Navigating Layoffs In 2023

In the first quarter of 2023, more than 100,000 workers were laid off, primarily across technology and financial services. The pendulum has a weird way of swinging back in the other direction—just a few years ago, we went from one of the hottest job markets in the history of our prosperous nation (shoutout to my fellow ‘Murican readers!) to a ubiquitous hiring freeze across all industries, transitioning to a “nobody wants to work anymore” narrative that changed the leverage workers had over their respective employers, to yet another hiring frenzy, and now, at long last, back to those hiring freezes and layoffs from 3 years ago. I know a lot of us have worked long and hard to get to the positions that we’re in, and now, it almost feels like it’s being stripped away in an instant. Lots of banks are either imploding (gulping) or cutting a lot of their talent pool considerably. Now here comes the million-dollar question: if you can’t ideally survive the slaughtering, how do you position yourself to be a prime filet mignon rather than 97/3 lean ground beef?

• Keep An Active Network — Let’s cut to the chase: getting fired is not at all ideal, but if there ever were an “ideal” time to get fired, it would be now. Future employers can and will be more understanding when there are mass layoffs across an industry or sector, and you will be held in less negative regard as opposed to being a slacker in your group that might get cut on a whim—something that, as you probably would guess, potential employers don’t respond too positively to.

Best of luck! Let’s not beat around the bush here: getting laid off, or even the mere threat of getting laid off, is not something that’s easy to deal with. However, this is not to say that it’s something that’s impossible to navigate. Sometimes, as cliché as it sounds, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and you can find yourself in an even better position than you were prior to the hardship. Be sure to check out some of the great resources here on Office Hours to get the full scoop on recruiting and the next steps!

If you are interested in moving to PE but don't know where to start with the preparation? Now is the perfect opportunity for you to get started because we are running a one-day promotion for the Buyside Starter Kit being offered ONLY TODAY, April 14th!

What Exactly Can Officehours Coaching Help With?

OfficeHours Coaches can help you answer various questions, including the below:

• Help you think through which strategy would be the right strategy for you within the finance

• Is Private Equity actually a good fit for you?

• Do you like small team-oriented environments or do you prefer working lone-wolf style (more public equity)

• What firm would you like and which firm would like you?

• Are you looking for a path into business school or rather just thinking about it as a 2-and-out program? Firms will say they value culture but how do you really know without speaking to someone who used to be there?

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Still not convinced? Here’s why you should not!

Being a coach is no easy task – nor is listening to a coach. It requires an individual to understand what they’re good at, but also where they can improve. If you ask the Buccaneers, they’ll tell you they feel like they have a coach under center in the offense. “Tom Brady is a mentor and an endless resource for information – You can never have too many words of wisdom from him.” A good coach almost seems like they have answers to the test.

You need to figure out how to land the career you love if there is a field or a position you want to break into. Over time, you come to see that something that initially appeared unreachable wasn't all that difficult to enter. You believed it was impossible for someone with no prior investing education or experience to break into PE, HF, VC, etc. Therefore, it's critical to seek assistance and receive coaching.

Interview Prep? No problem, we got you!