Jan 21 / Richa Bansal

Recession-Proof Your Career: Lessons from Stripe Layoffs

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Stripe becomes the next Tech leader to suddenly lay off 300 people in product, engineering, and operations.

This layoff comes even as the company announces “strong business performance” and plans to hire 17,000 employees in areas of other strategic significance.

This is not performance-related.

This is business as usual.

As Stripe (like every other business in the world) prioritizes business needs, here’s what you can do to prioritize your career:

1. KEEP YOUR RESUME UPDATED
Recession-proof candidates are always open to new opportunities and entertain every recruiter reachout on LinkedIn.
Take 30 minutes today to:
- Update your experience: Highlight key accomplishments, metrics, and impact.
- Create targeted professional summary: Use job descriptions of roles you’re targeting to refine your resume.
- Optimize for ATS: Use long-tail keywords and industry jargon from job descriptions to ensure your Resume is ATS-proof!

Download my free plug-and-play, ATS-optimized Resume template to make this process fast!

2. KEEP YOUR NETWORK UPDATED
Networking is a long-term play. You don’t start networking when you need a favor. You start 1-year ahead.

This week, commit to:
- Reconnect: Message 3-5 past colleagues or peers to catch up.
- Engage: Comment on posts, share insights, or even post about your own projects.
- Ask: Reach out to leaders in companies you admire for a 15-minute coffee chat.

3. KEEP YOUR SKILLS UPDATED
Upskilling is inevitable if you want to stand out in a competitive job market.

If you’re in tech, here are 10 resources to help you learn AI/ML and stay ahead:

1️⃣ Coursera: AI for Everyone (by Andrew Ng) – Great for understanding AI concepts without coding.
2️⃣ Coursera: Machine Learning (by Stanford University) – A classic ML course by Andrew Ng.
3️⃣ edX: Professional Certificate in Artificial Intelligence by IBM – In-depth AI certification from IBM.
4️⃣ Udemy: Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp – Hands-on ML with Python.
5️⃣ Kaggle – Compete in data science challenges and build real-world experience.
6️⃣ Google AI’s Machine Learning Crash Course – A free and beginner-friendly course from Google.
7️⃣DeepLearning.AI: TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate – Master TensorFlow and neural networks.
8️⃣Fast.a– Free deep learning resources and tutorials.
9️⃣ Hugging Face: Transformers Tutorials – Learn about NLP models and transformers like BERT and GPT.
🔟 DataCamp – Short, interactive courses on AI, ML, and data science.

I am bummed for all those who got impacted in the Stripe layoff. But I also know that the market is always good for the best candidate.
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Layoffs happen—but the best candidates always have options. The Fearless Hire helps women in tech fast-track $200k+ leadership roles apply for The Fearless Hire now.

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Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways I can help:

1. THE FEARLESS HIRE: The only career accelerator for mid-senior women that are ready to land their next $150k - $400k job offer. Get the proven playbook, personalized coaching, and accountability you need to build your career on your own timeline, and become recession-proof. 

2. WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP ACCELERATOR: The only women's leadership accelerator for mid-senior women across the Government of Canada. This 6-month leadership program will give you the confidence, skills and network you need to fast-track your growth to executive roles.

3. PARTNER WITH PINKCAREERS: Bring our award-winning keynotes, training and women's leadership programs to your organization to solidify your DEIB efforts. 

Your dream career begins here.

Every Saturday, get one actionable strategy to level up your confidence, career, and compensation in less than 5 minutes.
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