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Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

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Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#31

Post by darkstar_16 »

wonderwonder wrote: post #23
twawaaay wrote: post #13

I wonder if large companies recognise they are shitting in the pond they are floating in. As somebody with over quarter of century of experience managing and hiring people I notice how candidates change over time (trying to adjust for how I change myself). I notice people care less about the company they work for and, honestly, it is more and more difficult to find arguments against. This whole trend of optimising ev…

I very much take a mercenary approach to my jobs. At my very first software job I remember seeing a let go employee walking sadly through the office with a box of his possessions under one arm and a potted plant in the other. Since then I have brought nothing personal into work. If I'm let go I just have to grab my keys and I'm out. Work is something I do to earn money. If companies can replace people for less or cut…

Are you me ?

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#32

Post by wonderwonder »

darkstar_16 wrote: post #31
wonderwonder wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I very much take a mercenary approach to my jobs. At my very first software job I remember seeing a let go employee walking sadly through the office with a box of his possessions under one arm and a potted plant in the other. Since then I have brought nothing personal into work. If I'm let go I just have to grab my keys and I'm out. Work is something I do to earn money. If companies can replace people for less or cut…

Are you me ?

Probably

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#33

Post by timr »

twawaaay wrote: post #13

I wonder if large companies recognise they are shitting in the pond they are floating in. As somebody with over quarter of century of experience managing and hiring people I notice how candidates change over time (trying to adjust for how I change myself). I notice people care less about the company they work for and, honestly, it is more and more difficult to find arguments against. This whole trend of optimising ev…

> This whole trend of optimising everything to the max without caring for people is going to create an employee base that is completely disillusioned about their role or prospects or what's their best strategy for life.

While I get where you're coming from, it's a pretty big leap to go from what's happening now to "optimizing everything to the max". Twilio tripled in size since the pandemic, and wasn't/isn't profitable.

The same arguments can be applied to most large tech companies. Things got insane, and lean times were inevitable. Given your 25+ years in the industry, you must realize that a huge number of younger engineers have never seen anything other than boom years.

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#34

Post by TobyTheDog123 »

tptacek wrote: post #21
TobyTheDog123 wrote: post #12

[flagged]

Don't be an ass. He's referring to the way in which all kids see their parents as having a particular occupation. He's not saying that he built his career at Twilio at his daughter's expense.

I also don't think he built his career at his daughter's expense, I'm saying that the over-dramatization of the post leads to this even being something to call out, even when it shouldn't be.

You can call me names all you like, but don't expect people to not question intent over a poorly-conceived sentence.

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#35

Post by vlunkr »

rybosworld wrote: post #10

I think it's awesome that some people enjoy their work and love their jobs. That said, if you aren't an owner of the company then I think it's unhealthy to be emotionally invested. In my last job, I had received a competing offer and informed my boss that I would rather not leave but that this other offer was too financially good for me to ignore. My boss responded by beating the other offer and I stayed there for ab…

> unhealthy to be emotionally invested.

I used to agree with this, but I've changed my tune recently. Working 8 hours a day on something you're not emotionally invested in for years is incredibly depressing and puts you at risk of burn out. My more nuanced opinion is that you need to find the right pieces of the company to be invested in. I can take pride in the quality of the code, in trying to help out my co-workers, etc.

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#36

Post by rqtwteye »

zerr wrote: post #19

2 hours notice - How do you handover the work? Or is there nothing to handover?

I have never seen a handover being very useful. Nobody has time to receive the handover and if the system is not a total mess, other people will get up to speed quickly as needed. Every time I have seen somebody leave or being laid off, things just moved on without much problem.

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#37

Post by kungito »

wonderwonder wrote: post #23
twawaaay wrote: post #13

I wonder if large companies recognise they are shitting in the pond they are floating in. As somebody with over quarter of century of experience managing and hiring people I notice how candidates change over time (trying to adjust for how I change myself). I notice people care less about the company they work for and, honestly, it is more and more difficult to find arguments against. This whole trend of optimising ev…

I very much take a mercenary approach to my jobs. At my very first software job I remember seeing a let go employee walking sadly through the office with a box of his possessions under one arm and a potted plant in the other. Since then I have brought nothing personal into work. If I'm let go I just have to grab my keys and I'm out. Work is something I do to earn money. If companies can replace people for less or cut…

At my first job our manager was fired around the time his partner died of cancer and he was left with 2 little kids. He was slacking but also they knew about the whole situation. He was there for over 10 years. That changed me forever

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#38

Post by tptacek »

TobyTheDog123 wrote: post #34
tptacek wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't be an ass. He's referring to the way in which all kids see their parents as having a particular occupation. He's not saying that he built his career at Twilio at his daughter's expense.

I also don't think he built his career at his daughter's expense, I'm saying that the over-dramatization of the post leads to this even being something to call out, even when it shouldn't be. You can call me names all you like, but don't expect people to not question intent over a poorly-conceived sentence.

You're right: what you wrote is poorly conceived. You can probably just delete it (or edit-clear it)! I'm an ass all the time; I'm not high-horsing you, but maybe we'd all just be better off if this whole subthread vanished.

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#39

Post by giantg2 »

twawaaay wrote: post #13

I wonder if large companies recognise they are shitting in the pond they are floating in. As somebody with over quarter of century of experience managing and hiring people I notice how candidates change over time (trying to adjust for how I change myself). I notice people care less about the company they work for and, honestly, it is more and more difficult to find arguments against. This whole trend of optimising ev…

I've worked at my same company for 10 years and I'm disillusioned. There's no real advancement and nowhere else seems any better.

Re: Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio

#40

Post by librish »

Reading the responses to some of these posts it feels like the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction in the "the company is not your family" discussion.

Yes, if you expect corporate America to always treat you fairly you're going to end up disappointed. But spending 9 years at a place and not even giving a little bit of yourself to the company seems even worse.

It's OK to think that your boss cares about you as a person, it's OK to make friends at work, and it's OK to believe in the company mission, as long as you don't overdo it.

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