Ask HN: Typical Startup or Abuse?

you should fuck your boss over as hard as possible. seriously, people like him need to be taught an excruciating lesson.

Look more closely at what you've done - for the sake of a resume, almost anything can be turned into 'experience' (I believe I spun 'computer lab monitor' pretty well once upon a time). In addition, take what you know and do projects with them. Something you can point a potential employer to (github repos, open-source project contributions, etc). What I want to see is initiative and creativity and, if possible, cooperative projects, because I know that someone coming out of uni isn't necessarily going to have team-coordination skills (communication, consideration, etc), but those can be developed.

There are plenty of examples of entrepreneurs cajoling employees into working for little or no pay, sometimes with a false promise of stock options which are a tiny fraction of outstanding stock. But this is one of the worst I've heard.

I'm sure the other comments from the smart folks who hang out on HN will echo the above. So I'm going to suggest a strategy for you that is as exploitative as your boss is being:

1. Don't tell him you're leaving.

2. Don't tell anyone you work with you're leaving. I know you feel lonely, need moral support, safety in numbers and all that. But DON"T. You need to take care of your family so it's time to put on your game face.

3. Start networking with other developers in your city or the city you want to end up working in. Also, meet with recruiters, employers, even investors in the kinds of businesses where you want to work. But the most important group for you to network with is your peers i.e. other web developers. They are your best route to your next job.

4. DO NOT tell anyone about your sad story. It may make you feel better, but people tend to shy away from any sign of weakness. It will not help you and it will hurt your chances of getting another job. Come up with a generic story and never go off message.

5. Don't EVER disclose what your current (soon to be former) salary is. It will cause your next employer to "level you" and also under-pay you. Again, come up with a generic (but true) story and never go off message.

6. Keep interviewing, go to second or third interviews and actually LAND A JOB before you even mention a hint of what you're doing. No matter how close you are to signing with your next employer, don't get over confident or smug and disclose what you're doing until the deal is done.

7. Once you actually have another job, give your boss notice both in writing and from a personal email account that you will continue to have access to once you leave your company. Be brief and to the point. Don't get emotional. Use as few words as possible.

Now, about that generic story about your current/former position. It needs to project a positive "employable" image that looks strong and makes people want to hire you. Something like "I've had a huge amount of fun in my current job, but I feel I've outgrown the company. I enjoy working with my colleagues and the work is challenging and fun but I'm ready for my next big challenge." Practice the message on a few people you're talking to and let it evolve until it rolls naturally off the tongue and is giving you the body language you want to see from the people you're talking to.

Employers or recruiters will ask you directly about your current salary. Simply say "Unfortunately I can't disclose that information." They're sales guys and they will push but politely stonewall. It will only hurt you badly by disclosing it. You either won't get the job because they'll smell the stench of death, or you'll get an awful deal.

The one hole in this plan is the reference you may need at your next position. They may want to call up your current employer and ask for one. You could just be honest at this point and say that he doesn't know you're leaving yet so you don't want them to contact him until you've given notice. This actually makes you look stronger because you have a current job. You're not unemployed and looking.

As a general bit of guidance in negotiating:

"Never pass up an opportunity to say nothing." ~Robert Heinlein

"Never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking." ~The Godfather

It's time for you to take care of the most important people in your life: Your family. So put on your war face and go for it! Good luck!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vHOR8lzTg

To chime in - get out. What the owner is doing is illegal as well as unfair.

As for not wanting his business to fail, I agree taking intentional actions to cause harm would be bad, but I suspect they'll cause themselves enough harm simply by you not being there soon after you leave.

From the other side of the table, I employed a handful of people in the early 2000s. We had a couple good years, and then a couple bad years. Got the point where the money wasn't coming in regularly, and I had some people stay well past the point where it was good for their own financial well-being. While I appreciated the loyalty (whether to me or solely to the clients, I'm not 100% sure) but I did tell them to leave if they could find something else, or take side work, or something.

I would never want to be in a position where I was doing what's happening to you to someone else. I've been in situations where I've been exploited, but not to this level, and it sucked, and I got the heck out as fast as possible once the reality set in.

I would suggest expanding the freelancing. You don't have much time right now cause you're working 50+ hours per week for someone else. It should not be hard to replace what is effectively a $10/hour job with some extra freelancing work. I've had a friend of mine recently jump from 'job' to fulltime freelance, and while he's not booked up 100% of the time, he's increased that hourly rate, so just to keep up with where he was before he doesn't need to bill full time.

Go back to your current freelancing clients, and explain that you'll be on the market soon. Ask if they have any extra work they need doing, ask them for referrals to other colleagues they may have who need what you do, and then ask them to be a reference. Preferably something in writing - a predone text file that you can use on your website and to include in your email marketing for new work.

Update your linkedin.com page, and hit up your network there for more work.

Finding work, especially as a freelancer, is very much about your network, and you have to curate that aspect of your life with intention and purpose. Happenstance and serendipity are great - they've brought some great things in to my life - but it's not enough. Hope is not a strategy. :) Start (re)developing your professional network outside of your current employment situation, and watch your freelancing grow.

Maybe freelancing only tides you over for a few months, and you manage to land another f/t job. Don't ever forget that you're still in charge of your own career and life. Your current situation should help drive that home for a long time, but don't dwell on it. Use it as motivation to build your professional network so that you never have all your eggs in someone else's basket again. Own multiple baskets. Even if you don't put eggs in any for long stretches, they're still your basket.

Best of luck to you, and I hope things turn around very quickly for you.

Freelance may be my best choice at the moment. I do however have to make sure I have a little more in the bank before I make the jump if I don't have a full time position lined up. Instead of killing myself with extra side-work raising my freelance rate may be in order just to have a little bit more of a cushion. If I didn't have a family to care for I wouldn't be as worried.

Thank you for your advice.