Mid-career professionals are struggling to learn how to survive the wave of layoffs.
Many people have headaches with the current wave of layoffs - Illustration: New York Post
Social networks are sharing the story of a 33-year-old girl working at a company.
Three months ago, she found out she had terminal cancer. Her father had just passed away, but she still tried to go to work, to keep her job to have money for treatment. Then the company sent her a decision to fire her.
The lines were short, but below were thousands of comments: comforting the girl and arguing about whether the company should treat sick employees like that.
But in the end, the girl still lost her job and had to face the harsh reality: illness, loss, unemployment.
Every day there are stories about layoffs.
I thought it would never happen to me.
And just yesterday, Tuan, a friend of mine, texted: "I just received a notice that I'm on the layoff list."
Tuan said that when he first started working, he was accepted into the company thanks to his passion for technology and his remarkable ability to self-study. In three years, from an intern, Tuan was promoted to an official software developer position, with a good salary and young, dynamic colleagues.
But then last month, in a quick meeting, the manager announced that "the company was forced to restructure due to financial pressure", Tuan and 40% of the other staff were on the "must go" list.
Since receiving the decision to quit his job, every morning Tuan takes his laptop to a coffee shop near his house and sends out dozens of job applications.
Sometimes his eyes met with other young people sitting there, their computer screens filled with job postings.
There are days when I receive an interview email, I am so happy but when I receive a rejection, I am so disappointed. "People ask me what new skills I have, but honestly, for the past three years I have only worked one job, I have not learned anything new" - Tuan pondered.
Many people like Tuan are falling into the layoff spiral. Not only the "weak" but also those who have received the title of "excellent employee" have to leave.
"I thought it would never happen to me" - Hoai An (senior communications officer) began the story in a slow voice.
The department An works for is the strategic communications department of a large corporation in the retail industry, which is considered the "soul" of the entire system.
Million-view marketing campaigns and famous events all go through An's team. The boss loves her, her colleagues respect her, and everyone thinks that position will always be safe.
Yet, as the wave of layoffs spread from the end of last year until now, even people who seemed "untouchable" like An had to leave in surprise and regret.
It has been three months since the day she received the decision to quit her job, Hoai An still has not found a new job.
The "multitaskers"
To escape the wave of layoffs, many people choose to work multiple jobs.
During the day we all have stable jobs, some are office workers, some pursue technology, finance, content creation... But when the city lights up, a different life begins.
Every night around 8pm, our group meets at a 24/7 coffee shop in Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City.
There are projects we work on together, and there are projects we do on our own, but we all share the goal of maximizing our time to complete the work and increase our income.
During the day I work as a full-time employee at a media company, and in the evening I take on additional writing and content management projects for an architectural firm.
The schedule is tight but the joy from work makes me keep trying.
In my group, there is Mai Linh (28 years old), who works in marketing for a food company during the day and freelances as a content writer for a fast food platform in Australia at night, while also taking on additional media projects.
Linh excitedly said: "Sometimes I have to stay up late due to the time difference, but the income is good and I can expand many relationships."
Minh Huong (31 years old) used to be a senior employee in a pharmaceutical corporation. When the company restructured after the pandemic, she was on the list of employees to be cut.
Thanks to her previous part-time work experience, Huong quickly switched to working as an independent human resources consultant.
"I was worried at first, but because I was used to working freelance, I adapted quickly. Before, it was just a part-time job, but now it has become my main source of income," Huong shared.
We jokingly call this "multi-shift life", working at the company in the morning and working on personal projects in the evening.
There are days when I am exhausted and drained of energy, but there are also happy moments when I complete a big project and receive good feedback from customers.
Or simply when the salary is in the account, it is a worthy reward for the effort put in.
According to Mr. Vo Duy Anh - CEO of a design and construction company, in difficult circumstances, businesses are forced to cut staff but will prioritize retaining people who are responsible, ready to face challenges and contribute directly to revenue or optimize costs.
In addition to good expertise, staff need to be flexible, proactive in learning and constantly improving performance.
Creative individuals who dare to try new things and bring practical value will be highly appreciated. In addition, core positions that are difficult to replace immediately are also a top priority.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lam-gi-de-khong-bi-bo-lai-phia-sau-lan-song-sa-thai-2025031310412233.htm
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