How to Lay Off Your Developers the Right Way

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/web/620559733.html

by edw519 • 18 years ago

118 21 18 years ago

washingtondc.craigslist.org

mixmax• 18 years ago

This is great recruitment tactics if he ever needs to hire in the future. The word of something like that gets around.

Wow, this gives me a lot of hope in humanity. I'd be mad/sad if I was fired, but knowing that people are looking out for your ass once they drop you really says something about the integrity of that person.

Kudos to the boss, and I hope the ex-employees find some work. :D

parker• 18 years ago

I've seen people get culled with a tap on the shoulder and a littany of basic platitudes. Seeing something like this really makes me believe in the decency of people.

wallflower• 18 years ago

My friends who are managers say it is one of the most difficult things to do as a manager - tell someone they are being let go. "You're not a manager until you have to do that"

Some managers disassociate with the actual task - by acting very remote

dd7199773f• 18 years ago

I agree: developing a strong relationship with coworkers in every direction is highly important, and this is a stunning example!

edw519• 18 years ago

It wasn't just THAT he did this or WHAT he said. It was HOW he said it. I feel like I practically know these 3 people already.

You can't make this stuff up.

tonyvt2005• 18 years ago

That's awesome. I live near Herndon VA and if I was hiring I'd definitely give those guys a look.

Tichy• 18 years ago

"they may not survive a long commute"

That makes them sound VERY old and frail. Other than that, nice touch.

xirium• 18 years ago

Coding, telecommute, 9AM start. Choose any two.

icky• 18 years ago

Wait a sec... Telecommute makes possible the 9AM start...

Xichekolas• 18 years ago

So if I start at 9am from home I don't have to do any coding?

Sign me up for that job.

kschrader• 18 years ago

It would be interesting to see if these guys actually get work from this. It's a nice thing to do, but if you're hiring people you still are going to need a lot more information than this.

dreish• 18 years ago

As someone who is trying to hire a really good Perl programmer right now, I can almost guarantee you they will (if they're actually as good as the ad promises). I'm more worried about competing with the other offers I expect they'll get.

mynameishere• 18 years ago

I had a manager write a recommendation for me once. It was an embarrassing mischaracterization, and I never used it, since I couldn't live up to it.

On the other hand, at least I didn't get called a "geek" or "code monkey".

iamelgringo• 18 years ago

I don't understand why managers don't do stuff like this more often. Good people are always in demand, and if you must get rid of people, then do it in a way that they'd want to work for you again in a heartbeat.

And not to mention, someone should hire the guy who just posted that listing to Craigslist. Really. That's the kind of guy that you want to wrangle your engineers. (Code Monkey and Geek comments aside).

albertcardona• 18 years ago

"I don't understand why managers don't do stuff like this more often."

Because it requires insight and to put in extra effort -what is commonly known as traveling the extra mile- which most people simply lack.

a-priori• 18 years ago

It requires -- dare I say it? -- humanity.

mtts• 18 years ago

Commendable as this is: it's of course a lot easier for employees you think highly of than employees you dislike or with whom things simply didn't work out:

"I'm letting go Bob. Bob is an ok coder, but it didn't really work out with him. Bob is more interested in trying out new tricks than in writing solid, maintainable code. He's also arrogant and won't listen to a word you say, even when you're trying to tell him what the specifications for the project are."

Who'd want to do that?

brentr• 18 years ago

It's certainly a lot better than the result I got when I was told by KeyBank that I was being laid off: "Here's your HR rep. She will work with you to help you find placement within another department."

Little did I know that "She will work with you," means she will never contact you and thus you will be forced to move halfway across the country to find a job that is nowhere near what you used to do. She sure did manage to help me find work in another department, albeit at a different company.

byrneseyeview• 18 years ago

This is pretty schmaltzy. Nice, if true.

michjeanty• 18 years ago

If a startup is thinking about laying its developpers, it should do it fast. If you're going to make mistakes, make it as fast as possible. However, a startup should always prevent mistakes. Don't hire developers, software engineers, scientists, CEOs, CTOs unless you're sure the person is an evangelist of your business. An early startup should never hire to fire.

How to Lay Off Your Developers the Right Way

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