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Resource Roundup!
My friend Tejal built a resume app - full disclosure that I haven’t tried this out yet, but she has many years of recruiting experience so I’m happy to share it. 🙂
My CEO built what he calls his “war council” to weigh in on different decision points…he brings his own perspective of course, but he shared the responses with us and it often surfaces blind spots and such. I built one as well and guided each persona to embody perspectives from various leaders I work with…it’s an interesting way to consider perspectives you might not default to!
A friend shared this opportunity for tech talent interested in transitioning to other industries - it’s tomorrow but hopefully you can join!!
My network is hiring!
Happy to help with intros!
Remote VP of Partnerships role with FoodSmart!
Remote part-time office manager role, seems like an interesting org, and a good opportunity for some stability for someone balancing work with caregiving, education, etc.
Remote project management role with MustardSeed.
Remote SDR roles with Parteo.
Remote social media manager role with Netlify.
Really cool remote Researcher/Sourcer role with Anthropic!
Layoffs, Talent Density, and the Great Reflattening
Robinhood made headlines this week with another round of layoffs.
And like Meta before them, they've wrapped it in the language of "talent density"…the idea that they're not cutting costs, they're elevating their workforce by hiring a higher concentration of “top talent”.
What works with this messaging: It plays well with investors. It makes a financially healthy company sound visionary rather than ruthless. It signals to existing employees that they’re safe, they’ve been deemed “top talent”, and they’re going to be rewarded for sticking with the company.
But I also think everyone has to remember that like so much of what we hear in this world, this is marketing more than anything else.
Talent density is as much about org design as it is about people
A huge driver of these cuts is the push to flatten hierarchies which of course has its own “trend” with the Great Reflattening.
What this looks like:
eliminating middle managers and having fewer layers between execs and ICs.
eliminating more junior employees who support senior ICs but often require more coaching and oversight, and replacing them with more senior ICs who require less coaching and lean on AI and other tech to execute more efficiently.
increasing span of control for those more senior managers who are now managing ICs instead of managers (so a manager might move from managing a team of 4-5 directs, to one of 9-10
All of this is ultimately about a more efficient org design, not an individual’s performance.
Beyond that, it’s often about reallocating resources to other priorities. For example:
You want to hire 10 top tier AI engineers, and the market is currently paying then 30% more than other engineers; you exit a few junior engineers to free up that extra 30%.
You want to hire several GTM Engineers to accelerate the work of your sales team so you lay off several marketers to offset that headcount.
You have 30 people who are truly irreplaceable to the business and you also know their skills are in demand and they have options. You lay off 15 people in other areas of the business to free up resources to increase compensation for these folks.
Beyond this, employers are also thinking about evolving their approach to compensation particularly for those using AI to have an outsized impact. These moves free them up to have more flexibility in how they compensate the remaining employees.
And what does this mean for the people who stay behind?
Folks who are retained aren’t necessarily going to have an easy path.
They’re often impacted by re-orgs, expectations are raising, and they’re losing some of the support systems that may have made them productive. Some folks may thrive, others may start job hunting.
Some companies may quickly go back to hiring for roles similar to those they just eliminated as they better understand the impact people were having.
All that to say, the narrative today, may not be the narrative tomorrow.
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🙋Answering Your Questions🙋
Each week, I’ll answer one (or more!) of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here. |
I was denied a promotion and manager says that executive presence was the core concern. I found the feedback insulting but I am also very lucky to have a great remote job and can’t ignore it. I do not have a lot of access to executives and I asked for specific examples and she didn’t have any. What would you suggest I do?
This is tough feedback, and I’ve gotten it too. What made it tough for me was that I didn’t understand what it meant so it felt subjective and personal.
But since then, I’ve had the chance to listen to multiple executives talk about what they mean and realized that it’s tangible and actionable in many ways.
Communication: Sometimes, executive presence comes down to how you communicate. Things like using confident and decisive language (“I believe we should test out X for the next two weeks and see if that moves the needle”) instead of hedging or lacking confidence (“I was thinking we might consider X if you all think that’s a good idea?”). Or simply communicating your ideas more clearly (which practicing or something like Toastmasters might support).
Make your thinking visible: One change as you move into more senior roles is the altitude at which you think and work, but you may not be showcasing that when communicating. More senior leaders think in frameworks and talk about broader challenges and solutions; more junior employees tend to get stuck in the details and specifics. When talking with executives, consider the altitude their thinking at and give them that level of communication vs a bunch of details that may not be relevant.
How you position yourself with peers: who do you consider your peer group? What perspectives do you bring to your colleagues? This is a piece that I don’t think gets discussed enough but start operating with peers as if you’re already in that more senior role. For example, if you’re discussing a sticky topic in a meeting, instead of piling on with complaints the way others at your level are, be the person that pulls out trends or offers solutions. This helps establish you as a leader among your peers.
I think the other dynamics here are: 1) whether this feedback is actually code for something else (appearance, some sort of interpersonal dynamic with a decision-maker), etc. and 2) the fact that your manager isn’t able to provide any feedback or examples.
I would suggest asking your manager to join some meetings, prep with you before you present to more senior colleagues, give you feedback afterwards, etc. Ultimately, you can only grow if your manager can give you specific examples of what the bar looks like and where you’re missing it.
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