Back – Faith in the mission, leadership, or the company?

While at Indeed, I had faith in the mission (we help people get jobs), the products (moving closer to the hire), and the leadership team. When the layoff happened, most of that trust was shattered, not just for me. Over 2200 people were directly impacted by the layoff. Beyond that, everyone at Indeed and their families were affected, putting the number of impacted people beyond ten thousand or more. While I’m no longer at Indeed and can’t do much to help restore the trust, this article on Forbes has several good suggestions for building that faith back. (4 min read) This is excellent advice for repairing a relationship after damage, and it almost all works proactively, too, so I’m putting this in my back pocket as I look at new leadership positions.

Looking Forward – Faith that you’ll find love again

The quote that starts this article on Todoist hit me hard (7 min read): 

Most people work long, hard hours at jobs they hate that enable them to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like. — Nigel Marsh

The tangible suggestions on improving your love of your work were practical and approachable. I can even see myself applying some of them to unemployment. 

Today’s Tip

It’s time for a layoff playlist. I haven’t made one yet, although many are already out there: Apple Music, Spotify, or create your own (here’s a starter list.) Having good music to listen to during the day while you’re job searching or just relaxing can make all the difference between high and low-stress days.

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

We’re wrapping up the family vacation just after the 4th of July, so this is still a bit shorter newsletter than usual. Happy birthday America. I hope everyone in the US had a grand celebration. We got to enjoy just a few fireworks from London, which was fun and a bit ironic all rolled into one. 

Thinking back on all my years of sending exploding rockets into the sky, I’m reflecting on the patience of lighting a fuse and waiting for the payoff. Now and then, you’d light a fuse and see it seem to die out. You’d spend the next few seconds (what felt far longer) wondering whether it would rekindle and launch. Now nearly four months into the layoff, patience is wearing a bit thin at times, and I’ve put energy into several duds along the way. Patience tells me this will eventually lead to a better outcome, but I’ve got to trust that the right opportunity is out there for each of us.

Looking Back – Patient Expectation

One of the more unique things about Indeed’s engineering culture revolved around releasing software. Many places I’ve worked focused relentlessly on the date software was slated to ship. Of course, this makes sense because that’s the first chance to derive value from your investment in planning, designing, implementing, and verifying the software. It’s completely reasonable and good business sense to focus on that point, but the date is the wrong measure of success. It’s not as obvious, but the measurement you need to focus on is the time to first value. 

At Indeed, much of the software we released was released in A/B tests, so it would often launch with no traffic or only a tiny portion of users. This is an essential point in the life of the software, but it doesn’t tell us the software is a success, so it’s not the ultimate goal. We had to be patient and wait until we saw the value climb as the test was enabled. When we finally reached a point of being confident the software was successful, or occasionally, that it wasn’t working as hoped, we had finally delivered value and could celebrate by either rolling it out to everyone or removing the software for another test. This required patience as teams built software, and the date fluctuated, but it was a much healthier pattern than many other teams I’ve worked on because it kept the focus on the core outcome. 

Looking Forward – Patiently Searching

I’ll be honest, the last time I interviewed (in 2016), companies still expected you to give up a whole day for onsite interviews (6+ hours, in my experience.) It was grueling, but at least the decision typically came a few days after that. My experience this year indicates that many companies now spread those interviews out over days and weeks. I’m impatiently awaiting the following interview in this second round of interviews with a company. If given the chance, I would have happily packed both of these interviews (and more) into one day. The upside for this is that it’s probably a lot easier to squeeze an interview into a busy workday without tipping off your boss or team that you’re out for an interview, but for those of us with nothing but time, it feels painfully slow.

Today’s Tip – Patiently Returning

I passed on the opportunity to interview further with a few companies early in my search because I wanted to be more excited about the possibilities for various reasons. Now that we’re reaching month four, I’m revisiting a few. I see they’re still open, and I’ve had more time to reflect on exactly what I want to do and explore whether they could be right. So, if you haven’t revisited some of your previous searches, companies, or roles, that’s my suggestion for this week.

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

A belated happy Father’s Day is in order. Somehow it slipped my mind to include that in last week’s newsletter, but I hope everyone had a great day celebrating with their dads. For that, you’ve earned some extra fun stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAQjbMK-5I8 (Dad joke survivors. 2 min viewing)

Caption: Photo by Joice Kelly on Unsplash

This week’s newsletter will be shorter than usual as we’re on a family vacation. The break has been an excellent chance to restore some perspective, and I would say relax, but we’ve got four kids in tow, so it’s still pretty busy. We’re enjoying Europe (a delayed trip from 2020 that is finally happening.) The crowds are more significant than I love, but the museums, sights, and cultures have been very eye-opening for the kids. Even in the busyness we have been enjoying the downtime. Away from the hubbub of school, sports, and work, we can reflect on our relationships, friendships, take the time to enjoy food and to be contemplative.

Looking Back – finding peace in the chaos

In a company growing as fast as Indeed always was it was often hard to find peace in the day-to-day or even the month-to-month. The annual cycles did provide a sense of peace and calmness for me, though. It was helpful to look forward, set goals or OKRs, and then track progress towards them. 

As we start month four since the layoff, reflecting on your personal goals for your next job, for your family, and for your personal growth is an excellent way to refocus yourself on what truly matters. 

Looking Forward – playful peace

Finding a way to weave in the work-life balance I had at Indeed as I likely join a much smaller organization in my next role (nothing concrete, but still good progress, two interviews later this week) will be a challenge. I’ll be looking for ways to manage the onboarding and regular responsibilities while still maintaining my presence with our very busy family. There’s a framework I use at work I’ll have to use even more now at home. 

The four D’s:

1. Do – only the things that I alone can do. 
2. Delegate – the things I can use to help others learn and grow. 
3. Defer – anything inessential for a while to determine its priority. 
4. Drop – anything that doesn’t have to be done. 

Today’s Tip – peaceful vacation

I’ve said it before, but it’s summer now. Take that vacation. Take a break from the job searching (keep up enough to get that unemployment, of course.) Get into a new rhythm. Do something for yourself. Have a great time. Take pictures. 

Fun Stuff

Not sure about MS skills, but your pun game needs to be on spot! Must have skill on your resume

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

I’ve been thinking about what will differentiate the generations. Today, as I watch packs of children, walk past the restaurant, heading to the museums especially. I’ve heard it said that the Millenial generation was defined by the presence of the Internet in the home growing up. And that 9/11 was one of the seminal events guiding the boundaries of Gen Z. I have been wondering whether large-scale changes in how we use the Internet will also be harbingers of generational change. The incredible change with the consumption of video online via platforms like Youtube, the influence of online social media, and now the introduction of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI for short), all seem like sizable enough changes in the way the world works to help differentiate between generations.

Looking Back – Generations of Employees

In hindsight, there were generations of employees at Indeed, as at any company. You have the founders and those who were there during the startup years. They’re used to the scrappy; everything’s constantly changing culture. Then along comes the team hired during booming growth. They understood the plan: take what worked, scale it up, and lose the rest. Eventually, many companies also have a generation of employees who join after the hyper-growth has peaked and more normalized growth (or reduction) has set in. They see their role as maintaining the status quo, squeezing out more growth or profit, and preserving the base. This post on Medium goes a bit deeper into some of the archetypes if you’re interested in reading more (note: the focus is customer service, but the principles are sound.) (5 min read)

Now mix those different sub-cultures with the different working styles of three to five generations of employees in the workforce. You can get many different approaches to the same problems and an opportunity for cultural clash if the company’s foundational ethos (or values) are poorly designed and imbalanced.

Looking Forward – Generation Layoff

My grandfather was a child during the Great Depression and once shared a story with me about how difficult it had been to replace a pocket knife as a kid. So, he bought one once he could afford a second pocket knife. Even into his 60s and beyond, he still carried two pocket knives. The impact of the Great Depression lasted his whole life.

The tremendous impact these tech layoffs of 2022 and 2023 have had on people, companies, and the industry will be felt for years. It will change the industry as new startups are created who have learned from the mistakes of overhiring and the zero-interest rate phenomenon. This article in The Guardian helps lay a foundation for understanding the zero-interest rate phenomenon for those unfamiliar. (5 min read)

Today’s Tip – You Will Be Found

We’ve already shared this tip in our Slack channel, but anecdotally many are finding it to be useful, so I wanted to share it here to widen the audience. Apparently, if you set an end date on your last job on LinkedIn, it can prevent you from showing up in recruiting searches. This video explainer shares the best practice for making sure your your profile stays in the searches you want it displayed in. (9m watch) the TL;DR is: Setting the end date for your last role on LinkedIn will put you into LinkedIn state of not having a current position and be missed by recruiters searching for people in your role (a likely search.) The tip is to add a new role on LinkedIn that you’re currently in with the title “Currently Seeking {New Role} Opportunity”. 

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

Twelve weeks officially marks the most extended period I’ve been out of work since leaving college. Since I often worked over the summer in college, it may be the longest I’ve been out of work. It’s been a long time, but it’s also been very short. It’s been so busy catching up with friends (those laid off and others who were not), spending time with my kids now that they’re out of school, and doing a bit of (unpaid) consulting. This tension between the length and the shortness of time is an exciting thing to consider.

I’m looking forward to returning to work (yes, for the income and healthcare benefits, but also the sense of purpose and the new friendships.) I’m also enjoying my free time and the ease of scheduling with friends. 

Photo by Aditya Wardhana on Unsplash

Since last week’s newsletter, at least 3500 more people have been laid off. If you’re one of them, know that you’re not alone. If you’re still searching, know that you’re not alone. Hang in there, help each other, and let’s live with the tension together.

Looking Back – Hiring Tension

From my limited perspective, a lack of tension between the business need and the desire to hire creates the opportunity for overhiring that sets up the layoffs we’re experiencing right now. There are a lot of (in my opinion) basic writings about avoiding overhiring, but this article by Gergely Orosz talks at a high level about Apple’s growth and lack of layoffs. (5 min read) Finding companies that take this perspective and helping shape this culture in companies that we join is incredibly challenging.

Looking Forward – Nervous Tension

Going back to work may bring on some anxiety. This Forbes article has some good tips on dealing with the fears around returning to work. (6 min read) One key takeaway was recognizing that being nervous about starting a new role is normal. Also, this line was killer, “The hiring process is intense, and the competitiveness of the job market means you were certainly up against others who were capable and qualified.” I also learned a new word – eustress: moderate or normal psychological stress, interpreted as being beneficial. 

Today’s Tip – Building Tension

I met with another senior engineering leader this week who had the suggestion to “keep some fresh powder” for when you’re ready to hit the job search circuit. I know many people were prepared (or needed) to jump straight into their next role, but I also understand that some folks were hurting or burnt out and needed a break. Either way, when you’re ready, looking for those connections you haven’t chatted with recently who may have an insight into opportunities for you is an excellent way to juice the job search pipeline. 

Fun Stuff

Not sure I believe this, but it’s funny so here it is.

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/

Welcome to June layoff-ee’s – Pride month, the start of summer, and even more companies are still doing layoffs. I had hoped that things would have settled down a bit now, and I know a good number of senior leaders (in particular, but others as well) are still looking for their next role. I know this is dragging on longer than I wanted, but now we’re heading into what I fear may be a quieter time as vacation season kicks in. This issue will be about caring for yourself while in your job search. 

Photo by Rafael Cisneros Méndez on Unsplash

Looking Back – Maximizing PTO

Unlimited PTO is great if you’ve got it and use it. Those of us still job searching are still with “unlimited UPTO (unpaid time off),” which is not quite the same but has some of the same perks. Indeed’s “You Days” (monthly scheduled days off) were also a great addition to the mix. I had already transferred those “You Days” to my personal calendar; the next one is coming up on June 16th. I’m looking forward to a day off from job searching and focused on taking care of a few errands before summer gets busy.

Given that the hiring managers and recruiters will be out of the office for the company and federal holidays, those are great times for you to get away as well. This article has a few easy suggestions for when to take your time off and get extra days due to holidays (3 min read, but an easy skim). 

Looking Forward – 11 Rules For Self-Help

This article on Mashable summarizes “every self-help book ever” (actually dozens) into 11 rules. (15 min read, but it saves you ∞ time by not reading every self-help book ever.) In particular, the rules like “take one small step,” “change your mental maps,” “be useful to others,” “Sleep, exercise, eat, chill out. Repeat,” and “Write it all down” are on theme’s we’ve already covered here.

Today’s Tip – Searching and playing games

I mentioned a few weeks ago about trying Otta. So far, I’m impressed with the user experience and simplicity, but not yet impressed by the engineering leadership roles on the site. I’m also giving Blind Talent a try, but I haven’t gotten too deep into their experience yet. I’d say it’s still worth branching out as I see various jobs on these sites vs. LinkedIn, where I tend to look the most.

As an aside – In the meantime, I’m playing some Valheim (now that it’s on the Xbox Game Pass) and enjoying the baseball season (even though the Cardinals are off to a rocky start.)

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 total 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.

https://onlynewmistakes.com/