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Forgive me, but I'm a little confused by the structure of your blog post. You take us from an understandable point A (being laid off b/c your employer closed sh

Forgive me, but I'm a little confused by the structure of your blog post. You take us from an understandable point A (being laid off b/c your employer closed shop) to a strange point B (a list of fairly restrictive requirements for your next job). I don't get how B follows from A. That structure is basically "I just got laid off, and now I'm not looking to relocate to find a new job, but I am looking for an even better one with more money." I know you don't intend to come off that way, but to the casual reader, you sort of do. The more interesting post, IMO, would have attempted to mine some insights from the experience. I mean, shit, man, you were hired into what sounds like an awesome job, and then had to leave 6 weeks later. Six weeks! That's a story in and of itself. What has that experience taught you? What has it taught you about the nature of jobs, about the job market, about startups, about the developer's life, about yourself? And how does all of that lead into what you're looking for in a new job? You're in a very unfortunate situation, and that sucks, and I hope you land an awesome new gig soon. You're a smart and hardworking guy. But we need insights from these sorts of experiences, because they're probably not as uncommon as we might imagine. Your experience could, theoretically, happen to anyone here. So what would you take from it that you feel we need to know?

gnufied 13y ago
I do not understand why B has to follow A. You are also assuming he is in a unfortunate situation somehow, But knowing him (as a fellow Rubyist) I think he will have at least 10-15 offers sitting in his Inbox right now. I don't know why you find points he has laid out as "strange" as well,But I think it is a disservice to yourself as a programmer if you are going to settle for anything else. For example: 1. Can't relocate -> fair enough, it is hard to relocate if you have families. I have one of our smartest programmer working with us remotely. 2.My next job will not be a contract -> It should be self-evident. Contract workers are second class citizens. 3.My next job will stretch me -> Can you argue with this one? Daniel Pink in his book "Drive" argue the very same points. I can go on, but will stop. And oh good luck Ernie (Your contributions to Rails are much appreciated).
- emiller829 13y ago
  Thanks for the kind words!
- jonnathanson 13y ago
  I'm not disagreeing with any of that, and I use "unfortunate" in the sympathetic sense of the word, i.e., that it's certainly unfortunate to get started -- and, from the sound of it, love -- a new job, only to have that job disappear 6 weeks later. That's unfortunate, regardless of whom it happens to, and regardless of how quickly the person (Ernie or otherwise) can recover from it. I apologize if my post came off as harsh on Ernie. That wasn't the intent. But the reason I feel B doesn't follow from A is that there's kind of a missing intermediate step. The story I was hoping for was "A: the company went under," "B: Here's what I've learned from the situation," "C: Here's why I need these things from my next job." Instead, we sort of skip that middle section, and we're left without a lot of the wisdom and perspective I'm sure a guy as capable and introspective as Ernie could have given us. "I don't know why you find points he has laid out as "strange" as well" I don't find his requirements strange in the least. If anything, they feel perfectly rational. My issue is with the general structure of his post, not the particulars of it. By skipping the "middle step," he risks coming across a in way he probably didn't intend to.
emiller829 13y ago
I'm really sorry that is your takeaway: Re: money -- I tried very hard to avoid coming off that way. I am very discriminating in the kinds of jobs I take, and as I've regularly spoken about, it's not about the money. The money description is drawing on past experience. FWIW: I never think I am worth what I'm paid. I'm a classic case of impostor syndrome. As for the main takeaway, it is that being unemployed will give me, for the first time ever, a clear look at how employable (or not) I am. That is a valuable thing, to me.
- jonnathanson 13y ago
  "As for the main takeaway, it is that being unemployed will give me, for the first time ever, a clear look at how employable (or not) I am. That is a valuable thing, to me." Totally fair, and hey, best of luck to you. I'm sorry if I came across as overly harsh. In general I liked your post; I want to be clear about that. I was just kind of bummed you didn't go into a bit more detail about what funemployment means in perspective. I guess that's my way of saying that you sort of whet my appetite with an interesting subject and a compelling story, but that I wish it had been a bit longer in certain parts.
jacalata 13y ago
I think you must have glossed over the bit where he said "Based on the number of contacts I've received in the past day," [I've realised I can pick and choose my next position and here is what I'm looking for]
- jonnathanson 13y ago
  Even still, that's not a lesson being shared. That's just a "hey, a setback happened, but at least I'll be fine." It's a compelling situation left somewhat unexamined. I'm sure Ernie will be fine; he's talented and hardworking. But this particular scenario was a strange one, and I'd have loved to get more insight into what he felt about it all. I understand if he doesn't feel comfortable disclosing some of the particulars -- but I'd have loved to have seen some deeper/lengthier mining for wisdom. You don't hear everyday about a guy who gets hired into a new job, then the company closes down 6 weeks into it. That's a fascinating opportunity for insight. I just wish it were explored a bit further before leaping into the "here's what I want from my next job" section. For example: how will what he's learned here apply to what he finds next? What if he gets all of his desired characteristics in the next job, but something similar happens? Etc.
  - emiller829 13y ago
    I might write more on the subject at a later time. For now, I'm a bit more (hopefully understandably so) focused on lining up discussions about what's next. :)
    - jonnathanson 13y ago
      Totally understandable! Best of luck to you, and thanks for sharing this piece.

gnufied 13y ago

I do not understand why B has to follow A. You are also assuming he is in a unfortunate situation somehow, But knowing him (as a fellow Rubyist) I think he will have at least 10-15 offers sitting in his Inbox right now. I don't know why you find points he has laid out as "strange" as well,But I think it is a disservice to yourself as a programmer if you are going to settle for anything else. For example: 1. Can't relocate -> fair enough, it is hard to relocate if you have families. I have one of our smartest programmer working with us remotely. 2.My next job will not be a contract -> It should be self-evident. Contract workers are second class citizens. 3.My next job will stretch me -> Can you argue with this one? Daniel Pink in his book "Drive" argue the very same points. I can go on, but will stop. And oh good luck Ernie (Your contributions to Rails are much appreciated).

emiller829 13y ago
Thanks for the kind words!
jonnathanson 13y ago
I'm not disagreeing with any of that, and I use "unfortunate" in the sympathetic sense of the word, i.e., that it's certainly unfortunate to get started -- and, from the sound of it, love -- a new job, only to have that job disappear 6 weeks later. That's unfortunate, regardless of whom it happens to, and regardless of how quickly the person (Ernie or otherwise) can recover from it. I apologize if my post came off as harsh on Ernie. That wasn't the intent. But the reason I feel B doesn't follow from A is that there's kind of a missing intermediate step. The story I was hoping for was "A: the company went under," "B: Here's what I've learned from the situation," "C: Here's why I need these things from my next job." Instead, we sort of skip that middle section, and we're left without a lot of the wisdom and perspective I'm sure a guy as capable and introspective as Ernie could have given us. "I don't know why you find points he has laid out as "strange" as well" I don't find his requirements strange in the least. If anything, they feel perfectly rational. My issue is with the general structure of his post, not the particulars of it. By skipping the "middle step," he risks coming across a in way he probably didn't intend to.

emiller829 13y ago

I'm really sorry that is your takeaway: Re: money -- I tried very hard to avoid coming off that way. I am very discriminating in the kinds of jobs I take, and as I've regularly spoken about, it's not about the money. The money description is drawing on past experience. FWIW: I never think I am worth what I'm paid. I'm a classic case of impostor syndrome. As for the main takeaway, it is that being unemployed will give me, for the first time ever, a clear look at how employable (or not) I am. That is a valuable thing, to me.

jonnathanson 13y ago
"As for the main takeaway, it is that being unemployed will give me, for the first time ever, a clear look at how employable (or not) I am. That is a valuable thing, to me." Totally fair, and hey, best of luck to you. I'm sorry if I came across as overly harsh. In general I liked your post; I want to be clear about that. I was just kind of bummed you didn't go into a bit more detail about what funemployment means in perspective. I guess that's my way of saying that you sort of whet my appetite with an interesting subject and a compelling story, but that I wish it had been a bit longer in certain parts.

jacalata 13y ago

I think you must have glossed over the bit where he said "Based on the number of contacts I've received in the past day," [I've realised I can pick and choose my next position and here is what I'm looking for]

jonnathanson 13y ago
Even still, that's not a lesson being shared. That's just a "hey, a setback happened, but at least I'll be fine." It's a compelling situation left somewhat unexamined. I'm sure Ernie will be fine; he's talented and hardworking. But this particular scenario was a strange one, and I'd have loved to get more insight into what he felt about it all. I understand if he doesn't feel comfortable disclosing some of the particulars -- but I'd have loved to have seen some deeper/lengthier mining for wisdom. You don't hear everyday about a guy who gets hired into a new job, then the company closes down 6 weeks into it. That's a fascinating opportunity for insight. I just wish it were explored a bit further before leaping into the "here's what I want from my next job" section. For example: how will what he's learned here apply to what he finds next? What if he gets all of his desired characteristics in the next job, but something similar happens? Etc.
- emiller829 13y ago
  I might write more on the subject at a later time. For now, I'm a bit more (hopefully understandably so) focused on lining up discussions about what's next. :)
  - jonnathanson 13y ago
    Totally understandable! Best of luck to you, and thanks for sharing this piece.