Ask HN: Who’s been laid off and what’s your strategy for seeking new employment
35 comments
> I’ve tried Triplebyte to a resounding failure.
Just chiming in to say that this has also been my experience as of late, too. One of the interesting trends I've noticed is that some random company will send out a message expressing interest due to your profile/skills/background, you tell them you're interested in speaking further, then they pass on you saying you don't have the profile/experience/background they're looking for. Seriously, yes, this has happened to me probably about ~5 times in the last month. Absolutely ridiculous.
Wish I had something to offer on solutions for you, but other than "bust ass and hope for the best", I really don't know of any silver bullet kind of advice. Other than the usual stuff - networking, improving interview skills, blah blah blah, you've heard all that before, I'm sure.
Good luck!
Just chiming in to say that this has also been my experience as of late, too. One of the interesting trends I've noticed is that some random company will send out a message expressing interest due to your profile/skills/background, you tell them you're interested in speaking further, then they pass on you saying you don't have the profile/experience/background they're looking for. Seriously, yes, this has happened to me probably about ~5 times in the last month. Absolutely ridiculous.
Wish I had something to offer on solutions for you, but other than "bust ass and hope for the best", I really don't know of any silver bullet kind of advice. Other than the usual stuff - networking, improving interview skills, blah blah blah, you've heard all that before, I'm sure.
Good luck!
I don't mean to come off as a gatekeeper, but consulting/freelancing will prove harder than finding a f/t job unless you have a good list of customers who will give you work right away. Right now a lot of people got happy with working from home and now imagine consulting as the next step. The freelancer marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork teem with people trying to start out, competing with people from around the world bidding on every job at $15/hr. That kind of low-pay piecework probably won't replace your salary.
I needed a few years to build up a freelance client base, and I had lots of contacts already in the software business and in related businesses like web design and security who could give me referrals. You have to not only do the work, but you will have to spend time finding customers, getting projects defined, negotiating terms -- all of that non-billable time adds up.
I work through an agency and they get good projects for me. I believe they have a long backlog of people who want to get taken on as freelancers. Anecdotally (from other freelancers I know) I believe that's the case at all of the agencies and contract shops. Right now they have their pick of people looking for work, but a lot of their customers have budget freezes and cutbacks throttling spending.
I needed a few years to build up a freelance client base, and I had lots of contacts already in the software business and in related businesses like web design and security who could give me referrals. You have to not only do the work, but you will have to spend time finding customers, getting projects defined, negotiating terms -- all of that non-billable time adds up.
I work through an agency and they get good projects for me. I believe they have a long backlog of people who want to get taken on as freelancers. Anecdotally (from other freelancers I know) I believe that's the case at all of the agencies and contract shops. Right now they have their pick of people looking for work, but a lot of their customers have budget freezes and cutbacks throttling spending.
Being laid off sucks and it hurts, but it happens to everyone. I think it's important to remember that being laid off doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. It's simply something happening.
If you're interested in learning more about handling hardships mentally, take a look at Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
If you're interested in learning more about handling hardships mentally, take a look at Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
Great book, thanks for reminding me
Just advertise your availability for a new job as broadly as possible. Post on LinkedIn saying you were laid off, message every recruiter whose emails you've ignored and ping anybody who you've ever worked with who you'd like to work with again.
The big benefit of being laid off and looking for a job is that you have all the time in the world to interview, you don't have to be secretive about the fact that you're looking, and you have a built in explanation for why you're looking that nobody will think twice about.
If you cast a wide net, you'll probably get a fair bit of interest. The one piece of advice I'd give around interviewing is to try to schedule some of your first interviews with companies that you're not necessarily that interested in to help you warm up, since you're going to be rusty. Don't try to go through the full interview cycle with those companies before interviewing with ones you have a lot of interest in (that may leave you in a position where a company you're not that interested in makes a good offer before you have a chance to interview with the ones you really want), but rather try to do the each round of interviews at a couple of less-interesting places a few days before you do the same round at your target places.
The big benefit of being laid off and looking for a job is that you have all the time in the world to interview, you don't have to be secretive about the fact that you're looking, and you have a built in explanation for why you're looking that nobody will think twice about.
If you cast a wide net, you'll probably get a fair bit of interest. The one piece of advice I'd give around interviewing is to try to schedule some of your first interviews with companies that you're not necessarily that interested in to help you warm up, since you're going to be rusty. Don't try to go through the full interview cycle with those companies before interviewing with ones you have a lot of interest in (that may leave you in a position where a company you're not that interested in makes a good offer before you have a chance to interview with the ones you really want), but rather try to do the each round of interviews at a couple of less-interesting places a few days before you do the same round at your target places.
How many interviews does a sane person juggle simultaneously?
Also thanks for your input.
Also thanks for your input.
That depends what stage of the interview you're at - you can perfectly reasonably start the process with as many as 15 or 20 and just plan to winnow them down. You definitely wouldn't want that many on site interviews, but if you just do a recruiter phone screen and hiring manager call for each, that's still <40 hours per week. If it turns out everybody loves you and wants to advance you to the next round, just pick the top 4-6 (or however many you feel like you can handle) that have the best combination of hiring manager + company/product and move forward with those.
I was doing 3 to 4 per week initially. It's easy in the initial convos. But then moving forward, all at the same time, ended up semi lashing out and cancelling one or two. It's just stressful for no immediate reward.
I'd highly recommend just doing one or two tech interviews per week, unless you're in emergency mode.
I'd highly recommend just doing one or two tech interviews per week, unless you're in emergency mode.
> ended up semi lashing out
Been there, know this feeling intimately.
Been there, know this feeling intimately.
when I was looking for a job last, my limit was "accept until scheduling conflicts are likely". It doesn't do anyone any good to play the calendar-shell-game on the regular, but until that point keep saying yes. More leads/channels are better.
Not the user you directed your question to, but it depends on the outcome you want. I know people who only interview at one or two places between jobs because they're so particular about what they want. I also know people who are over-employed. Juggling multiple interviews at once should come easily to these people. Theoretically, I could see someone juggling 15-20 sets of interviews at one time. So pick your poison.
I just apply to every job I find interesting. Of the 7 job agency locations I've been through, zero have found me any work, they've been nothing but a useless waste of time. I have a 16 page master resume I tailor back down to 2-3 pages for every single company/position I apply for. I have a wide field of experience, so it's handy to be able to match my resume to the exact job.
I write in CV format, not resume, so the first page is just the education, previous jobs, hobbies, and general junk that's of least concern while the second to third pages actually list off my experience, projects, and relevant things.
I have more trouble with getting a job past the interview than actually getting interviews. I get interviewed by probably 60-75% of the jobs I apply for, and then an offer from maybe a tenth of that, but it's been six years since I've last applied.
So typically I am juggling several interviews a week, ideally as many as I can get. If I get lucky and have multiple offers, it lets me decide which job/company seems like the best fit for me.
I am moving on from my current job early next year, so that's exactly what I will be doing. Just browsing every online resource (linked in, indeed, usajobs, etc) as well as looking around at what small/medium sized businesses exist locally to apply to, even if they don't have an opening listed.
I write in CV format, not resume, so the first page is just the education, previous jobs, hobbies, and general junk that's of least concern while the second to third pages actually list off my experience, projects, and relevant things.
I have more trouble with getting a job past the interview than actually getting interviews. I get interviewed by probably 60-75% of the jobs I apply for, and then an offer from maybe a tenth of that, but it's been six years since I've last applied.
So typically I am juggling several interviews a week, ideally as many as I can get. If I get lucky and have multiple offers, it lets me decide which job/company seems like the best fit for me.
I am moving on from my current job early next year, so that's exactly what I will be doing. Just browsing every online resource (linked in, indeed, usajobs, etc) as well as looking around at what small/medium sized businesses exist locally to apply to, even if they don't have an opening listed.
Quick tips:
- Update your resume with your latest position
- Apply and take interviews with companies that you may not be interested in. This will help you rehearse and practice your pitch.
- If you are an IC, start doing leetcode and system design exercises
If you want more specific tips/advice, drop me a DM.
- Update your resume with your latest position
- Apply and take interviews with companies that you may not be interested in. This will help you rehearse and practice your pitch.
- If you are an IC, start doing leetcode and system design exercises
If you want more specific tips/advice, drop me a DM.
Maybe I haven't had enough coffee today, but what does "IC" stand for?
Do you have any tips/advice for someone who feels slightly stuck in an industry/tech stack? Ideally I want to switch jobs at some point away from what I've been doing, but don't have the ability to gain experience with language 'x' in a "professional" setting.
Due to this, I find it challenging to apply (or even consider applying) to positions that I find really interesting.
Do you have any tips/advice for someone who feels slightly stuck in an industry/tech stack? Ideally I want to switch jobs at some point away from what I've been doing, but don't have the ability to gain experience with language 'x' in a "professional" setting.
Due to this, I find it challenging to apply (or even consider applying) to positions that I find really interesting.
Don't worry too much, apply to jobs that you find interesting. Be upfront about it, try to show that you can learn new stuff on the job by relating to some previous experience, and if possible try to do a little project by yourself to get some of the basics and show you are serious about it.
It won't work all the time, but surprisingly more often than what you would think in my experience.
It won't work all the time, but surprisingly more often than what you would think in my experience.
Switching industries/stacks isn't difficult for a software engineer. As another person mentioned, you should apply for jobs that interest you and see if there is a fit.
Personally, I was a Python developer for years before I joined a company that did mostly JavaScript. I was upfront that I would need a few months to ramp up on the language/framework/paradigms. For those few months, I had to put in more work than my peers so I can catch up and become productive.
You should expect a few months of struggling before it all makes sense.
P.S. Sorry for the jargon :) I was typing my response on the go.
Personally, I was a Python developer for years before I joined a company that did mostly JavaScript. I was upfront that I would need a few months to ramp up on the language/framework/paradigms. For those few months, I had to put in more work than my peers so I can catch up and become productive.
You should expect a few months of struggling before it all makes sense.
P.S. Sorry for the jargon :) I was typing my response on the go.
Individual contributor. As opposed to a manager.
IC - Informed Commander ;)
If employee is really an IC, then he/she doesn’t have a place on the team. It’s only OK for temps & outside consultants/freelancers.
This term implies that there are no P2P mentoring, leadership w/o authority, etc., but the truth is there are lots of that just under-the-radar, i.e. Dark or Shadow Engineering Management.
--
[1] Individual Contributor
It's a standard industry term, you're pushing an uphill battle if you want to change that.
Also, if you want to pedantic (which you are a little bit) 'contribution' (ie individual contributor) in its strictest interpretation is business value that can be demonstrated on the top or bottom line. P2P mentorship, under that strictest interpretation, isn't 'contribution'. No well managed, well planned organization wants 'shadow' or 'dark' management to be occurring, even if it might be.
Thus and therefore "individual contributor" is absolutely the correct term for someone who is only responsible for their own contribution to the business.
Also, if you want to pedantic (which you are a little bit) 'contribution' (ie individual contributor) in its strictest interpretation is business value that can be demonstrated on the top or bottom line. P2P mentorship, under that strictest interpretation, isn't 'contribution'. No well managed, well planned organization wants 'shadow' or 'dark' management to be occurring, even if it might be.
Thus and therefore "individual contributor" is absolutely the correct term for someone who is only responsible for their own contribution to the business.
> It's a standard industry term
It's a relatively new term. The first mention on HN is about 10 years ago. According to Google Trends the usage took off in 2009[1].
> if you want to change that
I have a problem with the adjective "individual", not with the "contributor" part. This term tries to achieve two things:
1. a better sounding term to a lowly "worker" or "non-manager", to make people feel good that they're not managers.
2. trying to put an artificial cap on the "contribution" part: i.e. as individual you're limited on the amount of value you can create for the company. The reality is some developers contributing 3x as much as 9-5s (putting 10x developer anecdotes aside).
3. it implies that managers are contributing much more than non-managers. In some multinationals there are 17 levels deep hierarchies of managers which adding net negative value to the companies they're "managing".
> No well managed, well planned organization wants 'shadow' or 'dark' management to be occurring, even if it might be.
There are lots of "shadow"/"dark" (think implicit, unwritten) processes in any organization, and without them no organization will be able to function effectively. Famous example is British postal strike, when the mail stopped being delivered once the postal workers started working strictly according to the rules.
For many corporate IT systems there is a "dark" IT app, like work-related WhatsApp groups.
For every Jira ticket here are probably several "dark" tickets.
For every middle manager, there are senior "IC"s who are fixing the holes by doing "shadow" management.
--
[1] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=individu...
It's a relatively new term. The first mention on HN is about 10 years ago. According to Google Trends the usage took off in 2009[1].
> if you want to change that
I have a problem with the adjective "individual", not with the "contributor" part. This term tries to achieve two things:
1. a better sounding term to a lowly "worker" or "non-manager", to make people feel good that they're not managers.
2. trying to put an artificial cap on the "contribution" part: i.e. as individual you're limited on the amount of value you can create for the company. The reality is some developers contributing 3x as much as 9-5s (putting 10x developer anecdotes aside).
3. it implies that managers are contributing much more than non-managers. In some multinationals there are 17 levels deep hierarchies of managers which adding net negative value to the companies they're "managing".
> No well managed, well planned organization wants 'shadow' or 'dark' management to be occurring, even if it might be.
There are lots of "shadow"/"dark" (think implicit, unwritten) processes in any organization, and without them no organization will be able to function effectively. Famous example is British postal strike, when the mail stopped being delivered once the postal workers started working strictly according to the rules.
For many corporate IT systems there is a "dark" IT app, like work-related WhatsApp groups.
For every Jira ticket here are probably several "dark" tickets.
For every middle manager, there are senior "IC"s who are fixing the holes by doing "shadow" management.
--
[1] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=individu...
> I’ve tried Triplebyte to a resounding failure.
Do you mind sharing more about what didn't work out? Did you pass/fail the Triplebyte test? Did you meet with a few interested companies afterward, but nothing came of it?
Do you mind sharing more about what didn't work out? Did you pass/fail the Triplebyte test? Did you meet with a few interested companies afterward, but nothing came of it?
1. I took placement exams, but found them to be wildly inaccurate, or just downright meaningless. For instance, I scored in the penultimate top range for back-end, front-end, architecture. Top 80-90% IIRC. I took the JS placement exam (the language I use daily to build and solo-maintain an entire microservice-oriented project I produced from scratch) but couldn’t even muster a “proficient” placement. Like are you kidding me? What a joke.
2. I was under the impression that Triplebyte was designed to skip the technical interview, but basically the placement exams were pointless, because I ended up doing a tech interview for each and every single company.
3. I started realizing that every message I received on the website was a bulk message. I got messages to be a technical cofounder at an AI joint once, which is an absurd mismatch. I was looking for senior SE roles.
4. Nobody reads the resume on the website, because every company expects me to send a hard copy over.
5. The final straw was that one company was clearly just a scam. I reached out to Triplebyte about it and they straight up ignored me. I ended up just deleting my account.
Clearly I’m not Triplebyte’s target demographic of prodigious rockstar coders that implemented his/her first Trie at age 7, which means Im basically just another datapoint for the company to sell and jump through the same old hoops. I might as well use LinkedIn or Indeed.
2. I was under the impression that Triplebyte was designed to skip the technical interview, but basically the placement exams were pointless, because I ended up doing a tech interview for each and every single company.
3. I started realizing that every message I received on the website was a bulk message. I got messages to be a technical cofounder at an AI joint once, which is an absurd mismatch. I was looking for senior SE roles.
4. Nobody reads the resume on the website, because every company expects me to send a hard copy over.
5. The final straw was that one company was clearly just a scam. I reached out to Triplebyte about it and they straight up ignored me. I ended up just deleting my account.
Clearly I’m not Triplebyte’s target demographic of prodigious rockstar coders that implemented his/her first Trie at age 7, which means Im basically just another datapoint for the company to sell and jump through the same old hoops. I might as well use LinkedIn or Indeed.
I had the exact same experience regarding high front/back end score, and then managing a 2 on JS. I even took note of some of the questions and retook the test and ended up getting many of the same questions, but this time answering much more carefully yet ended with the same score so I question the assessment.
I’ll add one thing missing so far: nurture your professional network of old colleagues, clients, classmates, and friends. This should be SOP, whenever he or she crosses your mind, and especially not only when you need help.
Remember it’s a two-way street: someone who gives you a referral today could be employee n at your startup tomorrow.
Stick around an industry long enough and most, if not all, your jobs and clients will come pre-filtered from your professional contacts. Make the investments in them now.
Remember it’s a two-way street: someone who gives you a referral today could be employee n at your startup tomorrow.
Stick around an industry long enough and most, if not all, your jobs and clients will come pre-filtered from your professional contacts. Make the investments in them now.
In addition to other good ideas here - identify and reach out to recruiters.
Engineers, like most professional jobs, are either hired through the team's professional network or otherwise recruiters because no hiring manager is going to spend the time sourcing unknown candidates themselves.
Therefore identify the types of recruiters who work with the types of companies you are most likely to work at, and contact them. They need to bring candidates to their clients and so you are mutually benefiting each other. They may also be able to calibrate you for the types of roles you are qualified for and how your resume stacks up against what they are seeing in the market.
If you don't know any recruiters, ask friends who are hiring managers at startups and mid-market companies who they use (esp if it's outside recruiters). Identify via LinkedIn inside recruiters at big firms if you want to work for a big firm (note that most are not hiring, however).
If you need to get new work reasonably quickly be realistic with the types of companies you are most likely to get a job with - ie similar space, type of eng work, etc and identify those companies and ask who they use for recruiters.
Pretend you are an engineering hiring manager at a startup - how would you identify those recruiters for your role? Search for good recruiters, create a hit list, reach out to them, etc.
One of the startups I work with has about 4 open roles right now, two are eng, and we are working with 4 different recruiting firms to fill those - so there is activity but it's now an employer's market given the shifts in the market.
Good luck!
Engineers, like most professional jobs, are either hired through the team's professional network or otherwise recruiters because no hiring manager is going to spend the time sourcing unknown candidates themselves.
Therefore identify the types of recruiters who work with the types of companies you are most likely to work at, and contact them. They need to bring candidates to their clients and so you are mutually benefiting each other. They may also be able to calibrate you for the types of roles you are qualified for and how your resume stacks up against what they are seeing in the market.
If you don't know any recruiters, ask friends who are hiring managers at startups and mid-market companies who they use (esp if it's outside recruiters). Identify via LinkedIn inside recruiters at big firms if you want to work for a big firm (note that most are not hiring, however).
If you need to get new work reasonably quickly be realistic with the types of companies you are most likely to get a job with - ie similar space, type of eng work, etc and identify those companies and ask who they use for recruiters.
Pretend you are an engineering hiring manager at a startup - how would you identify those recruiters for your role? Search for good recruiters, create a hit list, reach out to them, etc.
One of the startups I work with has about 4 open roles right now, two are eng, and we are working with 4 different recruiting firms to fill those - so there is activity but it's now an employer's market given the shifts in the market.
Good luck!
I see plenty of jobs for software engineers in (Western) Europe advertised on LinkedIn these days. I got a new job a few months ago, and I certainly can't notice the "lay off/recession" effect (yet). Perhaps the number of jobs 2 years ago was N, and today it's N/5, but N/5 is still an incredible high number for what's going on in other industries.
Finding and retaining work is counter intuitive. The jobs that are most easily filled are the ones that are most easily released. This means that if you want to survive layoffs in a recession you have to stop chasing trends and be extremely choosy on where you find employment. You have to add actual business value that is not easily replicated by the marketplace.
I started at one of the most well known e-commerce dot coms a year before the Great Recession. A few months into that employment I was involuntarily reassigned from a designer to a developer and told to figure it out. That year I ended up with a negative performance review. That’s the kind of thing that pushes people to the front of the line for layoffs.
A month later the layoffs started and a bunch of people started leaving. All kinds of talent was axed including directors from all segments of the business. This company couldn’t hire competent front end developers at all. As a result my job was super safe irrespective of my poor annual performance. You can’t run a website business without website people. They would eventually attempt to make everything jQuery related but that resulted in horrid quality products by replaceable people who were easy to fire.
My learning from all this is:
* Don’t chase trends
* Become competent in your craft (as opposed to becoming a framework/tool monkey)
* Add business value
* Be persistent
* Have a backup plan, like a secondary career that you can easily jump into
* Have a hobby that reinforces your career. Software is an immature industry and in many cases is filled with crybabies that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Know that and make tough decisions on where you spend your time both on the job and outside the office.
* Make friends. A personnel connection at a prospective employer is huge.
I started at one of the most well known e-commerce dot coms a year before the Great Recession. A few months into that employment I was involuntarily reassigned from a designer to a developer and told to figure it out. That year I ended up with a negative performance review. That’s the kind of thing that pushes people to the front of the line for layoffs.
A month later the layoffs started and a bunch of people started leaving. All kinds of talent was axed including directors from all segments of the business. This company couldn’t hire competent front end developers at all. As a result my job was super safe irrespective of my poor annual performance. You can’t run a website business without website people. They would eventually attempt to make everything jQuery related but that resulted in horrid quality products by replaceable people who were easy to fire.
My learning from all this is:
* Don’t chase trends
* Become competent in your craft (as opposed to becoming a framework/tool monkey)
* Add business value
* Be persistent
* Have a backup plan, like a secondary career that you can easily jump into
* Have a hobby that reinforces your career. Software is an immature industry and in many cases is filled with crybabies that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Know that and make tough decisions on where you spend your time both on the job and outside the office.
* Make friends. A personnel connection at a prospective employer is huge.
> Software is an immature industry ... know that and make tough decisions on where you spend your time both on the job and outside the office.
Yeah no. It's unrealistic and unhealthy to expect programmers to be extremely passionate about their craft and have no interest in anything else outside of work. I know people like that, they do well and earn good salaries, but the rest of us 90% can happily work a 40 hour job and then do non-computer things in our free time.
Yeah no. It's unrealistic and unhealthy to expect programmers to be extremely passionate about their craft and have no interest in anything else outside of work. I know people like that, they do well and earn good salaries, but the rest of us 90% can happily work a 40 hour job and then do non-computer things in our free time.
If an opinion reduces down to some form of I shouldn't have to... its either due to a regulatory constraint, ethics concern, or whining (entitlement). My thinking is if people wanted to work by watching a clock they would be hourly employees doing hourly work.
I have reread your comment and I understand you're talking about a recession-type situation where people are being fired. In that context I agree that you need to make yourself competitive.
I still draw the line at spending personal time doing work related tasks (or excessive overtime in general) - I'm not interested in it - but if one feels they need that edge to get (or keep) a job then I understand the argument.
Another option is just accepting lower compensation. There are companies like Netflix and Tesla for very intelligent or hard working people, and other companies for less intelligent or less hard working people. Competition is the same at both levels because the former has fewer jobs and pays more.
Yet another option is developing niche talent that nobody else has. Then you're not competing on the same playing field as everyone else.
I still draw the line at spending personal time doing work related tasks (or excessive overtime in general) - I'm not interested in it - but if one feels they need that edge to get (or keep) a job then I understand the argument.
Another option is just accepting lower compensation. There are companies like Netflix and Tesla for very intelligent or hard working people, and other companies for less intelligent or less hard working people. Competition is the same at both levels because the former has fewer jobs and pays more.
Yet another option is developing niche talent that nobody else has. Then you're not competing on the same playing field as everyone else.
What would be a secondary career to software developer? I feel like SWE is wide enough that it isn't worthwhile to be a trained, idk, accountant just in case the software world collapses.
I lost a job twice during the dotcom era and again last year during COVID. It happens even to good people sometimes due to circumstances outside of your control.
The very best way to land a new job is by networking. Follow up with former coworkers, friends, and family for leads on possible positions. They can help you get your resume in front of the right people. Last year when things weren’t looking good at my company I started reaching out to my network. With my experience and salary, I was a little worried about finding something comparable. I hooked up with a former coworker who convinced his company to open a position for me. Two weeks later I had a new job with a sizable increase in salary.
By all means look on linked in or indeed or whatever and send your resume out too, but make sure you engage your network. It really is about who you know.
The very best way to land a new job is by networking. Follow up with former coworkers, friends, and family for leads on possible positions. They can help you get your resume in front of the right people. Last year when things weren’t looking good at my company I started reaching out to my network. With my experience and salary, I was a little worried about finding something comparable. I hooked up with a former coworker who convinced his company to open a position for me. Two weeks later I had a new job with a sizable increase in salary.
By all means look on linked in or indeed or whatever and send your resume out too, but make sure you engage your network. It really is about who you know.
Devs: if you're not afraid of learning something new, check out application security. It's a niche withing the infosec space and needs people who actually know what they're doing/talking about.
My guess is if you pick the domain first you will find the companies that hire. Pick growing domains like cloud, data centers, shipping, ecommerce, digitalization. They can't grow without hiring.
Anybody around who lost a job in the dotcom or obama era that can provide perspective on techniques or mentalities that get them back in the door somewhere else?