Everyone's Panicking About Tech Layoffs Except the People Actually Getting Hired

The layoff panic is real. The actual layoffs? Not so much.

Reddit threads are full of people asking which industries to avoid. Tech Twitter is doom-scrolling layoff trackers. Meanwhile, the Adaca report shows more software developers working in Australia right now than at any point in history.

Here's what's actually happening: Big tech is trimming. Scale-ups are hiring.

Microsoft, Atlassian, Canva—they're tightening headcount. But for every enterprise AE cut at a household name, there are three mid-market roles opening at companies you've never heard of. The SaaS job market isn't dying. It's redistributing.

This matters for your career in three ways:

First, brand names aren't safety anymore. That Salesforce or Microsoft logo on your resume doesn't guarantee job security. It might actually make you more expensive than a growing company wants to pay.

Second, the "avoid tech" advice is garbage. The people telling you to dodge SaaS sales are the same ones who thought SDRs were dead in 2020. They were wrong then. They're wrong now. Australian tech employment is up, not down.

Third, comp expectations need recalibrating. The $200k OTE enterprise roles are still out there, but they're harder to land. The $140k mid-market gigs? Everywhere. If you're sitting out the market waiting for a big-name enterprise role, you're leaving money on the table.

The layoff trackers show you what's shrinking. They don't show you what's growing. Melbourne fintech startups aren't making headlines, but they're hiring. Sydney HR-tech companies aren't tweeting about headcount, but they're adding AEs.

The actual risk isn't being in tech sales. It's being in tech sales at the wrong company, at the wrong stage, with the wrong comp expectations.

Most people won't figure this out until they've been job hunting for six months. You just got a head start.