Job search after the Microsoft layoff, how to bounce back

How to overcome a layoff from a Large Box Employer

Microsoft Layoffs and how candidates can bounce back

In Seattle, Washington, the big news this past week was the Microsoft layoffs of nearly 18,000 employees and vendors. This is a massive number for any company, but until something like this happens in your city, it is an easy topic to read and forget. When it happens in your hometown, it becomes very real. An internal memo published in Geekwire is linked here. With Microsoft being one of the larger employers in the Seattle / Redmond area, everyone knows someone who works for this tech giant. We are all thinking about how the announcement of the Microsoft layoff will affect our friends.

First, I would like to say I feel bad for those who were laid off last week. Getting laid off sucks under any circumstance. I am sure current Microsoft employees have questions about their future as well. With job uncertainty in mind, this week’s goal is to provide job search insight for those affected by the Microsoft layoff.

I started this blog to help

For those new to the site, I started this blog in 2008 to help candidates who were displaced from their employers when the economy turned. The goal was to provide current insights on the job search process. Although today’s post applies to anyone, I will specifically message Microsoft employees as they search for their next gig. It has been less than a week, and I have already received half a dozen resumes from friends or friends of friends looking for new positions, including tenured and full-time employees.  The Microsoft layoff isn’t just for vendors.

There will be many long-tenured employees affected by the Microsoft layoffs. In my experience, it is this demographic that has the hardest time making a transition to another company. When the economy took a turn in 2008, there were a lot of folks who couldn’t find a job. There were fewer jobs, but I saw something else. There were a lot of unemployed candidates employed by a single employer for 10 – 15+ years.  For these laid-off candidates, much had changed in the job search world over those 10 – 15 years. For these job seekers, it was like stepping out of a time bubble and into a new era.

It’s not the 19XX’s anymore

Unemployed candidates were writing their resumes and conducting their job searches in 2008 – 2010 in the same way, they wrote their resumes and conducted a job searches in the 1990s.  Each of those 15 years was the equivalent of a dog year (7).  

Both Big Box Employer/Long Term Employer provided job security. The fear of being laid off by these employers was eliminated, and there was no reason to keep up with current job search practices. The assumption was that we would retire from a company, so there wasn’t any reason to think about LinkedIn or professional networking. There wasn’t a need to keep updating our resume.

With fewer jobs and plenty of unemployed candidates in 2008, employers became very picky. I observed firsthand how candidate interview skills had become outdated. The interview process had become more sophisticated during this time as well. Applicant Tracking Systems, LinkedIn, and other online resources provided employers with more tools. The result was a tightened the interview gauntlet.  Sophisticated millenniums, with their blogs, digital portfolios, and online job search savvy, upped the ante for both schools of candidates. It was a perfect storm of job security, technology, and a new generation of skills. In the end, candidates that didn’t keep current were passed over.

Standard dating example

We were done with single bars if we were dating our significant other and then married in the early or mid-90s. With marriage, we are no longer worrying about the dating scene. If we added a child or two, our priorities shifted from the latest dance steps to our kids. We were hanging out with mommy groups. We didn’t worry about the evolution of online dating resources like Craigslist, FriendFinder, or Tinder. Maybe we went an extra season or two before updating our wardrobe, and visits to the gym became less frequent. AKA, we let ourselves go.

If we find ourselves separated/divorced in 2014, we shouldn’t go back on the dating scene with our Running Man and Cabbage Patch dance moves. The newspaper’s personal ads and bar scene have been replaced by Facebook and Tinder. Our 5-year-old baggie jeans are now replaced with straight legs. In the end, singles that didn’t keep current will be passed over. Sound familiar?

If we interview for a job with the same process and practices that landed us a job 10 years ago we will remain unemployed.

Many laid-off held tenure and suddenly found themselves swimming with the sharks; I would like to try to provide some insight so that you can win this game. The following is advice to any laid-off employee. 

First, I tell anyone laid off from any company to sign up for unemployment. This is not the time to be too proud. Unemployment isn’t the last resort; it is a proactive move. Unemployment checks are funds you are entitled to. You need more help than this blog if you pass on this freebie. Sign-ups are done online. Since COVID, there hasn’t been a need to visit the unemployment office every week. If you received a severance package paid out with time, we are not eligible for unemployment yet, but we can start the networking and interview process. Sign up as soon as you are eligible because it takes 10 days to process your first check.

Feel good about your assets as a Microsoft employee.

• Microsoft is a great brand to list on a resume. Microsoft is a world-class employer. They don’t have to hire just anyone. Know that you have a solid skill set. As opposed to working for an unknown employer. Every employer in the world knows Microsoft. You won’t have to explain your last employer’s product or results.
• Microsoft has had a lot of successes in the past, so chances are that you were working in a business unit that will provide you with significant resume material. This makes it easier to quantify our accomplishments and discuss results on our resume and in the job interview. Just explaining what you accomplished is enough. We need to explain how we helped the bottom line.
• This layoff isn’t your fault. This is a company decision. Everyone in the city knows that this isn’t an individual performance issue. Everyone in town heard Nadella’s message, so you shouldn’t have to go into the details and explain it repeatedly.

We will be hired for our strengths, but we will be declined for our weaknesses

We need to learn to hide or disguise the following Microsoft stereotypes. What are the stereotypes of a tenured MSFT employee or any large-box employer? All large companies have their reputations and stereotypes. We must be aware of and overcome these in communicating with potential employers. Microsofties should not be offended by the following. I say this not to insult but to provide insight into how hiring managers look at the tech giant’s workforce.

One way, the Microsoft way

It is assumed that tenured Microsoft employees only know how to do things the Microsoft or the Acme Publishing way. It will be assumed by hiring managers that these will be hard habits to break. To break these assumptions, explain how you have kept current with new technologies outside of .NET and C. Inform the interviewers that you are comfortable with a MacBook, are not a slave to Outlook, or use an iPhone. 

Update your “look”

Many tenured Large Box employees have a “look,” specifically the employees who thought they would retire with said employer. The wardrobe and our presentation layer become less of a concern when we know we aren’t dating anytime soon. This “look” will create our first impression, so we must overcome this stereotype.  We don’t need a whole new wardrobe. We need to get through a couple of interviews. The Nordstrom half-yearly is happening, and there is a Banana Republic outlet mall right up I-90. If you wear glasses, make sure your frames are current. We want to create the image of an employee who has kept current in all aspects of life.

Shed the arrogance of the prior company

Large Box companies grew because they were successful. World-class companies more so. A subtle arrogance comes across with the candidate who has been with Number 1 all of their careers, and I get this. If the company has been reinforcing that we are winners for the past 10 years, there will be some pride of ownership that will not be readily shed. Practice humility in the interview. Pay attention to the new company’s process, protocol, and “ways.” 

No bitterness in the interview

Be visibly excited about the opportunity. If we present ourselves like Nadella stole our puppy (and he did), the recruiter and hiring manager will see this.  They don’t want someone living in the past. Employers want to hire someone who can look forward to the next opportunity with a positive outlook.

MSFT has a reputation for throwing a lot of resources at projects. As candidates, we want to convey that we have experience rolling up our shirtsleeves and getting dirty.  We want to convey that we can complete projects with minimal resources.

Don’t expect the same perks and benefits

This is a stereotype of large tech company employers. Please don’t expect the same level of benefits. Rightfully, candidates recently laid off from large-box employers are worried about benefits. I get this. We have families and need to provide.  MSFT is well-known for having rich benefit plans, and it is not uncommon for candidates to leave smaller employers for MSFT when they want to start a family. Most employers in town will not have the same benefits package as MSFT. We should avoid asking about the benefits package in the very first interview.

Work-Life balance.  With any large company comes a stereotype that the employee force is there for the work-life balance and the 9-5 hours. MSFT employees still put in a lot of hours, but this stereotype has been forgotten. Proactively explaining that we are looking for a work-life balance to take care of the family will only reinforce the message of coasting. I am not saying we shouldn’t find out the expected hours. I wouldn’t bring this up in the very first interview.

There are plenty of resources

Reading up on the new company’s culture and embracing its differences will go far in an interview to give confidence that you have not just moved on from the Microsoft layoff but are excited about the next challenge. No one wants to hire someone who is living in the past.

Hopefully ,the above helped shed some insight,

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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