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Ask HN: Losing my job soon, what would you do?

Hi, I'm losing my FAANG software engineer job at the end of April, due to RTO (I am not willing to relocate due to family reasons). I'm not really sad, because I wanted to leave anyway. (I was hoping I get laid off but didn't happen) However, I've been looking for another job for more than a month now (many-many applications), and didn't land anything yet. Seems like the job market is really bad right now, I barely get any interviews. I have savings to survive for 2 months, if I start doing Uber regularly then maybe I can extend it to 3-4 months. Apart from starting a new career at McDonald's, what would you do in this situation?

crop_rotation 3y ago
It depends a lot on what country you are in, and what job level you worked at. Reach out to your connections and see if there is an opening somewhere. I doubt you will have to resort to a new career at McDonalds, or even a non tech job. But without being more specific it is impossible to give applicable advice other than abstract ideas which sound good but might be useless.
- throwaway12354 3y ago
  Senior level, 11+ years experience, Canada, Toronto area.
  - crop_rotation 3y ago
    In that case, you should have some director level contacts from your past connections. Reach out to such folks in senior management level positions and I think your chances of getting an opening would be much higher.
linguae 3y ago
Given the tough job market, if your family situation allows and if you haven't been let go from your job already, then what I'd do in your situation is to look into some temporary accommodations within commute distance to the office so that way you can keep working. It sucks, especially if you're forced to return to a Bay Area office with the extremely high rents in the area, but because you only have two months of runway, it is better to deal with the costs of being closer to the office while still having a job than to risk running out of runway and still be on the job hunt, and it's not likely that a McDonald's job will cover your living expenses.
- throwaway12354 3y ago
  Yeah the problem is I'm in the Toronto area. I thought about renting AirBnB or going to hotels for those 2 nights I would have to spend in Toronto every week, but prices in Toronto are insane. I would pay the same amount of money for 4*2 nights in Toronto that I pay for a 4 bedroom house in my city for a month. This is my plan Z, but I can't do this for very long.
sarcasmatwork 3y ago
Sending applications and not hearing back does not mean the job market is bad. Maybe it's your application, resume, experience or the timing etc. Does any of the listing of jobs here look good for you? It took 4 months for a fortune 100 company to get back to me to say the job was no longer available. I was already working for them in another job. Good luck.
- throwaway12354 3y ago
  Yes I thought about that, I got my resume reviewed with a recruiter friend, also with an online service, I got some small feedbacks but overall they said my resume is good. > Does any of the listing of jobs here look good for you? By "here" you mean on HN? Yes I applied to a bunch, but it's hard to find someone who is hiring in Canada remotely. Most are hiring in US only (even the remote positions). I'm actively using this site: https://hnhiring.com/ https://hnhiring.com/
dnissley 3y ago
What does your local job market look like?

crop_rotation 3y ago

It depends a lot on what country you are in, and what job level you worked at. Reach out to your connections and see if there is an opening somewhere. I doubt you will have to resort to a new career at McDonalds, or even a non tech job. But without being more specific it is impossible to give applicable advice other than abstract ideas which sound good but might be useless.

throwaway12354 3y ago
Senior level, 11+ years experience, Canada, Toronto area.
- crop_rotation 3y ago
  In that case, you should have some director level contacts from your past connections. Reach out to such folks in senior management level positions and I think your chances of getting an opening would be much higher.

linguae 3y ago

Given the tough job market, if your family situation allows and if you haven't been let go from your job already, then what I'd do in your situation is to look into some temporary accommodations within commute distance to the office so that way you can keep working. It sucks, especially if you're forced to return to a Bay Area office with the extremely high rents in the area, but because you only have two months of runway, it is better to deal with the costs of being closer to the office while still having a job than to risk running out of runway and still be on the job hunt, and it's not likely that a McDonald's job will cover your living expenses.

throwaway12354 3y ago
Yeah the problem is I'm in the Toronto area. I thought about renting AirBnB or going to hotels for those 2 nights I would have to spend in Toronto every week, but prices in Toronto are insane. I would pay the same amount of money for 4*2 nights in Toronto that I pay for a 4 bedroom house in my city for a month. This is my plan Z, but I can't do this for very long.

sarcasmatwork 3y ago

Sending applications and not hearing back does not mean the job market is bad. Maybe it's your application, resume, experience or the timing etc. Does any of the listing of jobs here look good for you? It took 4 months for a fortune 100 company to get back to me to say the job was no longer available. I was already working for them in another job. Good luck.

throwaway12354 3y ago
Yes I thought about that, I got my resume reviewed with a recruiter friend, also with an online service, I got some small feedbacks but overall they said my resume is good. > Does any of the listing of jobs here look good for you? By "here" you mean on HN? Yes I applied to a bunch, but it's hard to find someone who is hiring in Canada remotely. Most are hiring in US only (even the remote positions). I'm actively using this site: https://hnhiring.com/ https://hnhiring.com/

dnissley 3y ago

What does your local job market look like?