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Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#21

Post by Peretus »

seibelj wrote: post #13

Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange (Boston, MA https://poloniex.com/ ) is still hiring, crypto markets are doing fine - we make money whether it goes up or down. Interviews over Google Hangouts. http://poloniex.careers/

Thank you so much! I'll pass this along to some of the members of the programming team at my company who just became available, and I'll also be submitting an application myself.

It's fantastic to see some of the responses here indicating that companies are still hiring. Even though though the retail and entertainment industry have been hit hard, it seems some portions of the job market are still going strong.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#22

Post by asdfman123 »

mrlala wrote: post #12
BossingAround wrote: post #2

Seeing as the stock market is utterly tanking, I would be very surprised if the world didn't go into recession, and consequently, if there weren't a number of people losing their jobs in order to make the businesses lean again. This is especially true of countries like the US, where it seems very simple to fire someone.

The world is already in a recession, we just can't quantify it quite that quickly.

The dominos are already falling. It just takes a while for your domino to fall (your business's customers are hurt, then your business is hurt, then you're laid off).

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#24

Post by mindfulplay »

seibelj wrote: post #13

Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange (Boston, MA https://poloniex.com/ ) is still hiring, crypto markets are doing fine - we make money whether it goes up or down. Interviews over Google Hangouts. http://poloniex.careers/

Crypto seems like the replacement for casinos gambling away your life savings at a desperate time.

I don't have a beef with you but the whole crypto crapto markets really need to calm down and stop stealing money from naive people especially at this sensitive time. Lack of regulation helps launder money even easier.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#25

Post by lynnetye »

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 companies have laid team members off in the last week, and I suspect many more will soon. Most early-stage startups that did not recently fundraise and do not yet have significant revenue will struggle during this pandemic. If they were planning to fundraise this summer, fall, or winter, their investors and advisors have already told them start cutting costs in order to survive. Hence, a rise in layoffs.

More stable startups may have slowed their hiring efforts (i.e. "we planned to hire 40 engineers by 2021, but after adjusting our budget, we're now looking to hire ~20"), but they've also explicitly told me that filling certain roles are more urgent than ever.

While this all sounds bleak, some companies will endure, and a smaller number will actually thrive during these times.

Several folks who have recently been laid off have reached out to me. I know that getting laid off can give you the impression that every company is laying people off, but it isn't true. Companies who need to hire in order to keep up w/ unprecedented demand are ramping up and are excited to capture talented folks who were recently let go. So stay positive, put yourself out there, and keep looking!

I'm currently reaching out to all of the companies I work w/ in order to stay on top of their hiring plans, and I hope to message what I learn in my upcoming newsletters. It is the easiest way for me to keep folks up to date on what I'm seeing, and I absolutely will not take offense if people unsubscribe. Key Values: https://www.keyvalues.com

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#26

Post by random42_ »

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?

My understanding (I’m a former H1B myself) is that if you lose your current job and sponsor you have some time (don’t remember exactly how many months) to find a new sponsor otherwise you need to leave. Didn’t happen with me, but I had a couple of coworkers that came to work for the same company and were let go and had to leave the country because they didn’t find another sponsor.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#27

Post by navaati »

I’ve been let go on Thursday, of a DevOps job that had started on Wednesday. I’m a contractor so I can’t really complain, that’s how the game is played. The job was in the car rental industry, they are suffering heavily so of course the contractors are the first to go. It was my first job after coming back to my home country, and that move have let me pretty dry money wise. Eh… At least they’ll employ me ’till the end of the month, that leaves me with a little something !

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#28

Post by cultus »

_ea1k wrote: post #10
hairofadog wrote: post #8

Barely hanging on at the independent news organization where I work. Lost a lot of colleagues to layoffs last week. I'm super worried about the coming year.

I feel like this cost is being badly underestimated.

I would be quite surprised if this doesn't turn into a depression. The Fed has essentially already exhausted their options, and we're only a week in to this. Fiscal policy is the only real policy remedy, and capitalists hate that.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#29

Post by slimsag »

Evgeniuz wrote: post #14

I suffered pay cut due to outbreak affecting my company. It was profitable and growing steadily, but due to outbreak people stopped using it (and paying). Right now we're in the red, this is not sustainable, so I think in a couple of months I will be laid off (unless situation stabilizes by then). It's a bit scary to be in this position, as I know most companies here stopped hiring, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to…

Sorry to hear this, I dug through your profile to see if maybe I can help. I can't guarantee anything, of course, but we're hiring Go developers at Sourcegraph and are 100% remote so if you meet the other qualifications here please do consider applying with us: https://github.com/sourcegraph/careers/blob/master/job-descr...

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#30

Post by Peretus »

throwaway5752 wrote: post #9

Take whatever you can get, if you are lucky enough to get an offer. Look for contract work. Reduce your expenses. The gaining market share idea is too optimistic. Consider cashflow and sector and aim for stability over upside. Consider headhunters/recruiters. Really consider your expense and have a plan if you cannot find computer work when you will look outside of that. The general employment picture is a disaster,…

Thank you so much for this comment and the fantastic insight that you shared. Actionable advice like this is gold.

I've been causally preparing for a market downtown for about six months, but I wish I was in a better position than I am. That being said, I'm in a lot better shape than a lot of folks are and I'm hoping things can turn around with as many lives saved as possible.

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