5 ms·

10 steps to take before you get laid off

34 points by mathewgj 18y ago

astine 18y ago
#10 is my favorite. Anyway, I think most of the list is good advice in general, even if you aren't planning on getting laid off. It basically boils down to: keeping your skills up and maintaining your contacts. It's who you know and what you know.
- aaronblohowiak 18y ago
  Actually, it is better to start a new job than to be worried about being layed off from the one you already have =D
lallysingh 18y ago
The title's funnier if you remove the last word.
- river_styx 18y ago
  That list wouldn't be nearly as useful for this particular demographic, though.
  - eru 18y ago
    You'd better prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime event.
ardit33 18y ago
"it’s easier to keep a job than find one. We’re hearing about companies cutting 25% or 33% of their headcount. That means you need to be in the top 67% or 75% to avoid a pink slip. Other than an entire plant, division or office closure, the decisions about whom to keep and whom to let go are based on performance, salary and redundancy of position." Unfortunately this is not always true. I have seen two really good developers loosing theirs jobs recently. If you are paid too well, then you are in the x-ross if layoffs come. While your manager might appreciate your skills, some hire management just views you as a cost, and really Don"T realise that some people are better in order of magnitudes. When that spreadsheet comes, it is ordered by salary, and the top people are the first to be scrutinized, even though they good performers, and worth the money, they might get the axe. Unfair, but this is how it is.
- gaius 18y ago
  Layoffs are almost never personal, esp. not in large companies. The decision to lay people off and how many is made at a level well above caring about the performance of any individual. The HR department decides who gets the chop, and they don't care about your performance either; they care about the company not getting sued, basically their only objective is that when the dust settles the company has a plausible gender/race/whatever balance and no-one's claiming unfair dismissal. If a company starts laying off then you want to get out of there while there's still the cash to pay a decent severance package, because the writing's on the wall.
- GrandMasterBirt 18y ago
  I happen to be one of those. After I left my manager left to a different team, and my most senior member got promoted. He actually offered to try and get my job back at a 30% salary increase because I was too damn useful to get laid off (with a hefty severence). Fortunately for me I had another job and I actually wanted to stay at that one (I liked the old job quite a bit, but I didn't trust the company enough to even consider going back). I ended up with a large bonus and a shiny new job with a higher pay. So I ended up on top :). Its skill and mainly lots of luck. So polish your luck skills! How? I duno but damnit you need to do it! In any case, to upper management you are a number, to the people who know you, if you are good then your value is known, but to upper management you are a title and a salary. Unless the CEO knows you by name management does not know about how great you are, what you did, and how much they are going to miss you. Unfortunately not all companies have you, your manager, his manager, and the CEO. At some point its you, your manager, his manager, his manager's manager, (go 4 more levels up), CEO. And after his manager's manager nobody will know you, about you, or anything good/bad you did. This is especially true when you have a team of ALL excellent developers (I was fortunate) and they have to lay a few off.
flashgordon 18y ago
Actually I liked #3 quiet a bit. "Start a blog that contains at least 50% professional material" I think atleast in a technical field that really shows what you are passionate about.
- srn 18y ago
  Does anyone have suggestions for a good place to host if you don't feel like doing it yourself?
  - cschneid 18y ago
    Do it yourself. Dreamhost + One click WP install == working wordpress. You don't even have to ever log into the terminal. Plus having your own domain name makes you look more professional.
rokhayakebe 18y ago
#3. I don't "really" have one. But one can feel free to check my HN profile and you'll know what interests me (submissions), what I think of most issues (comments) and also how I react to criticism or when someone offends me (troll). All in there buddy.
biohacker42 18y ago
A modest proposal: No more top 10 or 10 steps or whatever pithy articles on HN. P.S. I am only slightly more serious about this then eatin' babies.
time_management 18y ago
#11. Make friends at your current job-- as many as possible, preferably with some being "diagonal-up" (e.g. not your boss, but at a higher level). Bonus points if they are unlikely to be cut. You will need them as references if your boss gives you a bad one (which you should check 3-5 weeks after being laid off, using a professional ref-checking service). Friends from the old company are not just potential references, but also possible co-founders or recruits at the new job. #12. Move all your side projects onto off-work computers, and try to make sure that they're deleted from your work machines nightly and automatically. (Of course, this is not the time to do something moronic, so only delete true side projects, e.g. things that the company doesn't know or care about but that you still need to unambiguously own for future purposes.) #13. This one applies mainly to large companies. In good economic times, you want to make yourself as replaceable and obsolete as possible (write well-documented, easy-to-follow code) so you can move on to more interesting projects and, if laid off, leave on good terms to a better job. In bad economic times, try to make yourself irreplaceable, even if that means making your code difficult to use. If you feel the need to be unethical, you can hide time-delay bugs. At worst, you'll be asked to train someone else in the technology and offered a severance package in order to do it, which is better than being let go cold.
- gruseom 18y ago
  In bad economic times, try to make yourself irreplaceable, even if that means making your code difficult to use. If you feel the need to be unethical, you can hide time-delay bugs. Wow. What this sort of thing does to your soul is far worse than being laid off. Anyone who believes that they need a job more than they need integrity or self-respect has some work to do, and some fears to face. And making code obscure on purpose is unethical, and ethics that fluctuate with economic conditions aren't ethics to begin with. Edit: For a different perspective, I ran this by a couple of guys where I'm working. One of them offered a more succinct response: "Maybe if you did a good job, they'd keep you, [expletive deleted]."
  - time_management 18y ago
    I made an error in using the phrase "in bad economic times". Economic conditions are actually fairly irrelevant, because one can be in a positive career situation despite a terrible economy, and vice versa. I meant to say "in a bad career situation" and, specifically, a truly terrible one. I know people who've been put in the humiliating position of being outsourced, while being expected to train the cheaply-hired replacements. That's the sort of situation in which obfuscation, in the hope of having, at least, the option to come on later as a consultant, may be an appropriate strategy. Why is it unethical? It's not nice, but it's not nice either (though not unethical) for the company to fire all the American staff and replace them with overseas workers at 1/3 of the cost. So I'll back down from "in bad economic times" because, really, obfuscation only makes sense in rare and outright terrible situations. I've never needed to do it, never done it, and I don't even know how often it works. What I'll say is this: I've known people who've been laid off recently, and one of the warning signs is when they are asked to suddenly place a high priority on clarifying previous work, and it's definitely not in their interest to do so.
mchang16 18y ago
#11 - Take advantage of your health and dental insurance. If you haven't gone to the doctor or the dentist in awhile, or if you have an appointment that you should make in the coming months - make it now!
GrandMasterBirt 18y ago
Work out??? Oh no no no no no. If you get hired because you look good, either you are incompetent (work out and do it man) or you should not take the job. ALL jobs I interviewed for dug deep within my brain to get a taste of my problem solving skills and knowledge of programming. Good people skills help, if you can get along with the interviewers (a few laughs to ease the tension) then you have a better shot than someone else, but that's where it ends. If it is a choice between a weak candidate who looks good, is fun, and has a ton of linked in buddies, or a strong candidate who is worse at all of the above, I doubt the pretty face is going to get the job.
- nostrademons 18y ago
  What if the choice is between a strong candidate who looks good, is fun, and has a ton of linked in buddies, or a strong candidate who doesn't?
- eoyola 18y ago
  You seem defensive. Don't you believe it's better to be physically fit and energetic than not, or do you argue that fitness and health is truly irrelevant to your role as an employee? You could suppose that there is an unfair cognitive bias at work (see /beauty premium/) which could favor one candidate over the other. But think about how an interviewer would consider the physically fit you versus the physically unfit you. This is the real point, not how you compare to someone else.

34 points by mathewgj 18y ago

#10 is my favorite. Anyway, I think most of the list is good advice in general, even if you aren't planning on getting laid off. It basically boils down to: keeping your skills up and maintaining your contacts. It's who you know and what you know.

aaronblohowiak 18y ago
Actually, it is better to start a new job than to be worried about being layed off from the one you already have =D

lallysingh 18y ago

The title's funnier if you remove the last word.

river_styx 18y ago
That list wouldn't be nearly as useful for this particular demographic, though.
- eru 18y ago
  You'd better prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime event.

ardit33 18y ago

"it’s easier to keep a job than find one. We’re hearing about companies cutting 25% or 33% of their headcount. That means you need to be in the top 67% or 75% to avoid a pink slip. Other than an entire plant, division or office closure, the decisions about whom to keep and whom to let go are based on performance, salary and redundancy of position." Unfortunately this is not always true. I have seen two really good developers loosing theirs jobs recently. If you are paid too well, then you are in the x-ross if layoffs come. While your manager might appreciate your skills, some hire management just views you as a cost, and really Don"T realise that some people are better in order of magnitudes. When that spreadsheet comes, it is ordered by salary, and the top people are the first to be scrutinized, even though they good performers, and worth the money, they might get the axe. Unfair, but this is how it is.

gaius 18y ago
Layoffs are almost never personal, esp. not in large companies. The decision to lay people off and how many is made at a level well above caring about the performance of any individual. The HR department decides who gets the chop, and they don't care about your performance either; they care about the company not getting sued, basically their only objective is that when the dust settles the company has a plausible gender/race/whatever balance and no-one's claiming unfair dismissal. If a company starts laying off then you want to get out of there while there's still the cash to pay a decent severance package, because the writing's on the wall.
GrandMasterBirt 18y ago
I happen to be one of those. After I left my manager left to a different team, and my most senior member got promoted. He actually offered to try and get my job back at a 30% salary increase because I was too damn useful to get laid off (with a hefty severence). Fortunately for me I had another job and I actually wanted to stay at that one (I liked the old job quite a bit, but I didn't trust the company enough to even consider going back). I ended up with a large bonus and a shiny new job with a higher pay. So I ended up on top :). Its skill and mainly lots of luck. So polish your luck skills! How? I duno but damnit you need to do it! In any case, to upper management you are a number, to the people who know you, if you are good then your value is known, but to upper management you are a title and a salary. Unless the CEO knows you by name management does not know about how great you are, what you did, and how much they are going to miss you. Unfortunately not all companies have you, your manager, his manager, and the CEO. At some point its you, your manager, his manager, his manager's manager, (go 4 more levels up), CEO. And after his manager's manager nobody will know you, about you, or anything good/bad you did. This is especially true when you have a team of ALL excellent developers (I was fortunate) and they have to lay a few off.

flashgordon 18y ago

Actually I liked #3 quiet a bit. "Start a blog that contains at least 50% professional material" I think atleast in a technical field that really shows what you are passionate about.

srn 18y ago
Does anyone have suggestions for a good place to host if you don't feel like doing it yourself?
- cschneid 18y ago
  Do it yourself. Dreamhost + One click WP install == working wordpress. You don't even have to ever log into the terminal. Plus having your own domain name makes you look more professional.

rokhayakebe 18y ago

#3. I don't "really" have one. But one can feel free to check my HN profile and you'll know what interests me (submissions), what I think of most issues (comments) and also how I react to criticism or when someone offends me (troll). All in there buddy.

biohacker42 18y ago

A modest proposal: No more top 10 or 10 steps or whatever pithy articles on HN. P.S. I am only slightly more serious about this then eatin' babies.

time_management 18y ago

#11. Make friends at your current job-- as many as possible, preferably with some being "diagonal-up" (e.g. not your boss, but at a higher level). Bonus points if they are unlikely to be cut. You will need them as references if your boss gives you a bad one (which you should check 3-5 weeks after being laid off, using a professional ref-checking service). Friends from the old company are not just potential references, but also possible co-founders or recruits at the new job. #12. Move all your side projects onto off-work computers, and try to make sure that they're deleted from your work machines nightly and automatically. (Of course, this is not the time to do something moronic, so only delete true side projects, e.g. things that the company doesn't know or care about but that you still need to unambiguously own for future purposes.) #13. This one applies mainly to large companies. In good economic times, you want to make yourself as replaceable and obsolete as possible (write well-documented, easy-to-follow code) so you can move on to more interesting projects and, if laid off, leave on good terms to a better job. In bad economic times, try to make yourself irreplaceable, even if that means making your code difficult to use. If you feel the need to be unethical, you can hide time-delay bugs. At worst, you'll be asked to train someone else in the technology and offered a severance package in order to do it, which is better than being let go cold.

gruseom 18y ago
In bad economic times, try to make yourself irreplaceable, even if that means making your code difficult to use. If you feel the need to be unethical, you can hide time-delay bugs. Wow. What this sort of thing does to your soul is far worse than being laid off. Anyone who believes that they need a job more than they need integrity or self-respect has some work to do, and some fears to face. And making code obscure on purpose is unethical, and ethics that fluctuate with economic conditions aren't ethics to begin with. Edit: For a different perspective, I ran this by a couple of guys where I'm working. One of them offered a more succinct response: "Maybe if you did a good job, they'd keep you, [expletive deleted]."
- time_management 18y ago
  I made an error in using the phrase "in bad economic times". Economic conditions are actually fairly irrelevant, because one can be in a positive career situation despite a terrible economy, and vice versa. I meant to say "in a bad career situation" and, specifically, a truly terrible one. I know people who've been put in the humiliating position of being outsourced, while being expected to train the cheaply-hired replacements. That's the sort of situation in which obfuscation, in the hope of having, at least, the option to come on later as a consultant, may be an appropriate strategy. Why is it unethical? It's not nice, but it's not nice either (though not unethical) for the company to fire all the American staff and replace them with overseas workers at 1/3 of the cost. So I'll back down from "in bad economic times" because, really, obfuscation only makes sense in rare and outright terrible situations. I've never needed to do it, never done it, and I don't even know how often it works. What I'll say is this: I've known people who've been laid off recently, and one of the warning signs is when they are asked to suddenly place a high priority on clarifying previous work, and it's definitely not in their interest to do so.

mchang16 18y ago

#11 - Take advantage of your health and dental insurance. If you haven't gone to the doctor or the dentist in awhile, or if you have an appointment that you should make in the coming months - make it now!

GrandMasterBirt 18y ago

Work out??? Oh no no no no no. If you get hired because you look good, either you are incompetent (work out and do it man) or you should not take the job. ALL jobs I interviewed for dug deep within my brain to get a taste of my problem solving skills and knowledge of programming. Good people skills help, if you can get along with the interviewers (a few laughs to ease the tension) then you have a better shot than someone else, but that's where it ends. If it is a choice between a weak candidate who looks good, is fun, and has a ton of linked in buddies, or a strong candidate who is worse at all of the above, I doubt the pretty face is going to get the job.

nostrademons 18y ago
What if the choice is between a strong candidate who looks good, is fun, and has a ton of linked in buddies, or a strong candidate who doesn't?
eoyola 18y ago
You seem defensive. Don't you believe it's better to be physically fit and energetic than not, or do you argue that fitness and health is truly irrelevant to your role as an employee? You could suppose that there is an unfair cognitive bias at work (see /beauty premium/) which could favor one candidate over the other. But think about how an interviewer would consider the physically fit you versus the physically unfit you. This is the real point, not how you compare to someone else.