#networking

As many of us are finding out this morning, today is the start. For those of us fortunate to stay, we should aim to actively support those who will be forced to leave. Please remember to help those impacted by supporting their search for new employment. You have networks and skill sets that will help.

A growing number of job seekers are using dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Facebook Dating to make professional connections amid a tough job market, according to a ResumeBuilder.com survey. One in three dating app users said they used the platforms for career-related reasons in the past year, and nearly one in ten said it was their primary goal.

Among those users, 88% reported successful professional connections, with many gaining mentorship, job leads, interviews, or even job offers. ResumeBuilder’s Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller explained that as LinkedIn becomes increasingly competitive, dating apps offer a more personal and less formal networking option focused on human connection.

Users across age groups and income levels are experimenting with this approach, with higher earners more likely to use dating apps professionally. Most said they were transparent about their intentions. Some rewrote their dating profiles to resemble resumes, and several reported quick job results.

While some found the approach “weird but effective,” many said it reflects how difficult traditional job hunting has become. Beyond career benefits, 58% of participants also developed romantic relationships through their networking efforts, leading Haller to joke that some are landing both “a job and a relationship.”

https://www.hrdive.com/news/job-seekers-swiping-right-search-new-job-dating-apps/805033/

This is perfect moment for axed leaders to spin up their own ventures. They do have cash & stability compared to IC's.

With this brutal job market it would be a better opportunity for people to join hands for a new venture.
You can reach out to your loyal IC's who hand your back to band together. Tap your network of technologists and join hands with people who got laid off whether in US or in Asia.

I am sure that the upcoming job market will be tough with 14K+ amazonians and 5+ others flooding the market along with Oracle employees. This also gives some breathing space for visa holders and lower IC's to find jobs.

As we get closer to showtime, what are some smart things to do if your name ends up getting called?

This can be tax stuff, general networking, etc.

Based on what I have seen on this site plus common sense, here is what I have gathered.

1. Wait to sign your offer so that you are paid in 2026.
2. Don’t go out screaming and burning bridges, you never know if you will end up back here.
3. Apply for state unemployment ASAP after you are fired.
4. Make sure all of your personal files are off your computer.
5. Don’t bother packing up unless you have really valuable stuff. Let the company deal with it.

What am I forgetting?

1. Write LinkedIn recommendations on the profiles of those impacted. This helps in their job search.
2. Update your own LinkedIn profile.
3. Offer to share your network, make connections for others.
4. If impacted, take full advantage of any job search help, career coaching, or upskilling opportunities.
5. Reach out to anyone you feel may be struggling - get together for a walk or just chat over zoom.
6. If you are struggling, reach out to literally anyone and get some support.
7. Go outside. Fresh air, sun, exercise can all help. Take a shower, get dressed.
8. If you’re not impacted, take today and feel all your feelings. It’s okay to be mad, scared, etc. Process it and move on.

I'd like to start a tip thread for any impacted folks this week. I was laid off a year ago and fortunately have managed to get enough income to not net a negative this past year, but don't kid yourself -- the market is that bad out there. No matter your seniority or valued your skills, it's in your best interest to plan for an icy winter. Make this your fulltime job as soon as you're cut to put yourself in the best possible position.

1) File for unemployment immediately, do not wait til severance pay is finished. The process takes time and there is no backpay. Now, you won't be able to get checks until you stop getting income, but despite the program lasting a year you only really get up to about 6 months of checks (if receiving no other income). But if you don't find employment a year after you signed up, you can sign right back up -- and guess what? The severance pay you had received a year prior will count as your W2 earnings, qualifying you for unemployment again. If you wait 2-6 months after that, you might not have enough W2 earnings to requalify for the same amount. TLDR: file for EDD today.

2) Get on SNAP, get an EBT card. You don't need to do this if you're still earning severance, your earnings are decided based on bills and people in your household. However, aside from grocery money, you just having an EBT card gives you discounts off of your electric bill (mine's $16 off every bill), internet bill ($30/mo account for Spectrum), even Amazon Prime membership (50% off, paid monthly).

3) Join the paramount-alumni slack channel (paramount-alumni.slack.com) and any other post layoff groups to network and find immediate support.

4) AJCC / WIOA offers free job training and tuition reimbursement for educational courses for you to pursue a new career. Wanna go take on 1-2 semesters at a University to learn something new? You could learn anything from marketing, data security, project management, business, healthcare, any fields that the growing jobs report will support. Here's the site to find the offered courses in CA: https://wioa.i-train.org/iTrain/tpd/

Now, this application process is complicated to say the least. Every Workforce office works completely independently of one another. There is no central HQ, they're not the IRS. They're more like a McDonalds -- they're all privately owned and each offers the same stuff, just some are more well supported than others, some are a little cleaner than others. Do not trust online applications through websites like CalJobs, that online application literally goes to nobody and no one -- you need to do it in person. You need to call your local Workforce office and ask them about job training/tuition reimbursement, and how much they can offer. I called 5 different offices before I found a place an hour north, funded by Goodwill, that would pay me $5000 for schooling. You'll need a LONG list of documents to bring with you e.g. proof of citizenship, birth, address, selective service, college degree (I took a photo of my degree) -- bring them all to the orientation appointment. Once approved, you just need to supply which courses you want to take to your case manager.

Good luck out there.

About a decade ago I was cut together with may dear coleagues - us who were affected found real help from the industry... from networking to resume sharing to landing great next roles... Because there were many good people who stayed inside Target, many of those teammates eventually came back... If you are cut, use your network and move on... If you are not cut, be that network and help... The best we can do is show up for one another.

Just curious where do people go. Asking for a friend who is planning ahead.

Hey Y’all. Recently laid off employee here. I would recommend hopping on LinkedIn and connecting with as many people as you can. I’m in a job program and they weren’t happy with my 89 connections, they wanted me to have more. Even if all you Target peeps don’t know each other, connect anyway, we need all the help we can get.

Safety is not possible when you are working for other people. Work hard, make sure your team knows it, live below your means, and keep your resume and network ready. No matter how hard anyone works, sometimes they just get cut or passed over for promotion. Control what you can control and accept what you cannot.

Exactly this. People who think joining another company will save them from layoffs are being naive. Everyone’s laying people off. Some more, some less, but it’s happening everywhere. Job security is a thing of the past. Just stay prepared, and you’ll be fine no matter where you work.

I wanted to create a thread so we can help each other with some advice on finding new roles. I’m in tech, and obviously the job market is worst it’s ever been. I stay up on certifications, education, and all that. Doesn’t seem to help a lot. Even did nano degrees here. Been trying to do LinkedIn and network, been applying to jobs for about 2 years now and only had a handful of interviews, got passed up for internal candidates on the final rounds. Anyone having luck getting interviews coming from ATT and if so, what methods are you using (mainly networking, job boards, etc…). Any particular companies you find folks getting jobs at coming out of here?

Let’s help each other find something else.

Make sure you update your. Linkenin and go add lots of fake AI accomplishments to what you are good at. Also make sure you go to all your layed off friends and say great things about how hard they worked, they were the BEST EVER manager. It's great to show support for each other!

Does TIAA favor internal transfers versus external applicants? Looking to do a lateral move, I don't see any openings for the position I want, but figured I'd want to network with the manager to let them know I'm interested. Has anyone transferred internally that can provide any recommendation/tips on what they did? Worried that if I apply and don't get the role, then my boss would know that I'm looking to transition out of my current role.

1. Your boss is not your friend
2. Who you know beats what you know (building a network and nurturing it consistently is critical to success
3. You are REPLACEABLE at Work NOT home (In 20 years the only people who will REMEMBER you worked late are your kids, family and loved ones
   4.Loyalty rarely two-way street,in hard times will won't be returned
   5.Time is scare than Money. We can re-earn money but never Time
4. Comfort ki-ls Progress (You grow when you take Risks, Not when you play Safe. Please finish items 7,8,9,10 and so forth...by adding harsh career truths :)

It's crazy how many scammers are on Indeed and Linked-in.

Is there a safer way to apply for jobs? The only way I can think of is to go directly to employer websites or via word of mouth from folks in your network.

What are others finding out there in terms of using job search sites such as Indeed and Linked-In?

Layoffs are ongoing until we're all gone

I’ve been grinding on the job search for months and nothing. I guess the market really is what everyone says - a black hole where resumes go to die. And what’s with all the fake postings? Why even bother? Just to je-k us around like it’s some kind of game? I’m getting desperate, slowly realizing there’s no real alternative to this horrible place, at least for now.

Overheard from a Cisco VP saying this in a family social.

Be ready

is there any particular company that anyone is aware of that typically hires a lot of FIS employees? Something similar to black knight for example.

It’s not a question “IF” Anthem/Elevance is planning more RIFs, it’s more like “WHEN”. Always just assume they are, and plan accordingly. No one is safe from the RIF, so get your resume and LinkedIn up to date, start looking for ways to network more, save as much money as possible, figure out ways to strengthen your mental health, and show up every day knowing it very well could be your last.

I didn’t want to have to start interviewing again, but the situation left me no choice. The thought of sending out resumes and preparing for interviews feels draining, but staying in a place that doesn’t value your work to this extent is even worse. I'll rather be uncomfortable then staying here longer than I have to.

Go to WWW.Jobs.now or www.jobvertise.com.

I wish you all the best of luck.

Former Cisconian LR'd from a different place this time around and looking.

If you are still employed at FIS, do yourself a favor and update your resume. It’s a tough job market out there and you need a head start or at least 3-4 months. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and do better for yourself!

For those of you who are still with the company and are unhappy with the state of affairs, you need to start designing your exit plan. That may mean updating your resume, looking for new roles, hitting your network for opportunities and/or brushing up on new skills. Don't wait for senior leadership to tell you it's time, you control yours and the future for your family. Secondly, set a date. Once you have a set date of when you want to exit, whatever nonsense is happening will impact you less and you will be working towards something productive besides feeling unhappy about what senior leadership is doing and not doing. My last comment is about the topic of Toxic Leadership which has seem to come on to this board as a main point of concern. Toxic Leadership is always 100% a problem with the tone at the top. A top research in labor studies told me that these type of leaders learned, at a very young age, that if they did not have absolute control that they had no value. It is why the behaviors are so pronounced when they are in position to oversee others and to maintain it they surround themselves with yes men or those that will help create a work environment that normalizes the behavior. Remember, good people don't go around trying to destroy others.

L M A O. Seen on LI. How's that outsourced staffing plan working out, execs?

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