Molly Carpenter

It seems like every time I check my feed, I see another connection of mine looking for work after #layoffs have ran through their company. For those affected, know that my heart is with every single one of you. There's a fine line between being losing your livelihood, and being on the wrong side of a business decision. It really, really hurts to see what's going on in the tech industry right now. So with a sad point, let's make a positive one. If we've ever crossed paths before, let's cross paths again. Let's grab coffee or lunch (in person or virtual). Please use me as a resource to know where to improve your skills, take a look at your resume/CV/portfolio, practice interviewing chops, or simply be a sounding board if you need to get whatever off your chest. Our industry has been through plenty of ups and downs. Let's all lean on each other to ride the storm and build it back better. The world simply cannot keep going without quality #userexperience. We will all get through this together.

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12 years ago I applied for a role at Google because my friend Jessica worked there and told me it was a cool place to do Design. They only had one UX role available in LA: Interaction Design on Google AdWords. I had minimal knowledge of Ads and came from a consumer design background, but figured I would try it anyway. Worst case scenario I could always quit. Armed with a copy of “AdWords for Dummies”, I started this very foreign journey. My first project was to design Keyword Planner. When my noogler mentor explained the basics of the product to me, I remember asking him, “what’s a keyword?” I expected having to learn a whole bunch of stuff, what I didn’t expect is falling absolutely in love with Ads. I’m from India, and I see first hand what access to the free internet has done for many in the country. Many in more prosperous economies can’t even imagine how ads is the great equalizer for opportunities in places where the wealth disparity is much larger. I fell in love with our mission of powering the free internet, I fell in love with the absolute necessity to deeply understand our mission, business objectives, and for achieving those through better user outcomes. I fell in love with being at the center of one of the most exciting businesses in the world, learning many skills with higher velocity than I ever had. I fell in love with being surrounded by extremely exceptional, talented, generous, and—there truly isn’t a better word—googley Ads Googlers. I am a better person today because of everything I learned from them. ❤️ 12 years later, I am excited to get back to the consumer world. Beyond thrilled to be taking on a new role in Google Maps(more on that later!). Ads and Ads Googlers, you will always have a piece of my heart. Thank you for everything! I can’t think of a better experience to have shaped my life and career. 

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Great post, Becky - I identify with all of the points mentioned (and I consider myself an outgoing introvert!) The biggest adjustments that I have made as a remote employee since taking the plunge ~1.5 yrs ago: 1. Block 30-45 min each day for lunch, and 15 later in the afternoon for coffee/play with dogs/stretch my legs. This ensures that I eat and move! 2. Schedule at least 1 casual conversation / coffee chat per week. This mimics the 'run-ins' that I would have at the coffee bar or elevator in the office and ensures I get time with colleagues without an agenda and fill my relationship meter. 3. Schedule the start and end of each day. This is super important - each varies based on who I'm collaborating with that day, but a clear start and end time mimics arriving and departing the office, creating a break so my life doesn't fully turn into my job. Anyone else have tricks they've developed to stay sane in a hybrid/remote work environment? #hybridwork #remotework #futureofwork

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SALARY INCREASE: $210k - $250k+ | NOW HIRING: Director of Product Design in NYC. Love to operate on the cutting edge of Mobile Product Design? Obsessed with the intersection of where Brand meets Product? Part of the Next Generation of App experiences? There's new paradigms emerging in Mobile App Design. Art, Culture, Taste are all informing the next gen of apps, couple with backend tech that is allowing these apps to create experiences rarely seen before. I need a Design Leader who wants to push the limits within a Native App experience and who understands just how much Consumer Branding informs tomorrow's UI's. This is Art, Culture, Taste, Fashion, Social Media, Creator Commerce, Music, Celebrities, Influencers. If you're a Product Design Leader craving an opportunity to break out of stagnant design systems, traditional tech, tech bro whatever - then this is the shot. Blow my mind with your work and tell me about what influences your taste in UI DM me. #designjobsusa #designjobs #productdesignhiring #productdesignjobs #jaredtredly

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Hi everyone! It has come to my attention that someone is impersonating me and reaching out to my former Meta colleagues for support on Instagram. I have been receiving this sort of emails since my time in Meta and they seemed to be impersonating me now instead of the other way round. Please do avoid responding to these sort of emails. If I raise a corporate request, it will never be through any personal gmail/outlook/hotmail etc. It will come with a verified email from my company's email address. Lastly, if I ever get hacked via Instagram/Facebook, I'll reach out through secured channels that are encrypted (i.e. via Whatsapp with my personal number to former colleagues who know my personal number) and not through any other platforms. Please stay vigilant! P.S. As someone who used to submit hacked tickets for partners, I will never ask any colleagues from Meta to skip procedure and escalate it directly so please take note of this 😅

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Hi everyone, Not having a job has afforded me a ton of time to think 😅 What I’ve realized: I’m not quite ready to make a full-time commitment to a new job – I really want some space to pursue some ideas I’ve been sitting on for far too long and make some BIG decisions! What I would love to do in the short term is extend my product expertise in a freelance capacity, sharing what I’ve learned over 15 years working in technology to help you! What I can help with: • Taming your backlog • Getting to the crux of a problem through quantitative and qualitative research • Facilitating workshops with your team to find the right solution • User research • Usability testing • Aligning your roadmap towards customer value • Making sense of your customer feedback and prioritizing the right thing • Getting on top of bugs and technical debt • Market research to understand trends, needs, and competitive landscapes • Orienting your roadmap towards outcomes rather than output • Identifying and implementing metrics to measure product success • Getting your team to ship often, delivering incremental value I’ve launched successful products from 0 to 1, conducted numerous user interviews and learnt more than a few pitfalls you can fall into when building product. I am currently available to take on new freelance projects and would love to discuss how I can help you achieve your product goals. If it sounds like I can help, drop me a message at fergluke@gmail.com or send me a direct message here! For anyone reading, it would be massively helpful to comment on this and share this post within your networks to increase reach. One lesson I’ve learned in life: if you don’t call out to the universe, who will answer you? A huge thank you in advance! Luke

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Hiring managers: "Perfect communication" means putting in a little effort to help folks who didn't grow up speaking your language, or in the same region as you. Recruiters: Please flag this nonsense and send it back to hiring managers to be fixed. 

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Tl;dr update: Still looking for work. Looking for Senior, Principal, Manager, Associate Director UX and Product Design roles. I have Product Management and Product Owner experience as well. The long of it: This morning I got the email that the position I’d gone through six rounds of interviews for was canceled. In response to market volatility, they’re pivoting. I’ve made it to final consideration 4 times since I was laid off in May. Twice the position was closed. Twice another candidate won out (we’re arch-nemeses now 👀… just kidding… 👀👀👀). My fiancée and I’ve still been planning and paying for our wedding, I’ve been homeschooling our youngest who has ADHD, is suspected to be on the spectrum, and who is an overall incredible kid. I’ve loved the time I’ve had with him… and I’ve found new levels of patience. Two hours to write a sentence is very 😳. We’ve had tickle fights, Spider-Man photo shoots, singing breaks, some tears and frustration, and a lot of hugs and “good jobs!” It’s all working out. I’m blessed, truly, to have my family and friends, to be getting interviews fairly steadily, to be consistently considered for senior or lead roles. But I’m also pretty exhausted. For the first time in my life I had an anxiety attack on an interview and couldn’t answer the question “describe your design process.” The interviewers graciously progressed through the next forty-five minutes of the call with me — but we all knew it wasn’t a good look. It was my fourth interview in two days, during moving an hour across the valley, around parenting and teaching and working a temporary full-time job as a security guard (Arizona unemployment caps at ~10% of what my monthly salary was, so a temp job pays a good deal more.) I rebalanced and have done just fine on the interviews since, but it paints a picture of the pressure. I’m an excellent team player, a capable professional, I love complex systems — generally seeing them as a chain of simple processes tying into one another, I learn quickly, lead well, and overall bring a lot to the table. Without equivocation, I’ve elevated and delivered in every role and on every project I’ve been in. I’ve had clients, co-workers, leaders and people I’ve mentored leave LinkedIn references. I think there are consistent trends they speak to. I know I bring a lot to the table — I’d love to do that for a place ready to leverage the most out of it! If anyone in my network knows of roles, or can like/repost for exposure, please spread the good stuff! I appreciate you all and I can’t wait to give a positive update!

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I've been thinking about the folks affected by Reverb's layoffs. I worked at Etsy early during Etsy's Reverb acquisition and was delighted to see the spirit that I loved so much at Etsy alive and well at Reverb. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you were affected by Reverb's layoffs. We coworkers have a deeper bond than the employer-employee relationship. If you see a 2nd connection somewhere you want to get your foot in the door, let me be your connector. Vent to me about the leadership decisions that got you to where you are- I bet we'd have some cathartic shared insights on Reverb, Etsy, and their board governance. I remember the feelings of listening to a CEO incapable of resonating with me tell us about the business case for our decimation before telling us who was affected by the decimation. Lastly, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I don't need to be the n-millionth person to point out how broken tech hiring is right now. All I can suggest is build yourself a good spreadsheet, get those referrals, send out applications in daily batches, and never ever wait to hear back from someone no matter what stage you're in. Be proactive about follow-up emails if you care about an opportunity and just keep chugging along. We're here for you.

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🚀 Adventures in Job Seeking 🚀 After 5 years of building job search products, you’d think I’d know something about finding a job… but irony has other plans. Here are some of my most legendary moments from the other side after 6 months of full time unemployment and job seeking: ——— 📧 Fastest Response Ever: Cold emailed a hiring manager, and got an interview request in 6 minutes. 🕒 👻 Worst Ghosting: Made it through the entire interview process, was told I was the #1 candidate… and then, poof, never heard back. Casper, is that you? 🧐 🍪 Most Unique (and Creepy) Outreach: Sent Tiff’s Treats to a well known Product Leader’s home address. Cringe level: Expert. 🍪🏡 💌 Total Applications Sent: 453. No, really. That’s not a typo. I think my keyboard is still recovering. ⌨️ 🏅 Best Bad News: Made the shortlist of 900 applicants… but wasn’t selected. At least I’m top 1%! 🎉 🚪 Biggest Surprise: Companies changing their plans while in the late stage! At this rate, I'm more reliable than their hiring plans. 📅✋ ⏳ Most Hours Spent on a Project: 25 hours of blood, sweat, and tears. 👷‍♂️💻 ⏱️ Most Time-Limited Product Sense Case: 4 minutes. Blink and you’ll miss it. ⏲️ ⚖️ Hardest Decision: Rejecting a high-paying Principal Role because of culture misalignment. Some things just matter more. 💼❌ 🏠 Best Perk of Unemployment: Watching my daughter learn and grow every single day. Honestly, nothing else compares. ❤️ ——— But, as they say, all good things must come to an end—and I’m thrilled to share that tomorrow, I start a new chapter leading product growth at Triple Whale! 🐳🐳🐳 To all the job seekers out there: I know it’s a tough market. I'd love to hear your own stories from the job search trenches—what absurdities have you faced? Stay persistent, keep refining your approach, and remember, every setback can be a setup for a comeback. Your next opportunity is just around the corner! 💪✨

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Hey all – I’ve been a bit quiet on this, but as someone impacted by Epic’s layoffs late last year, I remain on the hunt for my next role. It’s a tough climate out there – like others, I've been putting out various resumes, participating in interviews and some final interviews - then end up not filling enough of a specific need. I spent 3 years at #EpicGames, working across a variety of domains – from Customer Success (for multiple industry verticals) to supporting the early stages of the partnership with the LEGO Group and collaborating on its various efforts. While working on LEGO stuff at Epic, I supported Production for new tools and pipeline features that were used with #LEGOFortnite (and more!), and later jumped in on Product Management while focusing on LEGO Islands in Fortnite (and engaging with the UEFN teams). It was a dream opportunity getting to work on awesome stuff and collaborating with incredible people. In the months since the layoffs – I continue to be on the lookout for my next role. My experience on the market suggests that employers can favor specificity in their hiring, particularly with the vast candidate pool. Historically I've been fortunate to build a career adapting to various types of work and building a broad technical and creative background in the process; but it's been challenging this time. But beyond the time-intensive job search and interview processes - I've been keeping busy ensuring my technical skills, including #UnrealEngine, remain sharp, and tackling certifications - including Product Management, and updating my Certified Scrum Master credential (I'm also close to completing my PMP Cert). I'm keeping a wide scope for potential opportunities. Please reach out or connect if you are in need of someone who can jump in and quickly get to work delivering on games, software, entertainment, or technology products and experiences. I bring a mix of technical Production and Product background, along with years of customer and partnership support and relationship building (in addition to hands on experience with a wide range of technical, creative, and workflow tools). And to those impacted by layoffs - many who are in a similar boat - know you are not alone. Please try and stay positive and keep moving forward!

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I hired a Senior UX Designer a little over a month ago. At that time, we had to turn down a handful of other amazingly talented people. On Wednesday, our team opened up another Senior UX role. I reached out to the hiring managers and asked if they'd like to revisit conversations with any of the previous finalists - they did and we had 1 person in mind. I talked to this person yesterday, made an offer and they signed last night! In less than 24 hours, we got it done. Sometimes that "we'll keep your resume on file" is actually true 😉 A good reminder that creating a positive experience and building a great relationship with people can really help - you never know when your paths may cross again! #Hiring #Recruiting #TalentAcquisition

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Hey all... JOB OPPORTUNITY !! mini story included_ 2 weeks ago I posted for this role and we made it through interviews in 1 week. I hate dangling 'speed' in front of people bc I know how frustrated people are (this market sucks!), but this truly was a special, refined process. ⚒ Took the brief > presented a stand-out candidate > interviewed over 5 business days > offer! 🙀 It was wild but in the best way! A dream for a great recruiting partnership. But also a > 🎢. And as things go, it wasn't the right timing for this particular candidate. That's okay! 🥁 That means the role is still open, and I gotta fill it. This client has been interviewing for a couple of months, and by now, knows exactly what they are looking for, and are ready to hire yesterday. So here is what we learned we really need from this most recent interview round: 🌟 🌟 🌟 Have you worked at a startup? Have you worked for a big company? Are you in the Bay Area (able to get to San Mateo 2x/wk for jam sessions)? Can you get down with being an IC for 6-12 months and want to/have experience building a team? Do you want to be a strategic partner and build from 0-1? And hang out in Figma every day? 🌟 🌟 🌟 Please see original post below for all relevant/required info! Hit me up and share with your SF buddies/networks. I appreciate you! This team is cool. Level-headed. Accommodating. Clear-sighted. Passionate. TYSM. 🧡

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Today is my first day back at work after 3 weeks of holiday! To be highly efficient and effective at my job, I know I have to take regular breaks to disconnect and recharge. One of my favorite benefits at LinkedIn is unlimited leave and the whole company shutdowns where everyone takes breaks together and this just happened with the July 4th holiday where everyone at LinkedIn was off work for the whole week, and many of us took more extended breaks on top of that week using our unlimited leave policy. It’s pretty rare to have a company so invested in employees wellbeing that it will go to the extent of stopping everyone from working for significant amounts of time throughout the year (eg July 4th, thanksgiving, end of year) The quality of the break during company shutdown is so high, since you know there aren’t any meetings/emails/pings happening while you’re off and it’s so much easier to really disconnect. Importantly you don’t have the stress of coming back to a large backlog to catch up on. I have seen research that shows how unlimited leave results in employees taking less time off, but at LinkedIn since leaders (like myself) take visible long breaks there is a strong culture of making everyone feel empowered to take their time off. How does your company manage leave? Do your leaders take visible breaks?

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With mixed emotions, I share I am unemployed due to a lay off. I am not a stranger to difficult situations. Strained decisions. This is not the first closure I have experienced (cue *it's weird it happened twice, right?*) To the Studio team: It was an absolute privilege to work alongside every one of you. Your support and guidance have been instrumental in my professional and personal growth. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities you have given me and the memories we have created together. To my clients and accounts: The heaviest emotion I carry is that this will bring any disruption to your day. It sounds silly, but it's true. Thank you for trusting us to deliver affordable, efficient design services that helped you scale creatively. I loved getting to know you. To my network: I am still determining what will come next, but I know I will figure it out in time. (PS - My anxiety may not feel that way now, but the truth is in the many significant changes that have gotten me this far.) The ask: As I embark on this new chapter, I would greatly appreciate your support. Please engage to help share this post with your network; it would benefit me and the rest of our talented team. Your help in this would mean a lot to me. #opentowork #unemployed

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📣 It’s official, y’all. I’m on maternity leave! If you need me for work-related things, try press@deel.com. You’re in good hands. And because I haven’t said it out loud amidst the still-raging return-to-office debates, a huge thank you to Deel for the flexibility of “working-from-wherever” while pregnant. It meant working-from-bed until noon somedays, working-from-doctor-lobbies other days, and the normal run-of-course most days. It gave me back hours of commuting time and granted me the ability to share the news at work when it made sense for me. And, all the while, some career highlights from the last 9 months… ✅ My first press staffing at Capitol Hill alongside Alex Bouaziz , Casey Bailey , and Spiros Komis ✅ Launching our most impactful Global Hiring Report to date, spanning coverage in Fortune, CNBC Make It (an Apple push notification 🔔 ), and CBS News to name a few in North America alone https://lnkd.in/gpfbJh7a ✅ Tackling our first Global Migration Report with the very talented Deel Immigration team https://lnkd.in/gP7tXJet ✅ Meeting more of the Deel team at our first ever Directors’ offsite in Barcelona All that to say, it’s been a blessed run, and I’m nervous / excited / semi-ready for this new, humongous job I’m going to take on in addition to my career. I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else for this journey, working alongside the best comms & brand team in HR + my killer team at Method Communications. 💡 If you have working mom tips & tricks -- things you wish you had done on leave, what you did / didn't expect, things to plan for, etc. -- send them my wayyy!! 

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I say goodbye to Autodesk at the end of this week, and next week begins a new opportunity. I leave with abundant gratitude for my team, my org and the company itself. (I also leave with two roles to share. Info below.)   When I left Meta, I had a hard time seeing my next path. Autodesk delivered in wonderful ways, not the least of which was empowering and trusting me to navigate our content design team through generative AI, an il-LUMI-nating virtual assistant, a vast knowledge strategy, and their many considerations and implications. Dull moments? Never.   I bid a fond farewell to a talented, enthusiastic team who confidently takes bold risks and who cares deeply for each other and the global Autodesker experience. I can't wait to see what you do next! Thank you for believing in me, Anil Kumar Talla Paisley Green Emily Cheng, PhD Velmurugan Kandasamy Michelle Shilstone Madhura Bhavthankar Rajat Verma nicholas owens Laura Schuchardt Kristen Collins Sheryl Walton Maria Jesus Vidaurre, and especially, posthumously, Scott Walker. And now the jobs! Update 10/10: The team is pausing on recruiting for the Principal Content Strategist, so I removed the link. Our team will soon be hiring a Principal Content Strategist.   And here is the post for my backfill role: Senior Manager, Content Design and Knowledge Strategy. https://lnkd.in/defJZd8R

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98,834 employees were laid off in the tech industry alone during the first half of 2024. Having witnessed layoffs up close during my 8 years in big tech, I've seen their destructive power: they're often arbitrary, rarely reflecting true potential, and can instill self-doubt and a feeling of lost control. But here's the plot twist: sometimes, a big shift is the push you need to take bold steps. In my last couple of months at Passionfruit, I've watched laid-off talents go freelance and soar higher than their 9-5s ever allowed. Your skills are your superpower. And this might be your cue to seize control and reinvent your path. So start writing your comeback story today. And leave a comment if you want to hear more about Passionfruit ⬇ #Layoffs #Freelancing #CareerGrowth #FutureOfWork

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