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Most of them over hired like crazy during the pandemic bubble. I wouldn’t say they were stupid but collectively most of them made a massive mistake. So yeah it

Most of them over hired like crazy during the pandemic bubble. I wouldn’t say they were stupid but collectively most of them made a massive mistake. So yeah it isn’t hard to believe for me. I don’t think the layoffs are a stupid decision but I do think the extreme over hiring as if the bubble was a new normal was. Between 2020-2022 I literally conducted over 200 interviews for my previous employer. It was like we couldn’t hire fast enough and I would always hear that we were way behind from what we wanted to hire.

hbn 4y ago
> Most of them over hired like crazy during the pandemic bubble. I wouldn’t say they were stupid but collectively most of them made a massive mistake. It wasn't a massive mistake if the rapid growth grew their stock enough that paying a few hundred/thousand extra employees for a year or 2 was worth the cost.
- todd3834 4y ago
  I’d agree with you if any of them that did this had a stable or positive stock price. Looking at tech stocks and it’s hard to find an example where I feel the hiring was a good thing.
andsoitis 4y ago
> Between 2020-2022 I literally conducted over 200 interviews for my previous employer. it sounds like you knew at the time that it was a mistake to hire this much and you were part of the interview processes. did you ever speak up, tried to make a case that it is the wrong move?
- IshKebab 4y ago
  This sounds like a typical HN accusatory comment. "It sounds like you should have dropped everything to solve whatever issues you have. Did you? No? Well it's your fault then." Pretty similar to the stupid "did you submit a PR?" response to literally any issue with open source software. Maybe you didn't mean it like that but that's what it sounds like.
- anon7725 4y ago
  Lmfao. Do you know how hiring works at a large company? When your management chain has won a few headcount marbles during this quarter’s game of Hungry Hungry Hippos, it’s not in your interest to blithely challenge them on it.
- icedchai 4y ago
  That would likely be a career limiting move. I remember the dot-com bubble days. We'd hire like mad... literally anyone who could spell HTML or PHP. There was no reason to speak up. We didn't know the gravy train was going to be over in a couple of years.
- bastardoperator 4y ago
  I might think this way if this was my first rodeo. When executives allocate money for hiring I assume they've put some thought into it with data outside my immediate view. You think I should be questioning executives? Most of us are out here just trying to survive and making C titles look bad in public is how you get fired immediately.
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    There’s a middle ground between saying nothing and making them look bad in public. Talk privately to your director/VP. Ask questions. You don’t even have to come right and say you think they’re wrong, but showing interest in the direction and financial health of t the company is unlikely to hurt you in any way.
    - bastardoperator 4y ago
      Nope, I expect the people making these decisions who are responsible (and paid extremely well) for the financial health of the company to be doing an exhaustive due diligence when it comes to budget. The only real question is do any of these executives take responsibility for their actions. That question has ultimately been answered over the past couple of weeks so why bother asking...
      - sokoloff 4y ago
        We are doing due diligence, but it can never be exhaustive; the single best source of qualitative information is from talking to people who are closest to the work and then trying to synthesize a view of reality from the multiple points of view expressed. You’re not under any obligation and can keep your head down if you like. I can see the spreadsheets with perfect clarity. I need to marry that data with the more complex and hard-to-get view of the elephant that can only from the people who are working with/on it every day.

hbn 4y ago

> Most of them over hired like crazy during the pandemic bubble. I wouldn’t say they were stupid but collectively most of them made a massive mistake. It wasn't a massive mistake if the rapid growth grew their stock enough that paying a few hundred/thousand extra employees for a year or 2 was worth the cost.

todd3834 4y ago
I’d agree with you if any of them that did this had a stable or positive stock price. Looking at tech stocks and it’s hard to find an example where I feel the hiring was a good thing.

andsoitis 4y ago

> Between 2020-2022 I literally conducted over 200 interviews for my previous employer. it sounds like you knew at the time that it was a mistake to hire this much and you were part of the interview processes. did you ever speak up, tried to make a case that it is the wrong move?

IshKebab 4y ago
This sounds like a typical HN accusatory comment. "It sounds like you should have dropped everything to solve whatever issues you have. Did you? No? Well it's your fault then." Pretty similar to the stupid "did you submit a PR?" response to literally any issue with open source software. Maybe you didn't mean it like that but that's what it sounds like.
anon7725 4y ago
Lmfao. Do you know how hiring works at a large company? When your management chain has won a few headcount marbles during this quarter’s game of Hungry Hungry Hippos, it’s not in your interest to blithely challenge them on it.
icedchai 4y ago
That would likely be a career limiting move. I remember the dot-com bubble days. We'd hire like mad... literally anyone who could spell HTML or PHP. There was no reason to speak up. We didn't know the gravy train was going to be over in a couple of years.
bastardoperator 4y ago
I might think this way if this was my first rodeo. When executives allocate money for hiring I assume they've put some thought into it with data outside my immediate view. You think I should be questioning executives? Most of us are out here just trying to survive and making C titles look bad in public is how you get fired immediately.
- sokoloff 4y ago
  There’s a middle ground between saying nothing and making them look bad in public. Talk privately to your director/VP. Ask questions. You don’t even have to come right and say you think they’re wrong, but showing interest in the direction and financial health of t the company is unlikely to hurt you in any way.
  - bastardoperator 4y ago
    Nope, I expect the people making these decisions who are responsible (and paid extremely well) for the financial health of the company to be doing an exhaustive due diligence when it comes to budget. The only real question is do any of these executives take responsibility for their actions. That question has ultimately been answered over the past couple of weeks so why bother asking...
    - sokoloff 4y ago
      We are doing due diligence, but it can never be exhaustive; the single best source of qualitative information is from talking to people who are closest to the work and then trying to synthesize a view of reality from the multiple points of view expressed. You’re not under any obligation and can keep your head down if you like. I can see the spreadsheets with perfect clarity. I need to marry that data with the more complex and hard-to-get view of the elephant that can only from the people who are working with/on it every day.