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Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#351

Post by linsomniac »

Eiriksmal wrote: post #66
Frost1x wrote: post #57

It's going to get bloody out there soon. Minimize your expenses if you don't already do this. The market was already fairly saturated from what I inferred last year when I jumped ship during a move. Most organizations did not appear to be seriously hiring, they were hunting for a labor bargain or someone to add to their future contact list for quick turnaround when demand rose. If you didn't think it was an employers…

>market was already fairly saturated ... did not appear to be seriously hiring ... an employers market This was my experience in the job market last year, as well. A lot of open listings, but curiously picky requirements for who would be considered for a role. I definitely got the impression that companies were just idly trawling for fresh meat, without seriously pursuing any senior talent (read: highly experienced a…

Last year we were hiring, for both junior and senior positions, and had a hell of a time finding people to make offers to. We were absolutely serious and did end up hiring someone.

I will say though that we were definitely on the picky side. Our company tends to have a very hard time getting rid of employees that aren't working out, so we are extremely reluctant to hire a "maybe".

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#353

Post by ccajas »

Rebles wrote: post #44

At the beginning of the year, I decided it was time to find a new job after 10 years with my employer. I spent February doing interview prep and conducting interviews. Back then, the COVID-19 was mostly limited to China, markets and governments weren't terribly concerned about COVID-19. I accept a job offer, put in my two weeks notice, and my last day at was last Friday. Hardly anyone was seriously concerned about CO…

I have been laid off just before 2015 and I haven't found any stable work since then. I have been under-employed for a long while before the outbreak, and I don't even know what new change-ups in job hunting I should be doing now.

For a long time, many people have said that my years of experience make me valuable so that I should have gotten offers very quickly, but the reality hasn't shown that. Heck, even the founder of the startup company has told me, when I asked for his reference, that he was "very confused" that I haven't found any work for so long. And that was only a year in.

He unfortunately can't give me work anymore as he's tied up with his business. He did consider me for a follow-up freelance job before, but that was more due to a technicality that they needed a US developer for a particular job.

After being evaluated on mock interviews, turns out I'm in the peculiar situation where I am too underqualified for my years. But at least I have some experience working remote that should make me more appealing to employers.

I just can't call it impostor syndrome anymore if I consistently fail at getting full-time offers even when the economic climate was good.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#354

Post by true_religion »

nogabebop23 wrote: post #176
earthtourist wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a lawyer, but I wonder if you couldn't sue if they withdraw the offer. Seems like a case of detrimental reliance or promissory estoppel. Again, not a lawyer and surely depends on which jurisdiction you're in. Also, you could post on HN if they do withdraw the offer during this outbreak, so other people would know they suck.

>> Also, you could post on HN if they do withdraw the offer during this outbreak, so other people would know they suck. So every company that lays off an employee "sucks"? I guess you're welcome to stay and work for free, but if they don't have money to pay you what are they supposed to do? I agree this situation is terrible for the OP, but I don't think we need to name and shame every company that makes a prudent de…

Personally, I think employment in the US should look more like it does in Europe. People rely on work to survive, and shouldn’t be fireable easily, and unemployment should cover at least 75% of your previous salary.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#355

Post by rabidrat »

eloff wrote: post #250

Just signed a lease for a larger apt with twice the rent. Got laid off within the hour. The new landlord is not wanting to let me out of the lease. They already accepted the deposit and first months rent. Really bad timing.

Can you stop payment on the deposit check?

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#356

Post by lozaning »

gridspy wrote: post #236
earthtourist wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a lawyer, but I wonder if you couldn't sue if they withdraw the offer. Seems like a case of detrimental reliance or promissory estoppel. Again, not a lawyer and surely depends on which jurisdiction you're in. Also, you could post on HN if they do withdraw the offer during this outbreak, so other people would know they suck.

Many tech jobs start with a 3 month "fire at will" period. They might just give the OP one day and then fire. I hope it works out though.

And in most US states that never changes. You can generally be fired without cause all the time.

I've got a 4 year record of bi annual performance reviews where I've gotten 120% of the available performance based bonus, but I dont have tenure or anything. If my boss decides he hates my shoes and fires me, Im gone.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#357

Post by WFHRenaissance »

Miktor wrote: post #349

This is probably a long shot - and I'm sure you'll see quite a few posts like this over the coming weeks - but I'm going to swallow my pride and ask nonetheless. I've been a data entry clerk for the past twenty years, working for a major bookmaker in Northern Ireland. With the coronavirus pandemic hitting recently, many businesses have decided to lay off large numbers of staff. I've just become one of the unfortunate…

Apply for jobs at defense contractors, they're always looking for people that know C++. It will not be glamorous work, but I think it might be a good bet for you. Raytheon Missile Systems is hiring in Tuscon Arizona, inquire about remote work. Also, I recommend you learn SQL (just learn SQL Server or Postgres).

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#359

Post by Twixes »

traitsnspecs wrote: post #329
eropple wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But in February, there wasn't any sign of an economic downturn. Everyone was enjoying the bull market. First: I’m super sorry about what you’re going through and I hope things work out with your new employer. Second: I worry that “nobody could have known” will be the narrative. A very large portion of my circles was aware that COVID was about to explode and that the prevention measures would either drastically slow…

If we had not taken prevention measures, the economic impact would be worse? I'm very skeptical of this. Keeps in mind that the disease has a 2-4% mortality rate among hospitalized patients, and the real rate is very likely to go down, not up, since most sick people do not immediately go to the hospital and there is an unknown-but-surmised-be-very-large population of infected people with mild symptoms. There is a rea…

2-4% is huge for a novel highly infectious disease. Our healthcare system is not prepared for that at all, without aggressive measures that's potential for hundreds of thousands if not millions of deaths in the US.

Re: Ask HN: Have you been laid off?

#360

Post by dillonmckay »

Loughla wrote: post #168

I'm betting the best places to target for individuals who have been laid off, for the next 6-12 months at least, will be organizations who serve higher education. When the economy hits the shit, higher education booms. This is absolutely true for tech programs and community/junior colleges, less so for 4-year colleges/universities. Source: My experience with the 2001 bust and immediate higher ed boom, 2008 bust and i…

I don’t know. Alot of these schools have been on real estate development binges for the last 20 years, and there is alot of physical space that seems like it will remain unused for the foreseeable future.

I see telemedicine finally becoming viable.

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