Having gone through a few major recessions in my life and survived (and not) layoffs, I find that the idea that "it's not a good time to quit" is a myth, and potentially a dangerous one. That is assuming "quit" implies having another job lined up (even in the best of times I'm not a big fan of just quitting with nothing lined up)
First off, if you want to change jobs, doing so when people are still hiring is a good idea. It's much easier to change jobs now that it will be in 3 months when other companies start doing layoffs. This stage in the down turn is right before the music stops in a game of musical chairs.
Additionally, at this stage in the down turn, it's impossible to know what's next and how bad it will be and who will be impacted the most. I've known far more people laid off while working at "safe" companies than those knowingly taking risks at smaller companies. Sure some companies will layoff new hires first, but others will layoff older, less productive division, other will look for highest paid employees etc. Nowhere is really safe and only hindsight will tell you what was and wasn't a good move. Best time to join Amazon would have been right after the dotcom burst.
Most important, in the last few down turns I've been through, agility and adaptability where the keys to survival. The "play it safe at a big co/job you know" path, somewhat ironically, only works really well is times of stability. This is a time to keep your eyes open, start thinking about a wide range of next future moves. It's better to jump without hesitation (and be ready to jump again) than look for stable ground.
That said it's more important than ever to do you due diligence on a future employer. Now is not a great time to join a startup run by "kids" (this is not a comment on age, but on maturity) that don't know what they're doing and make rash decisions and are delusional about the future of their product. I was take a hard pass on any crypto companies right now, and on companies that won't talk much about their financials.
First off, if you want to change jobs, doing so when people are still hiring is a good idea. It's much easier to change jobs now that it will be in 3 months when other companies start doing layoffs. This stage in the down turn is right before the music stops in a game of musical chairs.
Additionally, at this stage in the down turn, it's impossible to know what's next and how bad it will be and who will be impacted the most. I've known far more people laid off while working at "safe" companies than those knowingly taking risks at smaller companies. Sure some companies will layoff new hires first, but others will layoff older, less productive division, other will look for highest paid employees etc. Nowhere is really safe and only hindsight will tell you what was and wasn't a good move. Best time to join Amazon would have been right after the dotcom burst.
Most important, in the last few down turns I've been through, agility and adaptability where the keys to survival. The "play it safe at a big co/job you know" path, somewhat ironically, only works really well is times of stability. This is a time to keep your eyes open, start thinking about a wide range of next future moves. It's better to jump without hesitation (and be ready to jump again) than look for stable ground.
That said it's more important than ever to do you due diligence on a future employer. Now is not a great time to join a startup run by "kids" (this is not a comment on age, but on maturity) that don't know what they're doing and make rash decisions and are delusional about the future of their product. I was take a hard pass on any crypto companies right now, and on companies that won't talk much about their financials.