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Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#181

Post by lynnetye »

Peretus wrote: post #37
lynnetye wrote: post #25

I'm the founder of Key Values, which helps software engineers find teams that share their values. Not only do I live in the Bay Area and have many founder friends, but it is also my full-time job to connect tech startups that are hiring w/ devs looking for new roles, so I think I have a good view on this. I'm still gathering information on how coronavirus is impacting the job market, but what I know now is that many…

Wow, these are fantastic insights that almost exactly match the language that was used during the announcement at our company. They were planning on a raise in the next few months and this hit them pretty hard. I don't blame them for for the steps they've taken as, frankly, it's the only thing that makes financial sense. Thanks again for this comment, and I'll absolutely be subscribing to your newsletter.

No worries! I'm sorry to hear you were laid off, but am glad you aren't taking it personally and understand the reasoning behind what was certainly a difficult and painful decision. There's a lot of uncertainty right now –– for everyone –– but I think people who are resourceful, stay positive, and take initiative (like posting this on HN to generate discussion) are gonna be A-okay.

Btw, I don't know your email, but feel free to reply to my next newsletter (goes out on Thursdays) if you have specific questions or feedback on how I can be more helpful. I sometimes feel powerless because I don't know what I can do to help during these trying times –– I'm not a healthcare professional, I'm not rich, I'm not a political leader, I'm not famous –– but I can at least (a) connect individuals and companies who can help each other, and (b) do my part to inform anyone I know about COVID-19, the job market, and/or what I'm doing/thinking. It's not a lot, but hey, it's at least a start!

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#182

Post by tcgv »

eropple wrote: post #125
Rebles wrote: post #44

At the beginning of the year, I decided it was time to find a new job after 10 years with my employer. I spent February doing interview prep and conducting interviews. Back then, the COVID-19 was mostly limited to China, markets and governments weren't terribly concerned about COVID-19. I accept a job offer, put in my two weeks notice, and my last day at was last Friday. Hardly anyone was seriously concerned about CO…

> But in February, there wasn't any sign of an economic downturn. Everyone was enjoying the bull market. First: I’m super sorry about what you’re going through and I hope things work out with your new employer. Second: I worry that “nobody could have known” will be the narrative. A very large portion of my circles was aware that COVID was about to explode and that the prevention measures would either drastically slow…

> A very large portion of my circles was aware that COVID was about to explode (...)

Your circles seem to be the exception then. There are a lot of factors that affect personal perception of such matters, like proximity to inflicted areas, professional background (ex: medical), experiencing similar events in the past, etc.

In hindsight it seems obvious that the world wasn't paying attention. But it took until February for western countries to realize the epidemic was already out of control, and the markets reacted.

> prevention measures would either drastically slow the economy or not be taken and the impact would be worse

Anyone that knew this last month without a doubt could've made tons of money shorting positions in the stock market.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#183

Post by nogabebop23 »

benttoothpaste wrote: post #130
maerF0x0 wrote: post #11

Does anyone have advice from 2000/2008 about what happens to immigrants on visas? When the work dries up do we all just have to leave and go home?

If you are on H1 then once you lose your job you'll be immediately out of status. Now being out of status is not a very big deal, but it does mean you'll need to find a new employer willing to sponsor you as soon as possible. USCIS is generally forgiving if your out of status period is not too long (they might require you to leave and then re-enter the country to get back to status though). Also living out of status…

>> traveling out of country.

not to be glib, but this would be a one-way trip for the near to mid future. Any rquirement to leave and return to the country is also a non starter

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#186

Post by ratsimihah »

epa wrote: post #144
zests wrote: post #99

I’m about to leave my extremely safe job for a tiny startup. I have to put in notice by the end of the week. The startup seems to still want to hire me and is showing no signs of pulling the offer. I think they planned on getting more funding at the end of the year. I’m at a loss for what to do. I’m excited about the opportunity but am not sure that now is the right time to leave. I plan on calling and asking for mor…

4 red flag assumptions: - "you think" - "they planned" - "getting more funding" - "end of the year"

Indeed, funding is going to be frozen for a while.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#187

Post by avgDev »

davedx wrote: post #175
DeathArrow wrote: post #4

I've lost my job as an Unity game programmer 2 months ago. I've found another one working as a C#/ASP.NET core developer for a big multinational wholesale chain. I work here since a month ago. Payment is 2x better and I find Web stuff being more interesting and rewarding than game programming. Also it's less stressful and it's better to do something mainstream than working in a niche. It means more opportunities. I'v…

Hah I also learned C# doing Unity programming and now work as a "enterprise" .NET developer, it's a great path if it's one you want to take...

I develop enterprise applications in C#/.Net Core/.NET MVC5 it is a bit boring but should be pretty stable.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#188

Post by conductr »

avalys wrote: post #173
conductr wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep saying “recession” but that sounds like they don’t understand the implications of what’s happening to the world economy right now. “Global depression” seems like a more appropriate term but time will tell. I’m a CFO of $300M company that employees ~2200 employees. We’re out of cash in 6 weeks if our revenue continues to decline. Down 30% vs last year this week (which is good compared to most). Doing layof…

So you’re saying your company has only enough cash on hand to cover 2 weeks of operating expenses?

Roughly. In a scenario where revenue is 0 and opex is fixed

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#189

Post by Cyberdog »

incog_nit0 wrote: post #104
Cyberdog wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by that?

Not the OP and I like your profile page. If you do find you want to mess with your profile page I personally had good luck with this theme: http://ttleadx.wpengine.com/freelancer/ Available here: https://themeforest.net/item/leadx-landing-page-marketing-wo... I didn’t make it nor am I affiliated with it - but it was a quick and easy way of generating a polished freelancer page for myself. Good ways to find gigs as a…

> http://ttleadx.wpengine.com/freelancer/

Sites that fade and pan in content as I scroll down the page can die in the hottest of hellfires. I do appreciate there are less harmful "modern" design cues I can take for the new version of my site, though.

> Good ways to find gigs as a freelancer are toptal, moonlight, yunojuno, bark, stack overflow (get a good score by answering questions).

I recall trying Moonlight a couple years ago and finding they could do absolutely nothing for me. Perhaps it's time to give them another look. I do have a SO presence, but their job board doesn't let me filter by contract positions. I will check out those other sites, though.

> Bit of advice a friend gave and I have yet to try out: If you want to find local clients go to meetups, networking stuff where you would likely be the only software developer and people will likely be interested (obviously one for after this crisis has passed).

That's a good tip. I used to be active in a couple groups around here but it got disrupted by some family stuff. I should get back into it again once this all blows over.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#190

Post by daenz »

ShakataGaNai wrote: post #122
daenz wrote: post #98

>mandatory unpaid leave What does this mean, precisely? How is it different from firing staff?

When you have a layoff, the former employee can file for unemployment. Which is money that comes from the company (through a circuitous route). So it's cheaper to go "mandatory unpaid leave".

So this is a scumbag move by the employer then? They don't want to lose the employee, they don't want to pay them, and they don't want to pay for unemployment?
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