This is a guest post by Mahesh Gugurswamy
In my twenty-something years of being in software development, I have survived three major recessions: the dot-com bust of 2001, the great recession caused by the housing bubble, and the Covid-19 recession of 2020. We might be looking at another recession, if the trade wars don’t calm down.
It is safe to assume that we should expect a recession every ten years or so. As software development increasingly becomes commoditized, the impacts that recessions cause to this industry are also going to increase. Put it another way, software professionals are no longer special and companies won’t lay off software engineers last during a recession. These days, they go first.
A few things have helped me navigate recessions. I didn’t just survive recessions; I actually got promoted. Let’s explore the concrete steps software professionals can take to recession-proof their careers. Spoiler alert: Learning new tools is not one of them.
Optimize for Delivery
The modern tech industry has always rewarded speed. From the early 2001s to now, every leader of every successful company has pushed for speed. I know the purist will start yelling through their screens about technical debt and how running fast will cause more things to break. However, the reality is, if you complain about technical debt in a downturn and how the company is not paying attention to it, you have inadvertently put yourself on the layoff list.
Fix the technical debt during peace times, not war times. Make do with what you have.
Individual contributors and leaders who push for delivery, time to market and rapid iteration will always make it to the lifeboat when the levee breaks. Also, it isn’t just enough to just do the work. Be vocal about your philosophy around speed. Share it with your team and leaders. If you are seen as an evangelist for speed, the powers to be will always have a tough time putting you on the layoff list.
Understand the Business
A common mistake that individual contributors and some leaders make is to block out what is happening around them so that they can focus on the tasks in front of them. It isn’t a bad strategy, but in a downturn, it is very easy to stand out if you understand the macro conditions and how they are affecting the business. When leaders see you making decisions that are beneficial for the greater good of the company, they will understand that you are doing your part to help the company navigate the downturn, as opposed to just letting the ‘higher-ups’ deal with it, which is what most employees end up doing. It is very hard for a leader to put a mission-oriented person on the layoff list.
Build/Strengthen Internal Relationships with Leaders
This might be a slightly harsh take, but I am basing this mostly on what I have experienced. When individual contributors and junior leaders talk to senior leaders or executives, it is almost always a variation of these questions:
- What is happening with X? X could be the company, a competitor, a project, the economy, etc
- Will X happen to me? X could be layoff, promotion, return to office, etc
- A few smart ones will ask, What is keeping you up at night?
However, most people don’t ask the one crucial question that will help you form an instant bond with the leader you are talking to, and that is What can I do to help?
I can almost guarantee that these simple words will make the other person (leader or not) your instant fan. It shows that you are putting somebody else ahead of you. It shows that you care.
Leaders, managers and executives invest a lot of time (or at least they should) in taking care of people and answering their questions. When you flip the script on them and offer to take care of them, they will automatically put you in a different (and better) category of employees than the rest.
Network, Network, Network
Carve out time in your day to network online. Follow the leaders you like on LinkedIn/Substack, engage with their content, and don’t hesitate to connect with them. When you connect with them, don’t turn around immediately after and ask them for a job. Just tell them that you like their content/advice and want to become part of their professional network. Worst case, they ignore your connection request. Best case, you have a connection you can reach out to when you need it. Almost 85% of jobs are filled through personal or professional connections.
Engage with Recruiters
I would bet a dollar that a lot of you think that recruiters are the scum of the professional world. They cold message and call you about roles that you are not a good fit for at all. They leave you long voice messages that you immediately delete. Maybe some of you have been tempted to complain about recruiters on LinkedIn. Maybe, just maybe, some of you actually have publicly complained about them. You can get away with all this during peace times and when the economy is doing well. But you know who might be able to help you when the market turns? Recruiters.
When I receive inbound emails or requests from recruiters about roles that do not interest me, I always respond politely with my current and future career goals. Be courteous to recruiters and clearly communicate your career aspirations. You never know what cosmic connections the universe might manifest. And please, do not complain about them publicly. While it might give your ego a temporary lift, you will have alienated a network of influential people who could assist you in finding your next job.
Start with a Yes
Engineers often have a bad habit of starting with a ‘No.’ When faced with a big project or a problem, or even trying out something new (like GPT), even the most experienced engineers sometimes focus on how it cannot be done. They cite reasons like not having enough time, too much technical debt, or a lack of people.
If you consistently begin with ‘No,’ when budget cuts come around, managers will likely say ‘Yes’ to including you on the list of those to cut.
If you want to ensure your place in the lifeboat, start saying ‘Yes.’ I’m not suggesting you have to agree to impossible projects with impossible deadlines. Saying ‘Yes’ opens a door for negotiation, allowing you to discuss time, cost, or both. Remember that with a long enough lever, you can move the earth.
Be Proactive
Lastly, these are things you don’t do after a recession kicks in. You do all this well in advance. And because nobody can predict a recession, my recommendation would be to do this every day. You never know when it might help you.
About the Guest Post Author:
Mahesh Guruswamy is a seasoned product development executive who has been in the software development space for over twenty years and has managed teams of varying sizes for over a decade. He is currently the chief product and technology officer at Kickstarter. Before that, he ran product development teams at Mosaic, Kajabi, and Smartsheet. Mahesh caught the writing bug from his favorite author, Stephen King. He started out writing short stories and eventually discovered that long-form writing was a great medium to share information with product development teams, resulting in his book How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away with It: A Manager’s Guide Greenleaf Book Group (January 14, 2025).
Mahesh is passionate about mentoring others, especially folks who are interested in becoming a people manager and newer managers who are just getting going. Learn more at maheshguruswamy.