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If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

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Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#11

Post by mamon »

ironmagma wrote: post #9
mamon wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Companies don't fire talented people. They fire those, who, during the good times were just barely adequate for the job they did, and in the bad times they became liability.

It's a grand pronouncement, and also pretty detached from reality to claim that companies never fire talented people. A few counterexamples: Steve Jobs, JK Rowling, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, Jerry Seinfeld, Nikola Tesla... the list goes on.

Yes, there are exceptions to the rule:

1. Sometimes talent is hard to recognize, as in the people that you listed.

2. Sometimes the whole company is such a bad situation that they have to fire whole teams/branches indiscriminately.

But still, I think that parent comment about "a lot of talented people being out of work for a long time" is not true.

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#12

Post by abosley »

mamon wrote: post #5
dave_sid wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an interviewer I wouldn’t look on that badly either. The job market nosedived. Simple as that so it’s not inconceivable that many talented people have been out of work for a long time.

Companies don't fire talented people. They fire those, who, during the good times were just barely adequate for the job they did, and in the bad times they became liability.

I've had to lay off a lot of talented people in my day. Startups fail. Established companies pivot and dissolve business units. It sucks and it happens all the time.

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#13

Post by musicale »

gt565k wrote: post #8
pmiller2 wrote: post #3

What suggestions do you have for someone who may have been laid off months ago and is now facing the stigma of, let's just say "less than short term unemployment?" Those people often don't even make it to your phone screen.

Meh if I was laid off, had a good amount of savings, and got severance for 1-2 months. I'd honestly just take a sabatical haha. When else are you gonna be able to get a few months off possibly paid to just focus on your well being.

Pretty much. Though if you get an offer they are likely to want you to start right away.

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#14

Post by ironmagma »

mamon wrote: post #11
ironmagma wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a grand pronouncement, and also pretty detached from reality to claim that companies never fire talented people. A few counterexamples: Steve Jobs, JK Rowling, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, Jerry Seinfeld, Nikola Tesla... the list goes on.

Yes, there are exceptions to the rule: 1. Sometimes talent is hard to recognize, as in the people that you listed. 2. Sometimes the whole company is such a bad situation that they have to fire whole teams/branches indiscriminately. But still, I think that parent comment about "a lot of talented people being out of work for a long time" is not true.

> Sometimes talent is hard to recognize

I would say that's most of the time. Companies often have to outsource their head-hunting because so many of them are so bad at it, and entire companies have been created (e.g. TripleByte) because other companies can't figure out how to properly measure talent.

And arguably, the main reason in the first place that managers hire so many people they are OK letting go later on is because their managers (one level up) aren't able to properly observe it happening, on account of the measurement being so poor. If the measurement is that poor, you're basically guaranteed to have hired lots of great people who won't have the opportunity to flourish.

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#15

Post by potta_coffee »

mamon wrote: post #5
dave_sid wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an interviewer I wouldn’t look on that badly either. The job market nosedived. Simple as that so it’s not inconceivable that many talented people have been out of work for a long time.

Companies don't fire talented people. They fire those, who, during the good times were just barely adequate for the job they did, and in the bad times they became liability.

In my experience, this isn't true. I worked at a company that fired a lot of the best people they had. The reason? Marketing people took over the leadership of the company and they thought skilled engineers who were making more money could be replaced by cheaper "resources".

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#17

Post by lunatuna »

mamon wrote: post #5
dave_sid wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an interviewer I wouldn’t look on that badly either. The job market nosedived. Simple as that so it’s not inconceivable that many talented people have been out of work for a long time.

Companies don't fire talented people. They fire those, who, during the good times were just barely adequate for the job they did, and in the bad times they became liability.

This is one strategy, but it usually is only a small subset. More often the people left behind are the people that have some additional relationship going that keeps them safe. I've seen some very talented people that were not getting along with their manager or at least not buddies. In harder times like now I've seen it even more arbitrary.

Anyone let go right now - it sucks - but it isn't you that sucks. It is the monkeys that are managing the pandemic that suck.

Keep your chin up!

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#18

Post by jrjarrett »

gt565k wrote: post #8
pmiller2 wrote: post #3

What suggestions do you have for someone who may have been laid off months ago and is now facing the stigma of, let's just say "less than short term unemployment?" Those people often don't even make it to your phone screen.

Meh if I was laid off, had a good amount of savings, and got severance for 1-2 months. I'd honestly just take a sabatical haha. When else are you gonna be able to get a few months off possibly paid to just focus on your well being.

But what if you DIDN’T have a good amount of savings, or you get no severance?

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#19

Post by pmiller2 »

musicale wrote: post #13
gt565k wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh if I was laid off, had a good amount of savings, and got severance for 1-2 months. I'd honestly just take a sabatical haha. When else are you gonna be able to get a few months off possibly paid to just focus on your well being.

Pretty much. Though if you get an offer they are likely to want you to start right away.

In my experience "right away" has a significant amount of flex to it. I've started new jobs anywhere from 2-6 weeks after getting an offer, with no problems or pushback whatsoever.

Re: If you've been laid off, please avoid this mistake in interviews

#20

Post by hobby-coder-guy »

jrjarrett wrote: post #18
gt565k wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh if I was laid off, had a good amount of savings, and got severance for 1-2 months. I'd honestly just take a sabatical haha. When else are you gonna be able to get a few months off possibly paid to just focus on your well being.

But what if you DIDN’T have a good amount of savings, or you get no severance?

What do you think?
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