When Michael Permana learned that his time as a software engineer at Amazon might be running out, he made an interesting decision: he took paternity leave.
In late February 2023, Permana was placed on a PIP.
“I was desperate because from what I’d heard, once you are in a performance improvement plan, you are on your way out at Amazon,” said the 47-year-old, who lives in Fremont, California.
He began applying for jobs right away, but knew it could take a while to land something new. He had a mortgage to pay, so he decided to buy himself roughly two months of breathing room by using the remainder of his paternity leave from when his daughter was born.
By temporarily stepping away from work — and the scrutiny that came with being on a PIP — he figured he could prolong his employment at Amazon while he searched for a new role.
“I took the opportunity while I could to delay time,” he said.
Permana is among the Americans who have taken steps to prepare for unemployment in a corporate landscape where, for some, job security feels less dependable than it once did.
Business Insider has spoken with dozens of workers laid off by large corporations that are implementing strategic changes — including eliminating management layers, shifting investments toward AI, letting go of underperforming employees, and cutting costs across the board. While some workers had a sense their roles might be eliminated, others said they were caught off guard — pointing to their tenure, clean performance records, and the financial strength of their employers.
Permana shared how he landed a new role after a challenging search — and offered advice for others facing performance pressure.
When reached for comment, Amazon said that it regularly reviews its performance evaluation process to ensure it best supports the growth and development of its employees.
Job searching during paternity leave and getting a ‘collection’ of rejection emails
Rather than simply working hard and hoping for the best, some workers have prepared for the worst — deploying strategies such as applying for jobs before trouble strikes, launching side businesses, or secretly juggling multiple jobs.
In Permana’s case, at least he had some warning, and paternity leave bought him some time to look for his next gig. That doesn’t mean his job search was easy.
His two main search strategies were applying to software engineering roles on LinkedIn and exploring opportunities through recruiters he connected with on the platform. Permana landed a few interviews at Meta, Instawork, and HubSpot, but was ultimately rejected from all of them. He said he tried applying to the software company SnapLogic, where he’d worked more than a decade previously, but was denied there as well.
“It was very hard,” he said, adding that he still has a “collection” of rejection emails he’s compiled for tracking purposes.
By the time Permana returned from paternity leave in May, he still hadn’t landed a new job, and he continued to feel that his performance was under scrutiny. However, he soon advanced in the interview process for a software engineering role at the mobile game developer MobilityWare. A friend who worked there referred him for the position, which he believes helped him get an interview.
In late May, Permana received an offer. In June, his tenure at Amazon came to an end, and he began the new role — a remote position that offered the flexibility he was looking for.
Permana said he enjoyed the job but recently left for a software engineering role at the mobile messaging platform Attentive, citing higher pay as a key reason for the switch.
How to navigate a PIP and land a software engineering role
When it comes to navigating a performance improvement plan, Permana said his best advice is to communicate openly with your manager and focus on doing exactly what they’re asking of you. However, he also believes it’s wise to assume things might not work out — and to start applying for jobs elsewhere.
As for advice on landing a software engineering role, Permana said his two biggest tips are to seek out referrals whenever possible and to dedicate significant time to interview preparation.
He recalled that Meta’s interview process, for example, included coding questions that required extensive prep. One question, he said, touched on a concept he hadn’t thought about in the last two decades of his career. Permana believes the questions were so demanding that it would be difficult for any working professional to find enough time to prepare properly.
“You’d have to study for a few months to be able to do those questions,” he said.
Reviewing questions on LeetCode, a coding interview prep website, helped him prepare for interviews at Meta and elsewhere — but he said it still required a significant time investment.
Permana’s advice: Find ways to carve out enough time for your job search — even if it doesn’t involve taking paternity leave.
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