Hi, I’m Eugenie Ma 👋

I’m a technical recruiter and people leader with deep experience helping engineering teams grow thoughtfully. I’ve supported hiring across frontend, backend, mobile, machine learning, and core technical teams, partnering closely with leaders to build inclusive, high-performing organizations.

My work is rooted in a people-first, data-informed approach to recruiting. I care about creating thoughtful hiring processes, strong candidate experiences, and talent strategies that help companies meet ambitious goals while treating people with clarity, empathy, and respect.

At my core, I’m a connector and a builder. I love helping people find opportunities where they can do meaningful work, and helping teams bring in the talent they need to grow with intention.

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When your company enters a layoff cycle, it’s hard not to react.

Maybe there are rumors. Maybe teams are reorganizing. Maybe leadership is using careful language, but everyone can feel what’s coming. Even if your role is safe, the uncertainty changes how work feels.

The instinct is to start applying everywhere.

That’s understandable. It can also make the job search harder.

When you move from a place of anxiety, every role starts to look urgent. You apply to companies you haven’t researched. You take calls without a clear story. You explain your search as if you’re trying to escape, instead of showing where you want to go next.

A better approach is to prepare before the pressure peaks.

You can’t control whether your company has layoffs. You can control how ready you are to interview if your timeline changes.

Don’t wait until the layoff happens to start preparing

The best time to prepare for a job search is before you need one.

That doesn’t mean you need to panic. It means you should start doing the quiet work that makes interviewing easier later.

Update your resume. Revisit your project stories. Write down your impact while the details are still fresh. Reconnect with people in your network. Start researching companies and roles that would actually make sense for you.

This kind of preparation is easier to do before everything feels urgent.

If you wait until the layoff happens, you may still be processing the news while trying to write your “Tell me about yourself” answer, explain why you’re looking, and decide which jobs to apply to.

That’s a lot to do at once.

Preparing early gives you more room to be thoughtful. It also gives you a better answer than “I’m applying because things feel bad.”

That may be true. But it’s not the whole story.

Get clear on the move you actually want

“I need a new job” is a real reason to start looking. But it’s not specific enough to guide an interview process.

Before you apply widely, get clear on what you want next.

Ask yourself:

• What kind of engineering work do I want to do more of?
• What kind of work am I trying to move away from?
• Do I want more technical depth, more ownership, stronger mentorship, better compensation, or more stability?
• What company size or team environment fits me best?
• What industries or products do I want to spend time with?
• What would make a role worth leaving for, even if I don’t get laid off?

This matters because interviewers can usually tell when a candidate is only trying to get out.

That doesn’t mean layoff risk can’t be part of your reason. It can. But your interview story should still point forward.

You want to sound like someone making a thoughtful next move, not someone taking the first available exit.

Build your answer to “why are you looking?”

If your company is in a layoff cycle, you may be asked why you’re exploring.

You don’t need to overexplain. You also don’t need to pretend nothing is happening.

A strong answer can be honest and forward-looking:

“My company has been going through some uncertainty, so I’m being thoughtful about what’s next. I’m looking for a role where I can keep building backend systems, take on more ownership, and work on a product with clear technical depth.”

That answer does a few things.

It gives context without sounding bitter. It acknowledges the timing without making the layoff cycle the whole story. And it moves quickly into what you want next.

Avoid answers that focus only on fear, frustration, or compensation. Those may be real feelings, but they don’t give the interviewer much signal about fit.

Your goal is to explain the transition in a way that helps the interviewer understand your motivation.

Rebuild your interview stories before you need them

If you’ve been in the same role for a while, your interview skills may be rusty.

That doesn’t mean you’re unqualified. It means you haven’t had to explain your work in an interview format recently.

Start by making a list of stories you can use across behavioral, recruiter, and hiring manager interviews:

• A project with measurable impact
• A technical challenge
• A time you worked across teams
• A time you handled ambiguity
• A mistake or failure
• A conflict or disagreement
• A project that shows leadership
• A decision where you had to make a trade-off

For each one, write down the basics: what was happening, what you did, what made it hard, and what changed because of your work.

You don’t need to memorize a script. You need enough structure that you can tell the story clearly under pressure.

Research companies before the application

When layoff anxiety is high, it’s tempting to skip research and apply first.

But the candidates who stand out often sound like they’ve thought about the company before the interview starts.

You don’t need to read everything. Start with enough context to understand the product, customer, team, and likely challenges.

Look at:

• The job description
• Product pages
• Engineering blogs
• Developer docs
• Recent launches
• Customer stories
• Public interviews or talks from technical leaders

Then ask: why might this company need someone with my background?

That question helps you prepare more thoughtful answers. It also helps you decide whether the role is worth pursuing.

A recruiter or hiring manager does not expect you to know everything. But they should not have to educate you from scratch.

Use your network before you need a referral

Networking can feel low-value in the moment.

It takes time. It can feel awkward. And the payoff is rarely immediate.

But networking is one of the things that becomes much more valuable if you start before you urgently need help.

Reach out to people with specific, low-pressure asks:

“I’m starting to think about what I’d want next and saw your team is working in an area I’m interested in. Would you be open to a quick chat about what the work is like?”

Or:

“I’m exploring roles in backend infrastructure and would love to learn how your team is structured. Would you have 20 minutes for a coffee chat?”

Come prepared with questions. Ask about the team, the tech stack, the product, the company’s challenges, or what kind of person tends to do well there.

The goal is not to ask every person for a job. The goal is to learn, build context, and make it easier for people to help you when the timing is right.

If the layoff happens, pause before you panic-apply

If you do get laid off, the first few hours may not be the best time to make job search decisions.

Take a little space if you can. Read the severance details. Understand your benefits, timeline, and financial runway. Figure out whether you have one month, three months, six months, or more to search.

That information matters.

Someone with a longer runway may have room to be more selective. Someone with a shorter runway may need a more aggressive search plan. Neither is wrong. But the plan should match the reality.

Once you know your timeline, decide how you’ll spend your time each week:

• Applications
• Recruiter outreach
• Networking
• Technical prep
• Behavioral practice
• Mock interviews
• Follow-ups
• Rest

The job search can become a full-time job. That doesn’t mean every hour should go to applying.

Track where you are in the process

A layoff-cycle job search can move quickly. Without a tracker, it’s easy to lose the thread.

Track:

• Company
• Role
• Date applied
• Source
• Contact
• Stage
• Follow-up date
• Outcome
• Notes from each conversation
• Your level of interest

This helps you see patterns.

If you’re not getting recruiter screens, the problem may be your resume, target roles, or application strategy.

If you’re getting recruiter screens but not moving forward, your story may need work.

If you’re getting to technical rounds but not passing, your prep plan should shift.

If you’re getting to final rounds but not offers, your project stories, seniority signals, or role alignment may need sharpening.

The point is to diagnose the bottleneck instead of guessing.

Practice before the pressure hits

Interviewing during a layoff cycle can feel different because the stakes feel higher.

That’s why practice matters.

Practice your “Tell me about yourself” answer. Practice explaining why you’re looking. Practice technical communication. Practice talking about your impact. Practice asking better questions at the end of the interview.

Do it before you’re trying to perform under pressure.

The goal is not to sound rehearsed. The goal is to sound ready.

A layoff cycle changes the timeline, not your value

When your company is in a layoff cycle, it’s easy to feel like the job search is happening to you.

But your positioning still matters.

You are not only a candidate reacting to instability. You are an engineer with experience, judgment, projects, and skills that can be useful somewhere else.

The work is to make that clear.

Get specific about what you want. Prepare your story. Rebuild your interview muscle. Reach out to people before you need something. Track the process so you can adjust.

You may not be able to control the layoff cycle. But you can control whether you’re ready to interview well if it reaches you

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Practice with a plan

When the timeline feels uncertain, it’s tempting to do everything at once.

Formation helps engineers prepare with structure: targeted practice, mock interviews, and feedback from people who know what strong performance looks like.

That structure matters when your time and energy are limited.

Because in a layoff cycle, the goal isn’t just to start applying. It’s to be ready to explain where you’ve been, what you can do, and where you want to go next.