How laid-off techies are struggling for jobs

Those laid off by big tech companies and startups in India are finding it difficult to find new opportunities. Part of the problem is that the job market has shrunk. But there are issues on the side of the candidates too - some are over-qualified for available jobs, and many are finding it difficult to accept the lower salaries on offer.

Sanjana Ghosh (name changed), who was sacked from Microsoft a month ago, has not received even a single interview call. After sending out applications for a month, the only call Ghosh got was for an introduction at a startup.

Ghosh was with Microsoft for around six years and was most recently a technical program manager, which involved doing data analytics and even managing revenue. But that's too much experience for the roles that she has applied for. "The feedback I got about my CV is that it's not what companies want. They just want someone who will do more basic things," Ghosh told TOI. She is trying to figure out if she should approach the job market differently.



The story has been somewhat similar for Debaleena Das Sarkar, a quality analyst who was laid off by Relevel by Unacademy, a firm that designs tests for job seekers. She recently found a job, but only after three months of rigorous search. She says she was not even prepared to face the job market when the layoff happened. Sarkar says there are just too many people in the job market, not just those who have been sacked but also freshers. And this when many companies are turning cautious on hiring.

Even where jobs are on offer, those laid off are having to face the difficult choice of accepting a lower salary. Ram Yadav (name changed), a Delhi-based techie who lost his job at Amazon, says all the recruiters he is being contacted by expect him to take a pay cut. He says he's prepared to do that, but he has not yet received an offer. Many are even willing to move to services companies.

Outsourcing consultant Pareekh Jain says pay cuts are inevitable because many of those laid off are people who were hired during the pandemic when the demand for talent was high and salaries had soared. He points out that companies that are laying off are also looking to hire talent at lower salary packages. Jain focuses on services companies. He says talent from product companies stand a chance at junior and middle level in services companies, but salaries tend to be lower.

Aditya Mishra, CEO of staffing services firm CIEL HR, says talent supply has increased because of layoffs, and on the other hand, demand is low because startups are not getting funding and are cutting costs. "Even if you look at big IT services companies, they are hiring fewer people," he says.