Layoff fallout spills to LinkedIn: News feeds are filling up with job hunts

Due to the cutbacks, job seekers are overflowing LinkedIn's news feeds.

A typical LinkedIn feed at this time of year would be filled with articles on year-end reflections on leadership and professional objectives as well as advice for the coming year, possibly with a few postings from CMOs offering advice on brand strategy for good measure.

These posts remain online. However, there are also a lot more concerning job searches, support for friends and coworkers who have lost their jobs, and suggestions for overcoming professional obstacles in an unstable economic climate.

Some LinkedIn users who have recently been laid off have started groups on the platform to offer support, coordinate the signing of separation documents, and facilitate connections for new jobs. For instance, one LinkedIn group of workers impacted by the layoffs at Facebook parent company Meta in November already has more than 200 members. Even hiring managers have used LinkedIn to defend their actions and ask for help or counsel, as one marketing CEO did in a post last year that was accompanied with an emotional photo.

According to information provided by the company, there were 22% more posts on LinkedIn in November that mentioned being "open to work" than there were at the same time last year. According to LinkedIn, a further indication that users were more active on the network last year was a continuous rise in the rate at which users were adding connections.

The increase in usage seems to have benefited LinkedIn's operations. According to the most recent earnings report from parent company Microsoft, the platform experienced a 17% increase in revenue year over year for the three months that concluded in September. In the October earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella informed analysts that LinkedIn's 875 million members were engaging at "historic levels," and that growth was accelerating.

The momentum of LinkedIn may have started before the flood of layoffs. Since the pandemic, there has been an increase in LinkedIn usage, according to Syracuse University associate professor and social media expert Jennifer Grygiel. There was a change in real-life networking opportunities because of the need for social separation, the quarantine, and people working from home.

Unrest and Layoffs in the Social Media Sector;

Even without the layoffs, this year has been turbulent for social media. Users have criticised Facebook and Instagram for competing with each other to mimic TikTok. Due to worries that user data might fall into the hands of the Chinese government, TikTok has come under fire. And after Elon Musk took control of Twitter late last year, the social media site has come under fire for potentially becoming a safe haven for its most inflammatory users.

However, LinkedIn is still around and may be just what the digital world needs right now, given that concerns about a potential recession and job advancement are front of mind. According to Grygiel, a lot of people in the media and academics are probably seeking for alternative venues to Twitter where they may create and participate in professional networks. The network effect that comes with a legacy platform's large user base is still absent from upstart Twitter competitors like Mastodon, despite their recent rise.

In recent years, LinkedIn has put greater effort into recruiting content creators who consistently publish on the platform, potentially providing users additional reasons to visit. The platform has also been expanding its "learning" area, which offers video courses given by different industry experts and which the business reports saw a 17% increase in hours spent as of November compared to the previous year. However, in light of the recent wave of thousands of layoffs, it seems consumers have more than enough motivation to utilise LinkedIn.

The evidence of LinkedIn's new centrality that were perhaps the most obvious and widely seen came from competing social networks like Twitter.Following Twitter's massive layoffs in November, which resulted in the termination of half the business and more firings and departures, numerous former and continuing workers The evidence of LinkedIn's new centrality that were perhaps the most obvious and widely seen came from competing social networks like Twitter.

Following the November mass layoffs at Twitter, which resulted in the termination of half the workforce and were followed by additional firings and exits, many former and current employees turned to LinkedIn rather than the platform they had created to look for assistance, a sense of community, and new opportunities.

Employees of Twitter unite;

One group of Twitter employees utilised LinkedIn to facilitate sign-ups and generated a spreadsheet listing the company's laid-off employees as well as recruiters seeking positions at other companies. Another pair of ex-Twitter employees created a mechanism to match job seekers with recruiters willing to volunteer to offer free resume reviews and interview preparation services, which they promoted through their social media accounts.

In a LinkedIn post, Darnell Gilet, a former Twitter senior technical recruiter who assisted in the effort, wrote: "We completely understand how the job-hunting process can be frightening and overwhelming... "While we can't guarantee where your next opportunity will be or when it will come, we can offer guidance so you will be ready for that opportunity when it arrives.

Approximately 28 different recruiters and talent acquisition specialists had agreed to participate in the system, according to Gilet, who was impacted by the mass layoffs at Twitter in November after Elon Musk's takeover.

Gilet, who was impacted by Twitter's mass layoffs in November after Elon Musk took control, revealed last month that approximately 28 different recruiters and talent acquisition specialists had agreed to take part in the system. Gilet also claimed that he had personally spoken to nearly two dozen job seekers since shortly after he was fired to provide support and advice. According to him, LinkedIn felt like the best place to advertise the service.