[Music] foreign
ERS I hope you all are doing amazing today this is Karen for Marvel your agile evangelist well
today I'm gonna be talking about something really serious which is a little bit different from the
usual kind of content that I create I am sure most of you may have heard about the current
um layoffs that is ongoing especially in tech companies
take this seriously if you've never looked into this if you've never thought about this or you've
just always pushed it behind and thinking it you know it doesn't concern you you it will
not happen to you you may be making a mistake I would strongly suggest that you look into this
and start doing whatever is within your control to stay prepared so that you will not have to
get prepared that is not a pleasant feeling trying to get prepared when it's already here
so I'm just gonna give um overview of what is going on based on my opinion and my understanding
and and then I'll touch on different things that may be helpful so please stay tuned to
watch this video until the very end hundreds of tech companies are currently laying off people
thousands of people for different reasons yes that's what is going on and some examples of
these companies that are currently doing that Amazon Amazon has already laid off one uh 10
000 people and then as of yesterday they announced that they will they have plans
to lay off around 18 000 people that is way more than what they originally anticipated
meta previously known as Facebook has already laid off 11 000 people Salesforce
has laid off 8 000 people which is 10 percent of their um um payroll
Sweden has laid off 4 400 people Co has laid off 4 000 people and the least goes on now some people
may be wondering but why are they doing that what is going on well I'm just gonna speak uh based on
my my understanding to the best of my knowledge so far Salesforce and Amazon has admitted that they
were so quick in hiring so many people during the pandemic and now they are facing financial
crisis the economy is not going as anticipated and that is a reason why they are laying off people
you see so that is as fast I know well before I go further to say anything else I am here today
to acknowledge and recognize those that have already been impacted by this currently of I
want to let you all know that I see you I hear you I feel you I understand I understand that
it's not easy it is not easy if you've never walked that shoes you would not understand
I'm here to let you know that whatever feelings you may be going through right now by all means
don't feel sorry for it don't apologize for it your feelings are extremely valid
take all the time you need to process this the shock
I know I understand the shock that comes with this take all the time you need to process this take it
in so that you avoid making the spirit decisions I want to let you all know that I am here to support
you in whatever way possible that I can so far I know some of the ways that I can be helpful is
I am very willing to write you know if you need a LinkedIn recommendation I'll be more than glad to
do so for you just send me a direct message if I don't know you if I know you personally trust
that I will be leaving a recommendation on your LinkedIn page I also run a YouTube channel even
though I specialize on educating around agile the agile ways of working and how to effectively adopt
business agility I am very sure that um if you are interested um I will be more than glad to
host you on my YouTube channel and through that you should be able to gain some exposure and
that would be a perfect opportunity where you can talk around the your values your goals and
um you know your aspirations what you're capable of of of getting done and what you can bring to
an organization as a professional through that I'm very sure that you you will be able to gain
some exposure through my platform um I have been able to help so many people that I've hosted in
the past gain exposure in their areas of expertise and as a result they've gained better employment
um better job conditions better pay and all of that so that is how I know for a fact that
um my platform can be very helpful to you that is if you're interested or what you have to do
is just send me a direct message please send me a direct message if you're interested in featuring
on one of my YouTube live broadcasts and I'll be more than happy to have a conversation with you
and we'll pick it up from there so if there is any other thing you think I can do to be helpful
other than the the ways that I've already mentioned please by all means reach out to
me directly and I'll be more than happy to support in whatever way I can't look
your network is your net worth so my network as well is your own network so please let's support
each other you know in this time of need at the end of the day we only have each other
that being said now I would just like to touch on what lay off those two people if you've never
ever walked that path good for you I pray it never happens to you because it's not funny
this is what layoff does to people first it affects your confidence negatively it affects
your ability to believe in your skills in your Potentials in your capabilities as a professional
see yourself esting it can quickly kick you into depression if you are not strong enough
to handle yourself and as a result if you're not careful you may find yourself feeling so desperate
to a point where you may start thinking that you can accept any opportunity that comes your way
even if it doesn't align with your passion your skill set and your vision
you may also find yourself um getting lost in your thoughts and wanting to stay in bed all day
well I'm here to tell you that don't let that happen to you it's not the end of the world
this is nothing personal it has nothing to do with your your skills it has nothing to do with
your performance to be honest for the most part it really has nothing to because I know of people
that are highly skilled highly competent people that have impacted my life in so many ways that
were impacted so that is how I know that this has nothing to do with you as a person so please
don't be too hard on yourself don't take it too personal on yourself and you can easily fall in
that trap if you start asking the bud why why asking so many wives why start looking at but
I did all this right I tried to you know always make sure I I put in my all my craftsmanship is
always on point don't do that to yourself because if you do that to yourself all of the things that
I've already explained above will will affect you now this is my recommendation to all those
that have already been impacted by this layoff I understand that at this moment you can easily
feel that Spirit of desperation where you're feeling like you don't have any choice and
you are open to whatever opportunity that comes your way even if it doesn't align
with your passion your skill set your values what you represent as a person
and then you feel like you you have to take it because you don't have a choice
with all humility don't do that to yourself don't do that to yourself what I would recommend is for
now take all the time you need you know you will know when you're ready take all the time you need
and clean up yourself process everything you know get all the support you can't spend time with your
loved ones spend time with those that truly care about you if you need to talk to someone talk
to someone I always find it very helpful going through things like this speaking to those that I
I believe that truly care if you need counseling go for for therapy it will go a long way
on the other hand if you you know you're being offered any help especially on the
LinkedIn Community your social media Community professional space Please by all means take it
while you're taking all the time you need to process everything you're going through also
stay open to the potential opportunities that may come your way that truly aligns with who
you represent as a person your value what you're passionate about your skill set stay open to those
kind of opportunities I would also recommend I understand that you may be tempted to stay in
bed all morning and then finding yourself staying in bed all afternoon or evening to either just be
lost in your thoughts or just cry or yourself to sleep waking up and crying yourself to sleep again
well if you have to take one two days to go through that feeling that is all fine but don't
remain there get up clean up shake it off and move that is really all that matters move on what I
can assure you is that these two shall pass this doesn't Define you you can actually use this very
opportunity I would like you to see this as an opportunity and this is how to me you can you can
make this an opportunity you can actually use this to Define your future moving forward some of the
things that I'm suggesting you do is number one Identify some skills that you'll be really looking
or Longing To to um be better at go take that training if you are looking to build your network
now is the time visits on communities of practice in your areas of Interest make connections make
new friends exchange ideas collaborate give back to the community one of my maintenance
ones asked me Karen at this point I'm really not sure what my mission is and what I told
this person is help someone help people in the process of helping people you will never go wrong
you may discover what your mission truly is that I know for sure so if at this point you ask in
the process if you're figuring out yourself if you know you're good at something there
will always be someone out there that is in need of whatever you have give back to the community
join communities of practice volunteer your services volunteer to facilitate sessions
volunteer to train on something volunteer to speak around at some specific topic on the other hand
maybe you've been passionate or you've really been longing to start a business now is the opportunity
you as you clearly have seen you can never ever rely solely on nine to five
because they will they will fold your arms you will be disappointed if you're solely relying
on the nine to five you would definitely be disappointed so if you are already in that
situation if you've already been laid off or you've been impacted by this layoff please look
into that thing that you've always been passionate about that you know that has been calling you but
you've never found the courage to stand up and go after it now is the time go after that that
um idea of yours that you've been that has been collecting dust forever
materialize that idea you never know this may be that perfect opportunity that will
save you save your generation and give you that fulfillment that you've been longing for
if you need to take a vacation by all means go ahead and take your vacation well I know we are
just coming back from vacation from the holiday um Christmas break but it's okay if you need
to take additional vacation that will help your mental health by all means go ahead and protect
that mental health but what you should not do is let yourself fall into that trap of desperation
don't rush into anything this again doesn't Define you take your time and make sure that whatever
decision you're making is what is right for you don't rush in because if you rush in you will find
yourself rushing out well I know some people may now be wondering or asking so but what can I do
um to prevent this from happening to me well to be honest with you unfortunately there is
really nothing you can do to prevent this from happening to you because this is really out of
your control as an employee however there are things that you can do to stay prepared
so that you will not have to get prepared I would strongly suggest that you ensure you stay relevant
in your in your your areas or your area of expertise
take trainings take more certifications learn new skills enhance your skills make connections build
your social media Network build your network your network is your net worth that is just the truth
in this day and age make meaningful friendships make meaningful connections not those kind of
connections that when there is an opportunity in a room they will never ever think of mentioning your
name nope those kind of connections are useless so clean all those kind of people away from your
life those people that you know that as much as you're sacrificing for them they are also capable
of sacrificing for you especially to my agile practitioners there are so many skills that you
can you can learn to to to enhance your portfolio there are just so many opportunities out there
takes different certifications take different trainings join communities of practice build
your skills you know give back to the community just put yourself out there those are really the
things that I recommend get a mentor be mentored be coached so that you can continuously refine
your skills and your capabilities that is really what you can do that is within your control you
know to to stay prepared so that you will not have to get prepared even though this layoff
is going on that is for a fact it doesn't mean that they are not still looking for skills they
are looking for skills just that right now the market will be so tight to a point where they are
looking for high skilled people so um with that in mind that is why getting into a very reputable
structure training is highly essential being agile offers wonderful scrum Master training programs
mentoring programs if you want to be good at what you do reach out to us and we have fantastic
um agile coaches and agile mentors that will build you build your skills build your capabilities
build your confidence to a point where you will be you will be high selling in the market so if you
are interested in joining our programs go to that description box and check our contact information
and reach out to us I'll be more than happy to to welcome you into our into our community
um I hope this has been helpful again please if you've not been looking into this please
take this really seriously it's really important and I hope I have not scared you today I'm just
trying to be very honest and transparent with you because I wouldn't want this to happen to
you I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone that I care about you know but however if it happens to
you I want to make sure that your prepared so that you will not have to get prepared
thank you so much and take care of yourself bye