I was laid off in 2018 because I took a generous 5-month paternity leave. 2 months after my leave, I was given the pink slip. Contacted a lawyer and was pretty much told "you have no proof it was BECAUSE you took the leave." Based on my conversation with my boss, I know for a fact that's why. His quote: "H1B's are cheap and loyal. The mere fact that you committed to taking the full 5 months showed 0 loyalty." This was a DJIA credit card company.
Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
281–290 of 666 posts
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#282Take 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,…
Agree, I had to lay off 40% of staff during the .com crash, that was terrible. In 2008 we did not suffer much as our hiring was super conservative by then (I had learned).
Everybody should be terrified and cut expenses RIGHT NOW: don't buy a fancy car, pull the kids out of private school, cancel vacations, don't buy a house, don't enter into any kind of commercial lease (you'll find plenty of cheap leases).
If you are into consulting (front end, back end, ML, devops, ML) offer to cut your rate 50% if you can get a 12 month contract, right now.
Don't blame the virus. Sure it does not help but a lot of startups were barely viable businesses under oxygen (=VC rounds, always looking for dumb money for the last rounds). Don’t be picky (I don’t like the office culture, the market you are in, etc)
As they say get a mortgage, you’ll start enjoying your job better. Get several kids and you’ll start enjoying your boss/the founders/the market your startup is in as well.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#283Earlier quoted context omitted.
>1. Hiring in tech has definitely not gone to zero, even for the junior-level roles we skew towards. This always makes me curious. Why do companies look for junior levels instead of senior ? It seems to me that with the choice you would want experience if it was an option. Disclaimer : am employed not looking for work simply perspective
Experience costs $$$, and there is always some more basic or straight-forward work to do in addition to the cutting-edge stuff. If a junior-level engineer can work with the senior, they can do those lesser tasks for less money and let the higher-payed people tackle the harder tasks (and get some experience!)
I am experienced and biased because of that obviously but I have seen so many train wrecks created with this method.
The amount of waste in corporate american and startups is insane. IMO
There are solutions experienced folks know that save so much money when you look at the big picture it always baffles me when I see that..
The other thing that baffles me is when a CIO makes choices based off of things he has read online instead of taking the business need and finding the most economical solution
If you are interested in making money finding technical solutions with known failures is the key. Experience always knows those.
Just a perspective and comment to an opposing. Not arguing.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#284Earlier quoted context omitted.
Start interviewing again. Seriously. Worst case scenario your new job works out. That's pretty good downside.
This is solid advice. If I'm afraid of losing my future job, then, better start looking now! Thanks!
Also, side note, if you already signed paperwork with the new employer, press as hard as you think you can get away with, as soon and frequently as you can.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sometimes, there's nothing they can do (hiring freeze from the C-level); but other times, they need to turn 10 hires into 3. Those 3 typically end up being the ones who push for it.
Would definitely push on both fronts. Good luck!
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#285My predictions: DISCLAIMER: I'm not a expert wrt. any of this. Don't listen to me ;=). It's all just speculation. Companies which plan to downsize since a will will do it now, using COVID19 as a excuse. Companies who have shifted some "bad consequences" into the future might now book them using COVID19 as a excuse for why they exist. Companies who are already on the last straw will end now, (Such which without COVID1…
There’s also the situations where the pandemic makes already mad situations even worse.
My parents run a cafe/restaurant in rural Australia that was already not doing too great, and they were looking to sell. Now, they’re truly fucked.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#286Yes, this week. Throwaway account because it's not public yet. I've been active in startup land and HN > 10 years, technical founder with one exit. This cycle looks like it will be worse than 2001 or 2008.
I’d suggest that it looks worse because it’s more sudden, and it’s more sudden because it wasn’t going to be bad, it just got all triggered “ahead of schedule” by COVID-19.
I disagree for the following reason: Unless we get terribly lucky we are going to have a prolonged period (6-18 months) of social distancing and travel restrictions. There's no fast rebound from that so not a big win even for those of us holding enough cash to buy the bargains (real estate etc).
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#287Just found yesterday out that I'm being laid off at the end of the month. Sadly, I wholeheartedly believe that the owners are using the coronavirus as an excuse to close their already-failing company. The company has been in slow-motion dissolution for the better part of a year, and now they're blaming the entire thing on the virus outbreak so that they have a narrative to tell that covers up some of the mismanagemen…
A lot of weak companies will go belly up during an economic crisis. It isn’t that the crisis made them weak, just that being weak meant they couldn’t weather it. In how they rationalize their failure, that is something people just do I guess.
Rationalizing your failure is just good marketing.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#288Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, unfortunate for us that you're stuck in Sweden, but I hope you're able to find a good next project!
Curious why you can't hire world-wide for remote workers.
Hiring remote workers at scale is super complex if you want to comply with local laws (and you must).
Hiring contractors is easy but if your contractor should be indeed classified as an employee you will be in trouble one day or the other.
You have to set up a legal entity in that country/state, provide workers' comp, health benefits, unemployment, comply with various laws on leave, vacation, medical, etc...
This is quickly a nightmare and it is why true good remote companies hire only in handful of states/countries.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
I quit my job in mid January because of burnout, left London for a couple of weeks and came back this Sunday. I’m looking for remote roles exclusively. Now I’m not sure if the timing is perfect or just plain terrible:) Also, I stopped reading the news. I just don’t think refreshing Twitter every 10 min whilst self isolating can be good to your mental health.
Depending upon what you're looking for we might be able to help. ML company in London that's open to fully remote people. (email in profile)
Email field in profile isn’t publicly visible, you’ll have to add it to the about box
Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?
#290I’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…
Advice: stay where you are now in the cushy job