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Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

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Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#21

Post by sumeetjain »

joboffer wrote: post #8
patio11 wrote: post #2

Talk to a lawyer and ask what "detrimental reliance" means. (Short version: what you just did owing to representation that they had a job for you. Comes with damages.) Let your old company tell you you can't have your job back, don't make that decision for them.

I don't want to make a decision for my current company. They may even let me have it back. I'm on very good terms with my team too and they were in fact, disappointed to see me go. I'd just hate myself to go back with my head hung in shame telling them that 'oh my job didn't work out'...take me back. I had a farewell lunch yesterday. Everyone in my extended team knows I'm leaving. My exit interview is planned for ear…

Just a small addition to what everyone else is saying: After a couple months, no one will remember this event.

(I always find it easier to deal with unfortunate or embarrassing situations when I'm reminded that they appear more severe and permanent to me than they actually are.)

Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#22

Post by ajju »

rue wrote: post #19
ajju wrote: post #7

[Removed bad advice about portraying this as a change of mind rather than a rescinded job offer to his current employer] Talk to the manager at your current company and tell him that you want your job back or at least a longer notice period. They probably won't mind having you around to do more knowledge transfer for a few more weeks and look for another job. Meanwhile, consider what patio11 said. IANAL and employmen…

Bad advice, no need to lie about the situation.

Upon reconsideration, yes this was bad advice. When I read he is on a "work visa" and in a bad situation due to job transfer problems, I automatically assumed he was dealing with the worst kind of employers waiting to exploit him. Clearly this is not the case most of the time.

So agreed, if he works for a good manager / employer, it is better to be forthright.

I rescind my advice.

Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#23

Post by esschul »

So sorry to hear this. I don't know how the work situation is in the US, but here in Norway it's quite common to get positions, even the really good ones, thrown after you if you have the right resume.

Sit down and think what you want to do. If the position you were offered was the dream job; locate a similar company and send them your resume. Or even better, the best people is reading this very post. Put up a link to your resume right here, and see what'll happen. Couldn't hurt(?).

Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#25

Post by Terretta »

tptacek wrote: post #5
patio11 wrote: post #2

Talk to a lawyer and ask what "detrimental reliance" means. (Short version: what you just did owing to representation that they had a job for you. Comes with damages.) Let your old company tell you you can't have your job back, don't make that decision for them.

Careful about paying a lawyer up front, though, because it's apparently very hard to make a detrimental reliance claim about a rescinded at-will job offer; it appears to be impossible in several states (at least Florida, Louisiana) and very hard elsewhere. In the US, most jobs are at-will (you can be fired for no reason, and you're not supposed to rely on your employer maintaining your job); a Rails dev job certainly…

The "at will" issue is not as cut and dried if on a company sponsored visa.

Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#28

Post by Be-The-Water »

Is there another side to this story, why did you quit your job in the first place? Was the other job that much better?

I agree if it is a time constraint thing you have no choice in approaching your prior company. But if not I would keep looking for something that fills your need, like the Posterous post you will learn a lot more than just RoR.

Good Luck!

Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#29

Post by nl »

joboffer wrote: post #8
patio11 wrote: post #2

Talk to a lawyer and ask what "detrimental reliance" means. (Short version: what you just did owing to representation that they had a job for you. Comes with damages.) Let your old company tell you you can't have your job back, don't make that decision for them.

I don't want to make a decision for my current company. They may even let me have it back. I'm on very good terms with my team too and they were in fact, disappointed to see me go. I'd just hate myself to go back with my head hung in shame telling them that 'oh my job didn't work out'...take me back. I had a farewell lunch yesterday. Everyone in my extended team knows I'm leaving. My exit interview is planned for ear…

If you aren't terribly unhappy there, tell them what has happened and ask to come back. There is no shame in that at all - in fact it puts you in a pretty good position at your old job (because they now know your skills are valued elsewhere).

Another possibility is telling them what has happened, but say you still planning on moving so offering to stay for another month.

OTOH, there is plenty of RoR work around, so I'd be surprised if you can't pick something else up pretty easily.

Re: Ask HN: Offer of Employment retracted

#30

Post by catshirt »

floatingatoll wrote: post #12
joboffer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to make a decision for my current company. They may even let me have it back. I'm on very good terms with my team too and they were in fact, disappointed to see me go. I'd just hate myself to go back with my head hung in shame telling them that 'oh my job didn't work out'...take me back. I had a farewell lunch yesterday. Everyone in my extended team knows I'm leaving. My exit interview is planned for ear…

It's not a blemish on your record that your new employer flaked out. That's a blemish on their record. Your job seems to like you, or they would have fired you for giving notice, right? So don't panic. Talk to your boss. It'll be an uncomfortable conversation, but that's par for the course in uncomfortable situations. You're still awesome.

just to clarify, the blemish is his disloyalty to his previous company (i mean that strictly literaly- i would not call someone who takes a new job disloyal)
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