No Winter Lasts Forever
Twenty years in, this is the toughest job market I've seen—here’s how we handle it
Let’s be frank - the market is absolutely and beyond brutal right now. AI is reshaping roles. Hiring cycles are extremely slow. Great people are getting laid off. In twenty years, I haven’t seen it this tough.
And yet—cycles cycle. Downturns end. The work you do now decides how you emerge on the other side.
This isn’t a pep talk. It’s a plan.
🧭 The reality (and the reframe)
Yes, AI is changing the game at the moment. Some tasks commoditize; new ones appear. The winners learn to pair with AI, not compete with it.
Yes, the job market is cold. That’s not your identity. It’s a temporary context.
Yes, the headlines are loud. But hiring is not zero; it’s just concentrated and selective. Your edge is clarity, signal, and skills that ship value fast.
Hard seasons don’t define you; they refine you.
📅 A 90-day resilience playbook
1) Stabilize your system (Days 1–7)
Write your runway math. Cash, burn, “must-haves,” monthly floor. Know your horizon.
Design your day. 4 blocks: Learning (90m), Portfolio (90m), Outreach (60m), Health (30m). Repeat.
Reduce noise. Unfollow doom feeds; subscribe to 2–3 high-signal sources (roles, niches, AI/industry briefs).
2) Skill up with intent (Weeks 2–8)
Pick one primary stack and one differentiator:
Core stack (choose 1): Backend (Go/Java/Node), Frontend (React/Next), Data (SQL + Python), Cloud (AWS basics).
Differentiator (choose 1):
AI-native: LLM prompting, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector databases, evaluation.
Product acceleration: Rapid prototyping, analytics loops, experimentation.
Systems: Observability, performance, reliability basics.
Ship a small artifact weekly (see “Portfolio signals” below).
3) Build visible signals (Weeks 2–12)
One-pager case studies (problem → approach → before/after metric → link).
Tiny products/tools (hosted demo + repo): e.g., an AI-infused feature, a perf fix with benchmark, a data pipeline with a dashboard.
Write what you learned (short posts, not essays). Show thinking, not perfection.
4) Create pipeline, not hope (Weeks 3–12)
Target 30 companies (alignment > size). Track in a simple sheet/Notion: role, referrer, touchpoints, status.
Daily cadence:
3 thoughtful outreaches (warm intros, alumni, ex-coworkers, open-source maintainers).
2 applications with tailored signals (relevant project or brief attached).
1 public contribution (issue, PR, discussion, or article).
Weekly: informational chats (3–5). Ask for advice first, referrals later.
📈 Skills that compound in this market
AI as a teammate
Build a personal AI toolbox: structured prompting, code refactors, test generation, doc drafts.
Ship one AI-enhanced feature: e.g., semantic search, summarization, smart suggestions.
Learn evaluation: golden sets, latency/quality tradeoffs, guardrails.
Speed-to-value engineering
MVP mindset: smallest slice that proves value this week.
Observability basics: logs, traces, dashboards—show you can measure impact.
Automation: shave minutes off repeated tasks; showcase before/after.
Signal skills
Storytelling (clear commit messages, crisp PRs, tiny Loom demos).
Collaboration (open issues that invite others in, helpful code reviews).
Decision logs (why this tradeoff now). These read like leadership.
🧰 Portfolio: make it undeniable
Use a 3–3–3 format on your site/README:
3 problems you can solve (with example links).
3 artifacts (live demo, repo, 90-second Loom).
3 proof points (metrics, user quotes, PRs merged).
Make it scannable. Recruiters skim; help them succeed.
⏱️ Interview readiness (without burning months)
Daily reps (25–30 min): one DSA warmup or one system design scenario; alternate days.
Weekly deep dive: pick a real product and sketch a system with tradeoffs.
Behavioral bank: craft 6 STAR stories (impact, conflict, failure, leadership, ambiguity, velocity). Tie to outcomes, not tasks.
🧘♂️ Mindset practices that keep you moving
Win the day: write down 3 finishable tasks each morning; check them off. Momentum beats mood.
Stoic loop: control what you can, accept what you can’t, act where it matters.
People first: one encouraging message per day to someone else in the same storm; community is resilience.
Boundaries: news windows (twice daily), sleep non-negotiable, move your body, eat healthily.
Mindset: high five yourself in the mirror every morning; before each interview, tell yourself that the company would be lucky to hire you.
📨 If you were laid off
Ask for a public reference and specific bullet points (impact, metrics).
Request open-source or portfolio-safe artifacts you can share (sanitized).
Update LinkedIn headline to what you do + outcomes, not just “Open to work.”
Post a clear, generous update: what you built, what you’re seeking, how to help—tag teammates, offer intros.
🛡️ If you’re employed but anxious
Upskill in place: propose one AI-adjacent or automation project with measurable ROI.
Make impact visible: monthly “deltas” note to your manager (before/after metrics).
Network quietly: two reconnection chats per week; keep your options warm.
🔄 Remember the cycle
Every downturn feels permanent from the inside. None have been.
Markets thaw. Hiring returns. AI will eliminate tasks and create demand for people who can integrate it responsibly, ship value quickly, and explain tradeoffs.
Do the work now that your future self will thank you for:
Learn deliberately.
Ship visibly.
Reach out consistently.
Be kind—to yourself and others.
Bad times are never infinite. No winter lasts forever. Spring favors those who kept building in the cold.