PMs, how do you make yourself layoff proof?
With talks of PMs not being required last year, to crazy layoffs scene and PM hiring being the indicator of industry hiring scene, how do you folks deal with the anxiety? With PM hiring being skewed towards supply side, do you think about contingency plans in case you are fired? Too much anxiety being a PM with 5 years experience and salary being the only income source.
The most interesting part of “supply” skewed skill sets is when you go for hiring in market, it gets very difficult to hire. Why such conflicting statements? The whole big difference is skill sets! Trust your skills and make them stronger, you will gain confidence even in unfavourable situations. See nothing can control layoff, I am sure u would have read the story of 19-years old google veteran.
Build emergency funds, skill sets and things will become ok as we grow. The ones who will survive this low, will shine when it flows.
@ElonMast which story ??
PMing had become the easy route to inflated salaries for college students/freshers who didn't want to learn code/some core skill set. Out of 10 PMs I know, only 3 PMs are generally doing actual Product Management, the rest are just Gulaam of their Reporting Managers. Hence, there is no skewing, it's just the job market showing us the real worth of certain people. Those who are actually skilled will remain in demand, earn money and thrive.
Own something which no one else is doing. Get your hands on the work which your manager does not want to do. Spend more time with leadership or skip manager to understand where the product is heading. Try to get in those products. These are some of the steps but many a times, layoff decision can be beyond this. So, upskilling and boosting CV to ensure you get hired somewhere else quickly can help even if layoff happens