Owner of Kalache LLC and former Silicon Valley software engineer and tech entrepreneurSylvain now provides PR services to tech startups.
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The US tech industry is estimated to have over laid off 97,000 by 2022, an increase of 649% compared to the 12,975 in 2021. And the trend continues; companies like PayPal, Spotify, Google and Microsoft have moved on to more layoffs, counting 77,000 workers in 2023.
Some analysts have blamed it the companies and their leaders for this wave of layoffs, while others blame it the slowing economy. Whatever you think, while the situation is a challenge for the technology industry, it could be an opportunity for others. And this opportunity is to hire top tech talent.
More than ten years of solid employment for technical workers
The technology industry has since the Financial crisis of 2008. Since then, the top tech companies have been highly coveted by tech workers for their attractive compensation packages, myriad benefits, and promises to make the world a better place.
When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, companies in the US had no choice but to dramatically accelerate their digital transformation. McKinsey found that companies had accelerated their digitization by up to four yearsa sentiment echoed by Microsoft’s CEO: “We’ve seen two years of digital transformation in two months.”
That was when the tech industry experienced explosive growth, leading to Amazon, Apple and Alphabet reaching out trillion dollar valuations. To meet the demand, these companies have stepped up their recruitment efforts during the pandemic.
Over the past decade, many traditional companies have struggled to find technical talent, especially during the past few years of rapid digitization. But many of these companies are now doing just fine compared to the tech giants and added 517,000 jobs for the US economy in January, the biggest increase in six months. These companies now have the opportunity to hire top tech talent.
The hiring tide is shifting
The ability for other companies to hire technical talent is not only due to the availability of the unemployed, but also because the reputation of major technology brands may have been damaged by the massive layoffs, making them less attractive.
Three years ago, as Kyle Elliott, a technical career coach, told CNBC reported, “Everyone wanted to work at the ‘big brand name’ companies like Google or Uber. Now they realize that these larger companies are not as stable as they thought.”
These large companies were once considered safe, especially for those who have provided years of dedicated service, but are no longer considered such. This provides an opportunity for other companies to stand out by emphasizing job stability.
Offer benefits that talent actually wants
As a former software engineer at a large technology company, I enjoyed the free healthy eating options and on-site gym classes. But these benefits come at a cost and technology companies are phasing them out. For example both Meta and Google stopped some campus benefits such as free laundry service and meal allowances. But top talent may be looking for something else.
This was even shown by a recent study 63% of technical workers not interested in returning to full-time personal work. Therefore, companies should consider providing flexibility on where employees can work. Although offering only remote working may not be appreciated by many young workerscould attract the senior talent where flexibility means a life-changing advantage to meet family obligations.
Companies should also consider providing employees with a home office budget, as this allows them to have a work setup they enjoy and feel comfortable with, increasing their productivity.
Act quickly
This opportunity to hire top tech talent may last for the foreseeable future, but not forever. While the number of vacancies is falling, there is still a strong appetite for technical talent. ZipRecruiter found that 79% of technical workers laid off found a new job within three months of starting their search. Companies looking to hire these experienced and skilled tech workers must act quickly before the tide turns.
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