Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#41

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 8:54 AM UTC

jon-wood wrote: post #15

Other than the points already raised around the client's contract with your employer possibly containing clauses saying they can't hire you away without discussing it with your employer I would be worried about any NDAs you've signed. You're going to be entering an environment where you're still talking about the project you were working on day to day, but now you'll be doing so with a client. If you can make it an a…

thanks, it did not occur to me that they might be able to make use of NDAs in this way (forcing me to document everything discussed in case of legal action), I guess this brings up a fundamental question on where the line is between company proprietary/protected knowledge, and then knowledge/expertise one builds up over many years working on and becoming an expert in a niche area?

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#42

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 9:02 AM UTC

somehnacct3757 wrote: post #34

I worked at a small company where a vendor poached the team member that worked closely with the vendor. The company was pretty bitter about it and switched vendors, and the CEO would often bad-mouth the vendor at speaking events with other small company teams. Nobody was really nasty to the former colleague, although there was some light shade thrown their way as well. You don't mention company size but if these are…

yes this is certainly a concern - it's a 100 vs ~100K type situation , but the niche area is fairly small. based on observed behavior it's quite likely that I / new employer will be turned into a scapegoat, this worries me sometimes but then I also realize that I wouldn't be looking for something else if I was happy where I'm at

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#43

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 9:12 AM UTC

wwilim wrote: post #2

Depends on your reasons to be loyal to your current employer. Is it because they're really a great place to work at? Is it just to maintain some kind of arbitrary integrity? Is it the people, and if so, are they truly worth it and would they also choose to stay with you if presented with an attractive job offer? I think you might have encountered a pitfall already by believing you owe something to your employer.

this is what keeps me up at night, great loyalty to my team and not wanting to abandon them (but at the same time knowing on a personal level that I'd be supportive if one of them got a similar opportunity). Certainly for a long time I have felt like I owe something to my employer, and that loyalty will be rewarded, but recent months have taught me that the reverse does not apply, this has been a very hard lesson to learn

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#44

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 9:14 AM UTC

f1shy wrote: post #25

>> a role within that team which I would be absolutely ideal for is the dual of that sentence true: is the position ideal for you?

yes, it's like it was made for me

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#45

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 9:16 AM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #38

Were the people you know there in a position to recruit you? If so, why didn’t they? That’s where the footguns rest.

big corporate and no-solicitation policy I suspect, I'll need to work through the normal channels and eventually hopefully my application will make it to them

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#46

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 9:18 AM UTC

tonyarkles wrote: post #35

grecy wrote: post #33

Something I have not seen mentioned - just beware you might end up "stuck" at the new company doing nothing other than working with/on that very same piece of software you're currently working on. They may never want to promote you or let you move to another team if you're "The Expert"(TM).

I’ve experience a sad opposite of this as well… it was a slightly different situation though. The consulting company was my own company, and a client convinced me to join their team as a T4 (Canada) employee and essentially drop the rest of my clients. At the time, things were slow and I loved the team I was working with, so I figured “why not?” What ended up happening is that I got rolled into their (relatively brok…

thanks for the insight, I'll keep this in mind

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#47

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 10:15 AM UTC

ptero wrote: post #14

I have seen this done a few times without consequences BUT always after a pretty strong informal expression of client's interest. You will need support from client company anyway, so I would start with an informal conversation with your team there. If that team wants you they can cut most of the interview process, too. But there may be pitfalls: they may be contractually restricted from hiring you (not legally prohib…

I'm trying to avoid triggering any sort of non-solicitation breaches by discussing this outside of the normal recruitment process, but I am confident that they would love to have me join them. You mentioned that if the team wants me it could cut out some of the interview process, any experience with this happening and how it could play out? At what point do I mention to the recruiters that I already have some relationships into the team?

Re: Ask HN: Pitfalls in jumping ship to a client company?

#48

Post by throwaway0905 » Thu, Sep 08, 2022, 10:28 AM UTC

beilabs wrote: post #27

While there may not be a clause in your employment contract there may certainly be a clause in the contract between your employer and the client that could possibly be more hassle than it's worth for the client. The only way to know is to go through the process with the client, declare the possible conflict early on and let them research it on their side to see if it's worth going through with. Best of luck.

thanks, since I'll be going in via the normal recruiting channel, I assume it's best to bring this up in the initial phone screening phase with the recruiter? or could this harm me if the recruiter decides to just back away without escalating it higher up the chain? it's big tech corporate, so not sure how much agency recruiters have, and how closely they work with the teams they are trying to recruit for?