#career

Some folks still act like this place offers a real career path. The truth is, most of us are just hoping to stay employed another week. Thinking long term here is setting yourself up for disappointment.

I’ve been looking for a new job for a while, and every time I get to the final interview, I get rejected. It’s mentally draining and discouraging. After so many close calls, it’s hard to stay motivated or maintain any sense of confidence. It's starting to feel like they're intentionally wasting my time. Or I'm just getting paranoid on top of everything else.

Every company I look at is either frozen, shrinking, or only taking a handful of new employees.

I’m nearing 50 and I see how fast people my age get pushed out at Xerox. Friends with years of experience are still out there searching. It is crazy to me how companies just toss aside everything you have learned like it never mattered as soon as you hit a certain age.

I left without any sense of guilt, because I knew I needed a job that didn’t consume my evenings and weekends. At first, I worried about letting my team down, but honestly, no one wins when you’re burned out and running on fumes. Moving to a role with a healthier balance has reminded me how much better life feels when work isn’t draining every ounce of energy you have.

I did an internship this past summer and was extended an offer in PD (engineer). I found this site researching Ford's stability. Is this site representative of your experiences? Looking for advice.

https://www.lightreading.com/5g/the-end-of-the-fourth-carrier-experiment

Never give these 3 'sudden deaths' answers at a job interview, says CEO—'you've instantly disqualified yourself'. #3 is very interesting, see the link below:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/never-give-these-3-sudden-death-answers-at-a-job-interview-says-ceo-you-ve-instantly-disqualified-yourself/ar-AA1LkiJf?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W069&cvid=4eb443a3de0a425ca7049dbd8be1e6f0&ei=61

I got comfortable during the good years, then just kept adapting as the crises piled up. Now I realize I’m completely fed up. And of course, it hits me at the worst possible time, when the options out there are practically nonexistent. I have no one to blame but myself for waiting this long, but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. It feels like I’ve wasted years hanging on, and now I’m stuck in a place that does me no good whatsoever, and will most likely only get worse. I’m just ranting here, but I suspect the vast majority of us feel the same.

Nope. It’s only made me feel more desperate. I’ve poured so much time and effort into the search, and I’m getting nothing back. Just crickets. What’s going on? I actually have a strong resume with specialized skills that are supposedly in demand, yet I haven’t been contacted once. If this is the reality, then we’re all totally sc--wed.

I was listening to the Dave Ramsey show and one of the callers said her job was making brackets. Made me think of the infamous quote.

Hi - I'm looking for new opportunities and may consider Cigna. Very few companies seem like great places to work. But it seems like employee dissatisfaction is comparatively low.

Any thoughts on taking a job here?

I stopped putting in extra effort a while ago. I just do my work and unplug, no more doing anything late. Whatever happens next, I’m ready to move on. The way things are going, it feels like we’re all just waiting our turn.

They told me my role is no longer needed, with my last day in mid October. Two of us are affected, I do not think this is systemic or a part of a larger plan - it's just that they are tweaking things how the group (~20 folks) works - two of us are affected.

Yet, surprisingly, I feel relief more than shock... The signs were there... mornings felt heavy, mgrs went quiet, and even teammates I thought had my back started to drift away - it felt bad... The energy was 100% off I knew the call was coming.

It stings. At the same time I’d rather be out than stuck in a job that drained me. Theres a strange peace in knowing it’s official.

Anyone else ever feel like the final cut is easier than the slow buildup?

im gonna go in tomorrow. I’ve got people counting on me, and there’s no room for self-pity right now, i'll finish this chapter with dignity and will do a good job... Time to chase the next chapter, onward & upward.

The IT jobs most vulnerable to layoffs in 2025

AI is driving tech layoffs, but so far it looks like an adjustment leaning up to an increase in demand for new skill sets.

https://www.spiceworks.com/it-careers/the-it-jobs-most-vulnerable-to-layoffs-in-2025/

Spiceworks

Aug/26/2025 02:24 PM
Location: United States (general IT industry)

Been looking for a change and there is nothing out there. I have many friends that put in applications all day long and get nothing. Anyone having any luck with petro-tech jobs? It is not only this industry as well, buy seems to be across the board.

Mid 40 s in age now and looking at next roles. Nothing of interest left. We no longer work on anything cutting edge. Expat roles no longer properly compensated. I can’t believe how far the company has fallen. There is nothing interesting left for roles. Time to leave #EXXODUS

Longer you stay rustier you become.
And they treat you bad and may let go any day.
Even if you make it to MR75 no benefits and even harder to get out.
Cash out your meager pension on the way out. Better use it to get debt free.
Explore options to buy your own insurance.
Live below your means, get debt free , update your skills, invest in indexed funds and get outta here.

Anthem expanded rapidly and with each acquisition decided who to keep or dump, but instead of keeping those with true subject matter knowledge or leadership skills they selected based on favoritism, self-promotion and the ability to take credit for the work of others. The current state is an extremely top-heavy royal court of tone deaf “leaders” who in my opinion, add little to no value. Because they are in over their heads, I believe they relied on overpaid consultants who sold them on a dysfunctional and elitist business agile model.

Senior leaders were to identify their subject matter experts and make them a grade 15, with stock options after 3 years, higher bonuses and unlimited PTO. But instead of choosing the most worthy, they chose their glam squad, the people who make their PowerPoints and make them look good.

Now that they believe they’ve secured their “brain trust” phase 2 appears to be a business strategy where they replace current experienced employees with a) cheaper on shore hires, b) offshore employees, or c) will completely eliminate positions and replace with AI. If you are still working long hours and weekends trying to bail this sinking ship, just stop. There is no place for you in the lifeboats and there never was.

If you are a grade 15 category and one of the, I’d estimate 40%, who are carrying the other 60%, who use their unlimited PTO all the time, I would put in to take the month of September or October off and see if your peers step up; spoiler alert- they can’t so they won’t. You should plan to leave the minute you get vested.

Agile philosophy means you learn and expand your role; it doesn’t mean you take on the workload of three people. Collaboration in Agile is organized, it isn’t just random in office time to check a box. Return to Office mandates will result in others leaving, when collaboration has the people who work witness first-hand the lack of knowledge and work output among others who are paid much more and do far less.

Elevance has now created an organizational caste system. It used to be if you worked hard, you succeeded, the company succeeded, and everyone reaped the benefit; even if some were better compensated than others. Under this new methodology, there is a largely unworthy noble class that does very little, other than attending meetings where they assign out work to the small minority of grade 15’s who work and to grade 14’s and below. It takes no skill to say something is broken, it is fixing it that requires knowledge and effort. As shown last year, when bonus time comes around the pie is sliced so that those who do less are rewarded more.

With recent layoffs the royal court is scrambling to find peasants to pick up the slack; don’t fall for it. Let the favorite children who still get decent raises and bonuses finally do real work and fix things; if they can. Do enough to keep your job and your sanity until you can find something better. Set an alarm and work an 8 hour day, but when the alarm goes off if you think about working one minute more, remember that there is a VP that is taking 6 paid weeks to climb Everest and will return and still have more PTO, while you are neglecting your friends and family. Don’t overexert during upcoming peak and before you ever consider working a weekend realize that Elevance must be well staffed since they’ve yet to revoke unlimited PTO.

This is the logical conclusion of Elevance policies. Almost every working employee could likely qualify for an anxiety diagnosis. The lack of transparency in layoffs, where employees are disappeared overnight like you’re living in a communist regime, leads to a fear response. In the short term, you might get a burst of productivity, when workers try to do more to avoid getting on the RIF list. But when the RIFs keep coming, and there is no transparency or apparent logic to the RIF’s, the avoidance phase sets in. The weekend or PTO provides short term relief, but you come back to the same stress and if work piles up during PTO it is even worse. Politely turn down the extra work and cite health reasons; it is not a misrepresentation, maybe they can create a new diagnosis code for Elevance induced anxiety- Elevancia.

Calculate the hours you work verses your pay to arrive at your true salary. Calculate the cost of a commute that you may not have agreed to when you were hired. Calculate the impact of stress. Give the minimum you can but don’t buy into the fact that you owe more to fix problems that other’s incompetence and egos created. Notice that some of the fixers are leaving, so believe if or not, it may get worse.

Don’t sacrifice your physical or mental health for an organization that views you as completely disposable. If you set boundaries and get RIF’ed, it potentially was only a matter of time anyway. RIF’s no longer appear to be an unfortunate business necessity, but rather an Elevance business strategy. If the stock drops enough maybe the board will finally step in and replace the current inept leadership team and their royal court.
#IChooseMe
#Elevancia
#PeasantsUnite

It’s wild how quickly someone’s career can be flattened. I know people with decades of experience and leadership history who are suddenly starting over at entry level. Seeing it happen makes you realize no resume or past success guarantees anything. And I'm nowhere near their level, so if I'm laid off, I'm truly sc--wed.

I’m starting to lean toward the former.

That’s the only thing you can truly count on working here. So I’ve stopped getting invested. There’s no real career path, no long-term payoff, and definitely no sense of job security. I treat my role like a temp position now. I show up, get my required tasks done, and that’s it. No extra effort, no engagement beyond what’s necessary. When my number’s up I’ll be ready to walk away without regrets. It’s just how you have to approach this place if you want to stay sane.

Hey all, I’m a geo looking for my second role and thinking about whether it’s worth applying to Permian Resources if something comes up. I’ve seen a lot of harsh feedback - poor culture, little support, high turnover, and I’m honestly hesitant. Jobs are scarce though, so I’m wondering is it really that bad, or are there any redeeming qualities? Would appreciate any honest insights.

no matter it was 1 year, 10 years, 20 years, or lifelong.
leave now.

Morale is so low that most people just do enough to get by. I used to care a lot, but now I wouldn’t even mind if they let me go. I’ve started applying elsewhere because this place doesn’t make you feel valued anymore.

here is my mini rant... they expect you to do “plus one” work and a bunch of unchargable stuff, and you've got to play along if you want to be rated as good. basically do extra work for free, on top of your actual project, otherwise your performance looks weak. it’s a scam imho...

staffing is a constant headache and the process is not clear at all andd you never know who makes the decisions, and every time you’re scrambling just to land somewhere. feels like you’re rolling dice more than planning a career.

and forget about keeping your tech skills. most people get pushed into business analyst or pm type roles whether they want to or not. you stop coding, you stop building, you end up in meetings taking notes. your skills just rot away.

ok, soooo -- no promotions, no raises. fine... 2+ yrs of nothing for a lot of people. they just say wait, be patient... but nothing changes. what’s the point of working harder if the outcome is the same??

nobody will be surprised when I say that everyone i know is pulling overtime, weekends, late nights. they say it’s temporary but it’s always like that. that's just acn, that's what they say. and that's the game they've been playing for decades. it just becomes normal. at this point you start asking yourself, why am i even here???

Title: She quit her six figure big tech dream job after burnout from AI and layoff fears, and found more happiness in uncertainty
Company/Org: Atlassian
News Source: The Economic Times
Location: Unknown, US
Summary: A former Atlassian product marketing manager left Big Tech amid burnout and job insecurity tied to AI reshaping roles, describing a deliberate pivot to flexibility and lower stress.
URL:https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/she-quit-her-six-figure-big-tech-dream-job-after-burnout-from-ai-and-layoff-fears-and-found-more-happiness-in-uncertainty/articleshow/123412371.cms

Keep your resume polished and LinkedIn updated because opportunities can appear out of nowhere. Start building a solid emergency fund, ideally six months to a year of living expenses, so you aren’t scrambling if things go south. Try to avoid major purchases and trim unnecessary spending now, even small savings add up. And if the worst happens, use any severance wisely, take a breather, and give yourself time to regroup. Staying organized and calm can make a stressful situation much more manageable.

I am part of the job cut 😢
this morning was my last day, have interview set up, will probably have to relocate out west. Good luck to the survivors, there's a future out there if you want it.

😺

I was so burnt out I dreaded coming into the office every day. Today, I got laid off and it feels like winning the lottery. I know finding a new job might be tough, but this was long overdue. It’s better for both me and Wells Fargo that we part ways. Sometimes the push you didn’t ask for is the one you needed.

Who’s jumping ship? Deadline is getting close……

When I got laid off from L3Harris, I was devastated. I am a hard worker and I did not deserve what happened to me. I did not know how I was going to support my wife and children (and I know that L3Harris could not have cared less about them). Well, I found a new job that with a raise and a promotion, and I now work with people who respect and appreciate me.

I know a lot of us are weighing the EOI decision, and it isn’t easy. But here’s the reality: if you don’t take the EOI and land another role, you won’t receive any severance. On top of that, the Houston move date is essentially locked for July 2026.

For me, the culture here has shifted for the worse, and I don’t believe it’s worth uprooting and relocating. There are plenty of opportunities in the Bay Area worth pursuing instead. That’s why I’ve decided to take the EOI.

To those still on the fence, I truly wish you good luck in whatever path you choose. Just make sure it’s a choice that sets you up best for the future, because staying until July 2026 could mean walking away with nothing.

Seriously.

Regardless of department you are in, find a way into the fed space and your life will be so much easier and you 100% are significantly less likely to be laid off.

Sales? It's a smaller team/group and the bulk of your money is made during FBS - which su-ks because you work longer and sporatic hours for a month.5 - but you have almost a guarenteed career long client as they are only Government agencies.

Tech support? Find a way into FIRST. Federal Incident Response Team. It's INTERNAL FED tech support to JUST fed employees and you can't be offshored like corp tech support can and there is no outside tech support bs. You ONLY deal with federal DELL employees.

IT? - It's a smaller environment, less complex, far fewer switches/routers/firewalls/etc... A much simpler IT environment through and through.

Managers - I mean, having been one in the past; I'd far prefer to manage 10 people versus 20? Considering every team in FED is quite small, anyways.

FED brings in a LOT of money to Dell considering the department size. We are valuable and not a single person can be offshored and 99% can't even be outsourced. Dell doesn't touch FED with layoffs 99% of the time as we are so small and, we are the last resort/option.

YES, people can and do get laid off in FED but it's far far FAR less likely than in literally any department on the corporate side.

Plus, you get a cool red badge!

For those of you who are still with the company and are unhappy with the state of affairs, you need to start designing your exit plan. That may mean updating your resume, looking for new roles, hitting your network for opportunities and/or brushing up on new skills. Don't wait for senior leadership to tell you it's time, you control yours and the future for your family. Secondly, set a date. Once you have a set date of when you want to exit, whatever nonsense is happening will impact you less and you will be working towards something productive besides feeling unhappy about what senior leadership is doing and not doing. My last comment is about the topic of Toxic Leadership which has seem to come on to this board as a main point of concern. Toxic Leadership is always 100% a problem with the tone at the top. A top research in labor studies told me that these type of leaders learned, at a very young age, that if they did not have absolute control that they had no value. It is why the behaviors are so pronounced when they are in position to oversee others and to maintain it they surround themselves with yes men or those that will help create a work environment that normalizes the behavior. Remember, good people don't go around trying to destroy others.

What is the definition of a HiPo (high potential)at Halliburton?

Is it based on a particular level?

L M A O. Seen on LI. How's that outsourced staffing plan working out, execs?

"If you’re on a #career break and looking to restart your professional journey👩‍💻, read on.

Though career gaps are not uncommon, they’re still frowned upon by many. At ExxonMobil, we agree with recruiters advocating for a change in this mindset. I’m happy to announce the ExxonMobil India Returnship Program for experienced professionals who’ve chosen to take a career break for any reason. Our 12-week, paid, office-based program includes mentoring and #networking sessions, trainings, and project assignments to enable a soft launch for returners. Candidates shortlisted at the end of the program may be offered full-time employment.

People take career breaks for a host of reasons and the deserving shouldn’t be overlooked if they are trying to return after a gap. Here’s a call to those who have refueled their career after a break: drop your story in the comments, so that our applicants can get an inspiration boost should they need it😊

Check out our openings here:
https://lnkd.in/gvF8FwBa

#WeAreExxonMobil"