Ask HN: Have you been laid off? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#31

Post by nickpinkston » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 7:55 PM UTC

Small startup founder here. We did a hiring freeze and cancelled our contract with a recruiter, called an oncoming employee about slight role adjustments due to company plan change, which they were cool with.

Really glad we've got a ton of runway. Keeping everyone in mind who are less burn-fortunate. My only advice, having done a few big layoffs before: Cut now, cut once, cut deep.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#32

Post by anhpnguyen » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 7:57 PM UTC

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…

what's the company if you don't mind me asking?

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#33

Post by rxhernandez » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:01 PM UTC

Does anyone know how important it is to look for a job immediately if you don't think your job will exist for much longer?

I have the funds to last about a year unemployed + I wanted to work on my own software projects for a few months. However, I'm concerned that if I don't hop back in the job market quickly enough, the decent paying jobs might dry up.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#34

Post by Cyberdog » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:01 PM UTC

I'm a contract full-stack web developer. I've been "laid off" in that my last remaining client, who was already behind on her bills, told me to stop all work and she has no idea if/when she'll be able to pay her outstanding bills. I have no idea where next month's rent is going to come from.

If anybody needs some contract web dev done, check out my info at https://albright.pro/ and reach out ASAP. I will cut you one hell of a deal if you can at least help keep a roof over my head.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#35

Post by thrownaway954 » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:01 PM UTC

just wanted to say that rather than updating resumes, update your linkedin profile. most opportunities i have gotten has been through linkedin. also, once you have a linkedin profile completed, you can import it into indeed and import your indeed profile into ziprecruiter.

also, there are many services out there that will export your linkedin profile as a resume.

good luck everyone, i might be joining you guys soon enough :P

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#36

Post by dangoor » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:02 PM UTC

Khan Academy is still hiring, though our focus is backend and full-stack engineers right now[1]. I hope you're able to find new work soon!

This is an odd time for us. We're an online education non-profit. With all of the school closings[2], we're seeing a huge spike in traffic. Fortunately, our infrastructure can handle it, but we are still spending some effort staying on top of the rapidly changing traffic patterns.

Simultaneously, we're in the midst of a huge project to rebuild our backend (porting from Python 2 to Go)[3]. So we're juggling a lot right now, but will be fine.

If there are folks out there with backend skills in particular, we're hiring and our engineering team is half remote (all in the US/Canada).

[1]: https://www.khanacademy.org/careers

[2]: https://www.khanacademy.org/about/blog/post/6117702550643507...

[3]: http://engineering.khanacademy.org/posts/goliath.htm

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#37

Post by Peretus » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:02 PM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#38

Post by chickenpotpie » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:03 PM UTC

rxhernandez wrote: post #33

Does anyone know how important it is to look for a job immediately if you don't think your job will exist for much longer? I have the funds to last about a year unemployed + I wanted to work on my own software projects for a few months. However, I'm concerned that if I don't hop back in the job market quickly enough, the decent paying jobs might dry up.

If you only want a two month break start looking now. It will take about a month to two months to get a job and then you can push back your start date for another month. You can also go slower in the job process which will let you be picky and negotiate better.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#39

Post by Peretus » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:06 PM UTC

rxhernandez wrote: post #33

Does anyone know how important it is to look for a job immediately if you don't think your job will exist for much longer? I have the funds to last about a year unemployed + I wanted to work on my own software projects for a few months. However, I'm concerned that if I don't hop back in the job market quickly enough, the decent paying jobs might dry up.

I've considered this myself-- investing my time in my own projects while trying to lower expenses to the absolute minimum.

It makes sense, in a way. If the market is valuing your labor less than it was yesterday, your opportunity cost is lower and it might make more sense to invest in yourself.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#40

Post by mrosett » Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 8:06 PM UTC

cultus wrote: post #28

_ea1k wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think there's a sense that this time it's different. When you lose your job because the government decrees that your company shut down... well, it seems pretty clear that the government should have to help.