Reflections on layoffs, job searches, and career development

Source: Zhizhong

I don't know if you have noticed that there are more and more unemployed people around you.

With the successive layoffs of major Internet companies such as Byte Ali, the market is full of old, expensive, and low-cost people. Such people have no price, and there is even a kind of self-deprecating saying that they call themselves high-wage waste.

Why is this happening?

The economic environment has changed dramatically.

At the macro level, the changes in the international situation, the superposition of factors such as the epidemic, and the adjustment of the domestic economic structure have shifted the entire economic situation from the era of increment to the era of stock.

Affected by macro factors, companies have begun to scale back their businesses, some uncertain new projects have been cut, and large and heavy businesses have been sold to save expenses and reserve cash flow to survive the winter.

Layoffs, store closures, and closures are all too normal. But for a middle-aged person, this kind of pressure on ordinary people may be sudden unemployment, a property that is about to be cut off, a serious illness that comes in, a child crying for milk powder diapers and an aging parent.

On the other hand, artificial intelligence, big data, intelligent manufacturing, autonomous driving, and many new technologies that we may not have had time to see clearly, these technologies will set off a new technological revolution and have a huge impact on the majority of white-collar workers.

The emergence of tools such as ChatGPT, Wenxin Yiyan, and Kimi has replaced some copywriting, and Midjourney has also shown signs of killing some designers. There is even the birth of Devin, the world's first AI programmer, who can not only learn new technologies independently, fix bugs by himself, and even train and fine-tune his own AI models. So Baidu founder Robin Li had to sigh: there is no longer a need for programmers in the future.

There is also a joke circulating on the Internet: I thought that AI was going to help me stir-fry and sweep the floor, so that I could write poems and paint. Now that AI is here, AI has started to write poems and paint, and I'm still sweeping the floor and stir-frying.

The technological revolution is not the first to impact nannies, cleaners, plumbers, but white-collar occupations. This is not happening in the distant future, but what is happening now.

You may say that the death of an old class will be followed by the birth of a new class, but we can't predict exactly when this time will last, and until then, this period of pain will last for a long time.

At this point, some students may think that I am too pessimistic. But I've always been used to taking objective reality seriously, but I've never given up hope and always been proactive.

In the past, the reason why the business of enterprises grew rapidly was because they caught up with the good times. For example, the rapid growth of the economy and the demographic dividend are not how strong the operating ability of the enterprise is. Similarly, for individuals, our salary is not because of how strong the individual is, but with the development of the platform.

All growth is short-lived, and even most of the time it is stagnant. Just like an enterprise cannot grow forever, people's wages cannot increase forever, there must be ups and downs. Only by accepting this can we face the current situation more calmly.

So how do we deal with it?

Here are some thoughts on the current workplace. Hope it helps.

The first piece of advice is to take the job search seriously.

Job search is a skill that has been neglected for a long time.

Most people looking for a job simply set a template to modify their resume, and then start to apply, but there are very few people who really do a good job search.

The first step in getting your job search right is to treat it as a complete project. Since it is a project, there must be a project plan.

Then divide the project into different milestones, such as: job preparation - getting an offer, probationary period - regularization period, and regularization to promotion.

Each stage has objectives to achieve and main quests.

For example, when you get the job search preparation - get the offer, all you need to do is to establish your job search goals, job search strategy, resume revision, ability supplement, and interview preparation.

Needless to say, the job search goal is what position you want to engage in, and what are the target companies that can achieve good development, and these must be screened out according to certain criteria.

Then there is the job search strategy, you don't have to go to others, so among the many offers, we have to have a plan to execute, which offers are used to practice, which offers are used to guarantee, which offers are used to sprint, etc., and then have a plan and purpose to deliver.

Resume modification corresponds to the dismantling of the JD of the target position, the interpretation of the competency model, and the matching of experience, which requires you to have a high enough information density and clearly present your strengths when writing.

In terms of ability supplementation, don't expect yourself to enter a state of proficiency right away, but at least fully understand and be able to speak well. After entering the work, I will change myself from virtual to real through practical operation. (Special emphasis: this is very important)

To prepare for the interview, you need to prepare the question bank and answers in advance, and then introduce yourself. The grasp of the first impression is likely to determine whether you will be accepted in the future. In addition to this, be sure to review it regularly.

Job hunting is a whole project, so job preparation - getting an offer is only the first step, there are follow-up milestones to manage, and the previous work will be wasted if there is no link ahead. Therefore, the follow-up project management still has to keep up.

The second piece of advice is to get yourself professional as soon as possible.

What is Professionalization?

The first one is: to be responsible for people and things, and to make people feel confident.

When many people are asked about the progress of the project by the leader, they always say that I have communicated, and the other party says that there are xx reasons, so the project progress may have to be delayed.

Those who can be responsible for people and things will tell the boss about the current situation, and in addition to this, they will also give corresponding solutions, not just talking, but really promoting the progress of the project until the project results are obtained.

Professional and non-professional people see the project progress bar and delivery standards as completely different.

Leaving things to professional people means that except for force majeure factors, the expected results will basically be achieved, and they are synonymous with reliability in the eyes of others.

The second is: respect for others, and have life in your eyes.

Respect others: For example, do not be late when you see customers, dress appropriately, prepare carefully, listen carefully without interrupting when communicating, and control emotions and treat them rationally when there is a dispute. Another example is that when you go to an interview, you can get to know the other company.

There is work in the eyes: When I was doing study tours before, I was impressed by my colleague, who would prepare milk and apples in the room before the client checked in. There will also be some additional guidance between the room and the event venue. When you meet a customer who has a birthday, you will also prepare a surprise. It is difficult for such a person not to be liked by customers, and at the same time, to establish a good image for the company in the hearts of customers.

People who have a job in their eyes will take the initiative to do things, actively promote the work, do not shirk or delay, not only can see the tasks that need to be handled, but also take the initiative to find the work that has not been assigned to him. Awesome people can always do what is expected and what is not expected.

In addition to these, there is a lot to learn about professionalization, so please become a professional person as soon as possible.

The third suggestion is to use investment thinking to reserve capacity.

If you look back at the development of the mobile Internet, you will find one thing. Whether we can get a higher salary is actually affected by the platform dividend.

Before 2012, it was Weibo, then the official account, then the private domain, the mini program, and then today's Douyin, video account, Xiaohongshu, etc.

Every change in marketing channels pushes us to constantly update our capability models and strive for high wages.

Here we have to look at this matter with an investment mindset.

For example, your current competency model is the pillar that supports you to get your current salary, but with the passage of time and the change of channels, if you do not reserve the next stage of competency model in advance, it means that you will be the one who will be eliminated in the next cycle.

Only by maintaining a keen eye for the market and stockpiling your capacity in advance, when the next era comes, you will be able to switch seamlessly.

If you've seen some trends, prepare as well. When you encounter some good opportunities, you might as well accept a salary reduction, enter the track first and then develop lewdly. As change comes, so will your salary.

The fourth piece of advice is to use combinatorial thinking to build strengths.

There is a concept that has to be mentioned here: structural holes

What does that mean?

If there is no direct connection between the two groups, then the network structure looks as if there is a hole between the two groups.

And the intermediaries who can fill this hole occupy this hole in the network, and they are the bridge-builders in the social network.

At the same time, a group of young people who entered the unit, why did some of them sing all the way, and some of them were still standing still, whether they were ability, talent, diligence and hard work, or they were sloppy?

Not exactly.

But those who are often promoted faster are those who connect different departments, or connect the company with the market for cross-domain communication. Because they have more relational resources and information, they are able to call more people to serve them, which leads to rapid promotion.

For example, you know how to edit, and then you know some people from law firms, and then you know people who are particularly good at incubating personal IP. Then you can link the two circles. If you do, then you will also have more influence and be more easily identified by potential opportunities.

Final words

It is necessary to realize that enterprises will not grow forever, wages will not increase all the time, and there are ups and downs is the objective law.

In the face of environmental changes, how do people in the workplace deal with themselves?

I give 4 suggestions:

1. Pay attention to job hunting.

2. Make yourself professional as soon as possible.

3. Use investment thinking to reserve capacity.

4. Use combinatorial thinking to build advantages.

The reality is cruel and needs to be taken seriously, but don't be overly pessimistic because of this, just cultivate your body and wait for spring.