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I've never heard of being laid off as being looked down upon. Firing, sure, but not laid off. That's beyond your control and is a business decision. If your com

by pstack 15y ago

I've never heard of being laid off as being looked down upon. Firing, sure, but not laid off. That's beyond your control and is a business decision. If your company wipes out an entire product because of some acquisition or poor executive "vision" and decides they need to wipe out two thirds of your division, that's hardly your fault. And if they have a habit of favoring seniority, then it's even less a comment on you.

georgieporgie 15y ago
I've never heard of being laid off as being looked down upon. You must exist on a different Internet and reality from me. :-) Not that long ago, there was an article on HN about an internal hiring consultant (I think) telling someone that if you don't currently have a job, don't bother applying. I've heard project managers yammer on about how companies use layoffs to get rid of their least productive employees. In a down economy, when HR is faced with a flood of resumes, they start looking for simple things which give the appearance of objectivity and wisdom, which arbitrarily reduce their pile of resumes. 'Currently employed' becomes one of these criteria.
- ARobotics 15y ago
  Add me to your other reality too. I have never heard of anyone being judged negatively for being laid off. Just about everyone understands that there may be great people laid off when an entire division/product/org gets cut or a company shrinks substantially. If you're referencing the same article(s) I've read recently, it wasn't "if you don't currently have a job, don't bother applying" it was "if someone has been unemployed for over a year, there is probably a reason". It wasn't a negative judgment on being laid off, it was making the assumption that a long period of unemployment was a signal that the person may not be very hard working or talented or whatever, and with many candidates to choose from that signal could be a deciding factor.

by pstack 15y ago

georgieporgie 15y ago

I've never heard of being laid off as being looked down upon. You must exist on a different Internet and reality from me. :-) Not that long ago, there was an article on HN about an internal hiring consultant (I think) telling someone that if you don't currently have a job, don't bother applying. I've heard project managers yammer on about how companies use layoffs to get rid of their least productive employees. In a down economy, when HR is faced with a flood of resumes, they start looking for simple things which give the appearance of objectivity and wisdom, which arbitrarily reduce their pile of resumes. 'Currently employed' becomes one of these criteria.

ARobotics 15y ago
Add me to your other reality too. I have never heard of anyone being judged negatively for being laid off. Just about everyone understands that there may be great people laid off when an entire division/product/org gets cut or a company shrinks substantially. If you're referencing the same article(s) I've read recently, it wasn't "if you don't currently have a job, don't bother applying" it was "if someone has been unemployed for over a year, there is probably a reason". It wasn't a negative judgment on being laid off, it was making the assumption that a long period of unemployment was a signal that the person may not be very hard working or talented or whatever, and with many candidates to choose from that signal could be a deciding factor.