How do big tech lawsuits impact your job search

(Photo credit @cookiethepom)

** Update: Since I published this note in my newsletter on Fri 12/18, Google has been sued two more times with private lawsuits. Given the sheer length of time (years) that it will take for these lawsuits to play out in court, it likely won't have short-term impact on recruiting. And the stock market agrees --- GOOG and GOOGL are both up 200+ points since the first lawsuit dropped in mid-October.

As a job seeker, you might be concerned with all of these big tech suits and unsure how to evaluate your career options amid all this chaos. Here are 4 different perspectives to consider in evaluating the potential impact of these lawsuits on your job search and career trajectory. 

1. Ethical standpoint: Ethical companies often share the following characteristics: explicit values, cultural norms, incentives, and priming thoughts during judgment. 

   1. Does the company you’re looking at display explicit values and strong cultural norms?  

   2. Take a moment to evaluate what the company is accused of doing and whether you believe the accusations, based on your research. 

2. Company Growth standpoint: Bank of America analysts predict that Google will still be a better stock buy than Facebook in early 2021. 

   1. This tells us that the markets still believe in the growth potential of both companies, either because breakups will invite more competition and growth or because they don’t believe the government will win. Many would argue that just like the 1998 Microsoft antitrust case allowed for other nascent tech companies to flourish, the ultimate result from these current lawsuits is lots of tech company growth.

3. Employee Morale standpoint: It’s not easy to be working for a company that is under investigation. 

   1. Employees are not immune to feeling the pressure from the press and outside individuals. As part of your networking conversations, you could ask a question about general employee sentiment and reactions to gauge how tough a work environment you’d be entering. 

4. Career Trajectory standpoint: Related to the Company Growth point above, if Facebook or Google are broken up, there will be a lot of career growth opportunities to help lead the organizations through these changes. Microsoft is still a large, thriving tech company decades after it lost its antitrust case. 

   1. Do you see a path for growth in your area if you join the company?

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How productive do you really need to be?

(Photo credit @cathrynlavery)

1. Another thing I’ve admitted to myself in pandemic times: it’s ok to admit that you’re only about 40-50% as productive as normal. Here’s some advice on how to recover: 

   • The Guilt-Free Guide to Getting Back on Track After a Completely Unproductive Day

2. Still struggling to get motivated? It happens to all of us!

   • One approach is to remind yourself why you were a great hire in the first place (also a super helpful strategy when you are trying to make a job pivot): 

     1. How to Find Your Job Search Value Proposition

   • Another is to re-define what it means to be productive right now:

     1. Redefining Lack of Productivity During COVID-19 -Kushaan Shah (love the Pixar Story Spine game!)

3. If you’re working with or managing others, you should be thinking about ways to help support your team right now.

   • Fostering employee productivity and morale through COVID-19 

   • How to Spot When an Employee Is Secretly Struggling

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Q&A and Recommendations

(Photo credit @jontyson)

This week is a bit of a hodgepodge collection of Q&A advice & tool recommendations & job/intern/training links to help you navigate the current hiring landscape & remote work environment. Enjoy!

Q&A

• Should I be networking right now?

  • Yes, I think it's fine to be networking. Many employees have had at least two weeks to figure out their new working at home situation, and might be ready to accept networking emails/calls.

  • One thing to consider: how to balance being persistent and pestering. Right now, it's helpful for you to be diligent about following up as everyone is juggling many things. However, you don't wait to follow-up as quickly as you might normally - I'd wait at least a week in between follow-ups, maybe even two weeks.

  • Also, if you do end up on a call with a contact, it's ok to start the call with a general 'how are you handling remote work right now?" I find that most of my calls/meetings right now default to starting with a similar question. Phrasing it this way makes it easier to acknowledge the global situation & focus on the work-related aspects of it, vs veering too far into someone's personal details.

• Is anyone hiring right now?

  • Yes, there are multiple companies who are in need of help -- areas that come to mind include: ecommerce platforms/distribution channels; remote work/productivity software; CPGs producing household goods like toilet paper/cleaning supplies; tech companies powering the streaming services & the internet backbone itself

  • Scroll down for additional links to jobs

• If I have received an offer from Company A and I'm still interviewing with Company B, should I tell either of them about the other?

  • Yes! It's good practice to keep your recruiters informed as it gives them the best opportunity to be your advocate and help you get the best offer from their company. However, you don't need to share all the details with each of them, only the pertinent info they need to move things along.

  • First, I suggest you call company B and tell them you just received an offer from another company and they have given you a deadline of X date (that's all you need to share). Tell B that you remain interested/excited in interviewing with B, and would appreciate the chance to complete the interview process with them on an accelerated timeline. The recruiter will then be able to tell you if it's possible for them to accelerate your interview process to meet A's deadline, or not.

  • If B needs more time, you go back to A to ask for a short extension to their deadline (based on what time B told you they need), so that you are able to complete the interview process with one other company & thus fully evaluate both career options.

  • Most times, as long as recruiters see you are working with them in good faith, they will try to help you as best as they can.

4 Productivity "Survival" Tools/products I've been using & recommend

• Headspace

  • I became a Headspace devotee about 5.5 years ago when my father became ill and I moved home to help take care of him in the months before he passed away. One of the best gifts from Google was the Search Inside Yourself class. I'm proud to say I'm on day 473 of a daily 20-minute meditation streak. Great quote from the MindfulMBA: "Mindfulness is leadership training because it teaches you how to continue through discomfort, uncertainty, and even chaos. It trains you to be the calm in the middle of the storm."

• Focus@Will

  • Founded by neuroscientists & musicologists, the Focus@Will app alters subtle music characteristics to help you focus longer. Using the Focus@Will app is like flipping a switch on in my brain that sends me into super focus mode. I've been using it for at least 4 years and find it amazingly helpful to put on headphones and just focus. My preference is the Ambient channel. I just saw that they are offering 50% off memberships too!

• Stand Steady X-Elite Pro

  • I bought a desktop standing desk a week ago as I have gotten so tired of sitting at my desk all day. Brilliant choice. This one is very easy to use & relatively inexpensive for the quality of life it provides! Not sure yet about buying other items (like an anti-fatigue mat) - will keep you posted!

• Clickup

  • I think I found the holy grail of project management tools. I love how highly structured and infinitely flexible Clickup is for managing projects. I especially love the ability to have a list, board, calendar AND gantt chart view of a project, without having to pick one like many other tools force you to do (I'm looking at you Asana and Trello). Still working on the best practices but thus far, it's been amazing (is it too much to say my heart pitter-patters when I think of Clickup? Maybe that's the cabin fever talking...)

(Note: I am an affiliate for these tools -- tho I only recommend products I *actually* use often!)

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