Tech jobs have dried up—and aren’t coming back soon
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Finding a job in tech by applying online was fruitless, so Glenn Kugelman resorted to another tactic: It involved paper and duct tape. Kugelman, let go from an online-marketing role at eBay, blanketed Manhattan streetlight poles with 150 fliers over nearly three months this spring.
“RECENTLY LAID OFF," they blared. “LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB." The 30-year-old posted them outside the offices of Google, Facebook and other tech companies, hoping hiring managers would spot them among the “lost cat" signs. A QR code on the flier sent people to his LinkedIn profile.
“I thought that would make me stand out," he says. “The job market now is definitely harder than it was a few years ago." Once heavily wooed and fought over by companies, tech talent is now wrestling for scarcer positions. The stark reversal of fortunes for a group long in the driver’s seat signals more than temporary discomfort.
It’s a reset in an industry that is fundamentally readjusting its labor needs and pushing some workers out. Postings for software development jobs are down more than 30% since February 2020, according to Indeed.com. Industry layoffs have continued this year with tech companies shedding around 137,000 jobs since January, according to Layoffs.fyi.
Many tech workers, too young to have endured the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, now face for the first time what it’s like to hustle to find work. Company strategies are also shifting. Instead of growth at all costs and investment in moonshot projects, tech firms have become laser focused on revenue-generating products and services.
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