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Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

teamblind.com

31–40 of 201 posts

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#31
It seems so strange they would openly give this feedback to a candidate. Even if it weren't illegal, the only action available to the candidate is to lie about the nature of their termination in the future.

It also doesn't seem like a good idea to avoid hiring laid off people. Hiring is a lemon market regardless of layoffs, and plenty of great people get laid off. It just doesn't make sense to reject a great candidate at the very end of the process because you realize they had been laid off. Either they weren't a great candidate for other reasons, the Blind post is an unreliable report of events, or the hiring committee really is stupid.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#32
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lying is not a solution Agreed. You should not lie in interviews. A common way of avoiding having to lie is registering your own consulting company after getting laid off. No resume gap! As far as if it fools recruiters, no idea. It's got to sometimes, right? I see it too often on LinkedIn for it to be useless.

>A common way of avoiding having to lie is registering your own consulting company after getting laid off. No resume gap! As far as if it fools recruiters, no idea. It's got to sometimes, right? I see it too often on LinkedIn for it to be useless. "Consulting" is the programmer equivalent of claiming "Entrepreneur" as a job title. Sure it exists, but it generally translates to "Unemployed".

Wayyy more than programmers use this trick.

It does not even seem to be limited to IT.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#33
post #16

Fun fact: in some jurisdictions such as New York and DC, this is illegal. It's called "discrimination against the unemployed". Check the laws of your state, the state you would work in, and the state the company is headquartered in to see if this may apply to you.

While it's nice to know these laws exist, what would you really do with it? The company proved it has a terrible culture. Doesn't seem worth it to fight for a job with them.

for the nyc one, you can claim remedy yourself in civil court.

walk them right into small claims for 25k

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#34
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lying is not a solution Agreed. You should not lie in interviews. A common way of avoiding having to lie is registering your own consulting company after getting laid off. No resume gap! As far as if it fools recruiters, no idea. It's got to sometimes, right? I see it too often on LinkedIn for it to be useless.

I’d personally see that as lying.

Just actually register the company. In my country you don't even need to register, you just do business as a contractor. As long as you're under certain revenue limits, there's no registration necessary.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#35
post #8

Damn, the top comment on the article is about how you need to lie in tech interviews. How far have we fallen if we don't even have enough dignity to walk away from garbage tier companies who can't even put any real effort into hiring. Lying is not a solution, letting companies like Databricks die a slow painful death because they create toxic environments and all their programmers keep quitting is the solution.

> Lying is not a solution Agreed. You should not lie in interviews. A common way of avoiding having to lie is registering your own consulting company after getting laid off. No resume gap! As far as if it fools recruiters, no idea. It's got to sometimes, right? I see it too often on LinkedIn for it to be useless.

It doesn't fool anyone.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#36

Damn, the top comment on the article is about how you need to lie in tech interviews. How far have we fallen if we don't even have enough dignity to walk away from garbage tier companies who can't even put any real effort into hiring. Lying is not a solution, letting companies like Databricks die a slow painful death because they create toxic environments and all their programmers keep quitting is the solution.

Interviews are all lies.

Sure, some people would claim "It's just about putting your best foot forward and presenting yourself in the best possible light," but those people are such liars they lie about lying. Lying by admission is still lying.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#37
post #8

Damn, the top comment on the article is about how you need to lie in tech interviews. How far have we fallen if we don't even have enough dignity to walk away from garbage tier companies who can't even put any real effort into hiring. Lying is not a solution, letting companies like Databricks die a slow painful death because they create toxic environments and all their programmers keep quitting is the solution.

> Lying is not a solution Agreed. You should not lie in interviews. A common way of avoiding having to lie is registering your own consulting company after getting laid off. No resume gap! As far as if it fools recruiters, no idea. It's got to sometimes, right? I see it too often on LinkedIn for it to be useless.

That's just another way of lying. If it makes you feel better about it, then fine I guess.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#38
post #6

I think their HR culture may be a little toxic. When I told them their offer was not enough, they got very irate. They said if I only care about money I’m not a good fit for their culture of builders, and that I should watch out because there are lots of lay offs happening. It all left me with a very poor impression of them.

At that point, I would have taken their offer, collect my paycheck while still interviewing elsewhere, and wait to get fired.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#39
post #15

This is asinine, discriminatory and unfair. I'd even say it's borderline malicious. Glad they named and shamed. I would't do any business with this company, nor attempt to work for them. A RIF has nothing to do with a person's performance .. at least officially. One has to assume it was a business decision only, not performance based, although with a large reduction it seems improbable that the people left would be,…

Totally. Getting RIF’d is indiscriminate. Their loss!

On the flip side, we too can ‘red flag’ Databricks and other companies that operate that way and not work there or buy their products.

Re: Databricks counts being laid off as “red flag”

#40
post #35
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lying is not a solution Agreed. You should not lie in interviews. A common way of avoiding having to lie is registering your own consulting company after getting laid off. No resume gap! As far as if it fools recruiters, no idea. It's got to sometimes, right? I see it too often on LinkedIn for it to be useless.

It doesn't fool anyone.

Fools lots of people in my experience.
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