The startup I worked for has announced that it is going to shut down in May. Unfortunately, that meant 80% of us would immediately be let go. Myself included. The severance pay was really small and my health insurance will be deactivated by the end of the month. As much as I'm trying to just move on and start job hunting, I can't help but to freak out a little about the outcome since it was very unexpected. For some of you that may have experienced being laid off before, what were some of the first things you decided to do afterward? Do you have any advice or share any lessons learned?
Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
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Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#21. I would immediately file for unemployment in your area, if applicable.
2. Take one day and just relax. Have the most fun you can possibly have that doesn't damage your health or take anything more than a trivial amount of money.
3. Calculate your burn rate and cut expenses.
4. Accept that you have a new job. Your new job is finding a new job.
5. Dedicate 20 hours a week to finding and applying to jobs. You can just submit your form everywhere. Spend 5 hours a week identifying companies that you like in particular. Spend 15 hours a week attempting to make actionable progress improving your interviewing ability. This might mean studying things like Cracking the Coding Interview, or doing small projects to show that you can work with technologies that some of your prospective employers want to see.
Throttle the looking for a job part from 25 to 40 hours, keeping everything the same. Do not spend more than 60 hours total doing job hunting related activities. You'll burn out and become unmotivated.
Good luck!
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#3- First outcome => Working for a startup is riskier than working for an established company.
- Second outcome => Do I want to work for a startup again in the future? No.
- Third outcome => If a startup is successful, the outcome is disproportionate between the founders and the employees. But, it if fails, we're all equally unemployed.
Do I really want to be an employee at a startup? nope.
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#4- First outcome => Working for a startup is riskier than working for an established company. - Second outcome => Do I want to work for a startup again in the future? No. - Third outcome => If a startup is successful, the outcome is disproportionate between the founders and the employees. But, it if fails, we're all equally unemployed. Do I really want to be an employee at a startup? nope.
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Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#51. I would immediately file for unemployment in your area, if applicable. 2. Take one day and just relax. Have the most fun you can possibly have that doesn't damage your health or take anything more than a trivial amount of money. 3. Calculate your burn rate and cut expenses. 4. Accept that you have a new job. Your new job is finding a new job. 5. Dedicate 20 hours a week to finding and applying to jobs. You can jus…
These are all really good. I would only add to keep good habits and take the opportunity to cut bad ones. Work out more, eat better, talk to friends and family, etc.
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#61. I would immediately file for unemployment in your area, if applicable. 2. Take one day and just relax. Have the most fun you can possibly have that doesn't damage your health or take anything more than a trivial amount of money. 3. Calculate your burn rate and cut expenses. 4. Accept that you have a new job. Your new job is finding a new job. 5. Dedicate 20 hours a week to finding and applying to jobs. You can jus…
Couldn't agree more with tabeth.
And don't be discouraged by a bad interview. It was good interviewing practice anyway. Keep moving forward.
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#7Start calling recruiters and/or submitting resumes, etc. NOW. It seems like it always takes longer for things to happen than you want, so don't waste even a minute getting the job hunt going. That is, unless you have plenty of savings as a buffer.
You may also want to immediately do the math to see exactly how much money you need for things that are absolute "musts" to pay... light bill, gas bill, rent, etc., and figure out how much runway you have if you do nothing but pay the essentials. If worst comes to worst, there are always things you can just stop paying and fall behind on, and then catch up when you're back working. Hopefully it won't come to that, but better to make informed decisions than stumble around in the dark.
You'll probably also want to lower your burn rate as much as you can: cut out the daily latte at Starbucks or any other frivolous expenditures that you can do without.
Those are the first things that come to mind, given my experiences having been laid off in the past.
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#8There's a much longer answer to this that factors in your savings, what your resume looks like and minimizing the chances of this happening to you in the future.
Two immediate pieces of advice:
1. Shore up relationships with your colleagues and get their non-work contact info if you don't have it. Make this network stronger. Former colleagues can recommend you and pull you in at new companies they get hired at. They can also refer you to job openings they know about but aren't pursuing. It's one step of many, but people can get caught up in worrying and applying elsewhere, they forget about this network of colleagues right in front who can help each other. Keep in touch, check in, ask for leads and referrals if you are still looking, offer them if you have them.
2. Don't freak out. But if you are really worried, since 20% of staff are staying for now so: A laid off employee can ask management if they can stay and help for a few more weeks at reduced pay and while he/she looks for something else. I don't recommend doing that, looking for a job can be a full-time job. Never hurts to offer and ask.
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#91. I would immediately file for unemployment in your area, if applicable. 2. Take one day and just relax. Have the most fun you can possibly have that doesn't damage your health or take anything more than a trivial amount of money. 3. Calculate your burn rate and cut expenses. 4. Accept that you have a new job. Your new job is finding a new job. 5. Dedicate 20 hours a week to finding and applying to jobs. You can jus…
When I ran up against the same problem, this is exactly what I did. Though, I did take a weekend off to breathe, instead of a single day. Ended up with two offers 30 days later, and was working 15 days after that.
Unemployment was the most intimidating part initially, but it wasn't hard; just a few pages of online paperwork every week.
Re: Ask HN: Laid off. Now what?
#101. I would immediately file for unemployment in your area, if applicable. 2. Take one day and just relax. Have the most fun you can possibly have that doesn't damage your health or take anything more than a trivial amount of money. 3. Calculate your burn rate and cut expenses. 4. Accept that you have a new job. Your new job is finding a new job. 5. Dedicate 20 hours a week to finding and applying to jobs. You can jus…
40 hours a week? I've done it in the past it's not realistic. If you schedule one interview per day, you'll burn out quickly. You need breaks in between to digest the previous interview.