According to Business Insider, Mike Kostersitz spent 31 years at Microsoft as a principal product manager lead working on Azure before being laid off in May at age 60. He was among 120 people cut from his team in a single meeting, part of approximately 6,000 Microsoft layoffs this year. The veteran employee said the notification came via a surprise calendar invite rather than personal communication from his manager. Over the past five months, he’s interviewed with companies including Nvidia and Nike but hasn’t secured a position yet. Kostersitz benefits from Microsoft’s “55 and 15” policy that continues stock vesting for long-tenured employees, giving him about two years of financial runway before needing to tap retirement funds.
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The brutal reality for tech veterans
Kostersitz’s story hits hard because it shows how even decades of loyalty and institutional knowledge don’t protect you in today’s tech landscape. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta – they’re all cutting thousands while talking about “streamlining” and “reducing management layers.” But here’s the thing: when you’ve spent 31 years at one company, you’re not just losing a job. You’re losing your professional identity and network all at once.
And the job search process itself becomes alien territory. Kostersitz had to hire a career coach just to learn how to build a resume and navigate applicant tracking systems. His Microsoft-provided advisor told him to “de-age” his resume by cutting experience from the 1980s and 90s. Think about that – decades of valuable experience literally removed to avoid age discrimination. That’s the market we’re in.
The interview challenge nobody prepares for
Here’s what struck me most: Kostersitz said interviewers ask “tell me about a time when” questions, and he has 30 years of stories but no idea which ones will resonate. It’s like showing up to a test where you’ve studied the wrong material. When you’ve been solving complex problems since before some interviewers were born, how do you pick the right anecdote?
He managed to get a referral that landed him an interview at Nvidia, but couldn’t convert it into an offer. That’s the pattern across tech right now – even with connections, the hiring bar has been raised impossibly high. Companies are being ridiculously selective because they can afford to be.
The financial cushion that changes everything
Kostersitz’s situation reveals the huge divide between tech workers with safety nets and those without. Microsoft’s “55 and 15” policy, combined with stock and savings, gives him two years to find something. Most laid-off workers don’t have that luxury. They’re making desperate decisions within weeks, not months.
But even with financial security, the psychological toll is massive. He considered early retirement but concluded it would require a “huge change of lifestyle.” So he’s stuck in this limbo – technically able to survive without work, but not ready to downsize his life permanently at 60.
It’s an endurance game now
The career advisor gave him blunt advice: “It’s a game of chicken right now. The person who has the longer breath and can stick it out longer will get the job.” That’s basically admitting the market is broken. Hiring isn’t about finding the best candidate anymore – it’s about who can endure the brutal process longest.
Kostersitz’s story should scare every tech worker, regardless of tenure. If someone with 31 years at Microsoft and Azure experience can struggle for five months and counting, what hope is there for the rest of us? The social contract between tech companies and their employees has been shattered, and we’re all figuring out the new rules in real time.
