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Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

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Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#271

Post by zwkrt »

georgeecollins wrote: post #237
ryandrake wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Furthermore, some very senior employees are in this boat: They kinda have enough savings to just retire, but were hanging on to their jobs to save maybe 10% more or whatever. Now that they're out of a job they are simply saying "Whelllp, I guess I'm now retired." and not really feeling the need to look anymore. I know someone who refused a forced return to office, and when his company tried to call his bluff, he just…

>> were hanging on to their jobs to save maybe 10% more or whatever The amount of wealth all people need is constant. It is 1.5 x whatever they have today.

Quite a broad generalization. Sounds like people who don't have an actual plan for their money other than to have more of it. The kind of person who retires and realizes they don't even know what to do now that they aren't striving for that $$$.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#272

Post by chaoticmass »

giantg2 wrote: post #256
sumeno wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're underpaid and employed the now is the time to look for that new job, not after you're fired and working at Walmart

I was underpaid. Now my skills have atrophied to match my low pay. Only about 17 years until I can "retire". I'll probably end up working at Walmart in retirement anyways.

Hate to say it, but this fits me a lot right now (sans the family part). I really need to skill-up and start looking for a new gig.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#273

Post by zwkrt »

metadaemon wrote: post #153
dixie_land wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My observation is that recent layoffs affect engineers with different seniority very differently. Senior devs I know who got laid off are just enjoying their time off (with pay! if you consider the severance) after the rocketing market in 2021 (and maybe even H1 22) made them whole and financially secure. And they won't be entertaining a startup unless significant equity or big leveling up (eg Principal or Director).…

I guess if you are used to the security (or lack thereof) and coast-ability of large tech companies, you might be inclined to stick to the big names. However, I've recently discovered how fulfilling startup work is. Ironically, I feel more secure in my current role at a startup than I ever did at big tech. That's thanks a lot to the industry I'm in, but regardless senior devs are missing a lot if they completely disc…

Different strokes for different folks. I would rather the excitement in my life didn't come from my job as much as possible.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#274

Post by jcalvinowens »

shmatt wrote: post #31
Volundr wrote: post #20

US, looking for remote. 15+ years experience been looking since early January, and I still don't feel like I have traction. Worst job market for engineers I've seen in a long time. I have hope it'll improve in March when budgets are finalized, but at the same time I'm preparing for it to be a long one. First unemployment in my career, up until now I had employers coming to me.

I suspect the remote aspect is the biggest thing slowing you down. I go in once a month, which is practically a remote job, but those who moved during the pandemic and wouldn't fly in and take a hotel on their expense once a month had to leave There are 1000 different flavors of mixed home-office working right now, but not that much fully remote

> but those who moved during the pandemic and wouldn't fly in and take a hotel on their expense once a month had to leave

...did anybody actually agree to that?

Maybe I'm off base, but requiring employees to pay for mandatory business trips out of pocket seems insane to me. Is that even legal? It's a camouflaged pay cut, from one point of view (probably actually worse when you consider taxes).

I'm curious how others feel.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#276

Post by mooreds »

shaftway wrote: post #103

Senior SWE, 20+ years of experience, based in the bay area, laid off from Meta in November. I reached out to my network and had a couple applications in same-day. One of those panned out and I just started this week. I also did a bunch of cold job applications, but didn't get a callback from any of them. The whole process led to a ton of anxiety and was really nerve-wracking, especially reading about layoffs from oth…

> I reached out to my network and had a couple applications in same-day.

> I also did a bunch of cold job applications, but didn't get a callback from any of them.

This was my experience when I was let go in Mar 2020 (not from any place as prominent as Meta, however). The network of people you have worked with and know has been by far the best way I've found to get a job. Even when you're senior, cold applications are a low-chance bet.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#277

Post by klodolph »

zwkrt wrote: post #271
georgeecollins wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> were hanging on to their jobs to save maybe 10% more or whatever The amount of wealth all people need is constant. It is 1.5 x whatever they have today.

Quite a broad generalization. Sounds like people who don't have an actual plan for their money other than to have more of it. The kind of person who retires and realizes they don't even know what to do now that they aren't striving for that $$$.

Sure, there are all kinds of people with all sorts of ideas about what retirement will be like. And from my observations, more often than not, two people with different ideas about retirement will get married to each other.

Different ideas about retirement—such as retiring with different amounts of security, different standards of living, different amounts of money donated to charity, different locations, downsizing or not downsizing the house, living in the countryside or the city, traveling a lot or a little, etc.

My impression as someone who’s not retired is that you are signing up for a new relationship with your partner once you retire, and it’s hard to know what that new relationship will be like.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#278

Post by tspike »

mikeg8 wrote: post #40
bugbuddy wrote: post #17

I was a senior dev at a big tech and got laid off in November. I have applied to hundreds of places. Not a lot of responses. I have been doing interview preps the whole time. It has been very demoralizing and I am thinking of switching careers to something else. I have been considering skilled trades. I like carpentry in particular.

As someone with more carpentry experience (paid) than dev experience, but strong interests in both worlds, I’m curious how you would reconcile taking an approximate 50% reduction in comp. Don’t know the numbers for your area but knowing Bay Area salaries, senior devs make 2-2.5x journeyman carpenters.

Save 50% of your software income and get to a point where you’ll be set for retirement without saving another penny and then you can do what you want as long as you cover your expenses.

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#279

Post by thetopher »

giantg2 wrote: post #253
sharemywin wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pretty sure unemployment pays better than walmart.

If you're fired, unemployment doesn't pay you anything. My company generally won't layoff and instead finds reasons to fire people.

This isn’t true in California, and I don’t think it’s generally true in other states either.

A fired employee is still eligible for unemployment as long as they were not fired because of specific misconduct. Poor performance does not constitute misconduct. Misconduct must be “willful and wanton.” (Regularly missing work or being late, stealing, fighting with coworkers, etc.)

The CA guidelines are long, but contain some useful examples and guiding principles: https://edd.ca.gov/en/uibdg/Misconduct_MC_5/

Re: Ask HN: Laid off folks, are you getting hired?

#280

Post by tspike »

koboll wrote: post #235
shmatt wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect the remote aspect is the biggest thing slowing you down. I go in once a month, which is practically a remote job, but those who moved during the pandemic and wouldn't fly in and take a hotel on their expense once a month had to leave There are 1000 different flavors of mixed home-office working right now, but not that much fully remote

How exactly do you go about explaining something like "I live in another state but I'd be happy to fly in for 1-3 days a month" on a resume (Asking for a friend)

Omit it on the resume, mention it during screening.
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