Ask HN: My employer has about two months of runway left. What shoud I do now?

22 points by FinalBriefing 3 years ago | 30 comments

I'm a frontend developer working at a small company. The company has only a few months of funding left. After that, the product I'm working on may go into a "maintenance mode" with a skeleton crew (best case scenario). There is still a (slim) chance that the company will be purchased, but those talks have been going on for several months, and not much has come from it.

What should I be doing now to prepare, both for myself and whatever happens to the company once I'm gone?

I have been selectively applying to jobs, but I'm not 100% ready to leave yet. It's a nice job with little stress (aside from, you know, the company folding...). On one hand, it would be nice to ride out the next few months, then start applying to jobs once I'm on unemployment (never been on unemployment before, but I've got enough saving to last a while). On the other hand, a lot of tech companies I would want to work for have reduced their hiring, and I don't know what next year will look like. Should I be jumping ship as quickly as possible?

At the company, I've offered to review coworkers' resumes, and encouraged our junior devs to start applying now.

Not sure what else I can do, but any advice from people who have been in a similar situation would be appreciated.

Thanks!

jdileo 3 years ago |

Most important thing you've said is that "....chance that company will be purchased, but those talks have been going on for several months...."

**Never, ever, ever become more committed to a startup than the founders are. A startup warrants devotion and continued work only when leadership is demonstrably committed to victory.

Pls immediately begin pursuit of finding a position that thrills you!

WheelsAtLarge 3 years ago | |

Yup, the company might get purchased and you get laid off the next day because they need to trim costs. Or they only want the assets. Or whatever...

Start looking for a new job.

codingdave 3 years ago |

Focus less on now, and more on 5+ years from now.

If you leave and it does sell, would that be a regret? If you stay and it fails to sell and you are unemployed for a couple months... is that going to feel like it was harmful to you when you picture yourself in 2027 with this being 5 years ago?

The short-term advice is always going to be to jump from the sinking ship, but if there is one thing I've learned in this industry it is that no matter how much your current work and decisions feel important today... there will be a day in the future when it is just a memory of some gig you once had. Make your decisions based on how you want to feel on that day when looking back.

FinalBriefing 3 years ago | |

Good perspective.

Yea, if I were out of the job for a month or two, it will not effect me much in the future.

commandlinefan 3 years ago |

I was in the same situation around the end of 2017. The company was struggling, but the checks were still clearing, so I hung on, hoping for the best. We actually did get sold, but the new owners immediately shut us down (to this day I can't think of any rational explanation for why they would have done that). I found out the week before thanksgiving that I was unemployed, effective immediately.

There was a very small severance package, and I had some vested RSUs which, somehow, actually had some value (they didn't accelerate my unvested RSUs, which I thought was kind of lousy of them). I did collect unemployment for about a month before I landed the job I have now.

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience, even job-hunting leading into Christmas time. It was the first time I'd ever been unemployed and the first time I'd had 100% of my time to dedicate to searching for a job rather than having to figure out how to schedule interviews around my existing employment. OTOH, I had a pretty in-demand skillset, so it didn't take long to find something. I think it would have gotten really uncomfortable if I'd still been out of work six months later.

yawnxyz 3 years ago |

After I got laid off, being unemployed was the best thing to happen to my mental health — I just backpacked everywhere for a few months, and built a lot of longer-term perspective on my life.

Getting away from the perpetual "oh god I don't have a stable income" fear, even after having worked in tech for many years and accruing plenty of savings, was the absolute hardest thing in my life (it's definitely privilege to have those savings, but I never FELT that privilege; I always felt one month away from falling off a financial cliff).

(I ended up jumping into bootstrapping products/dabbling in founding startups, then "leaving" tech into clinical work as a research software engineer).

przefur 3 years ago | |

There is a common saying in my social circle (europe, data engineering) - 'being fired is the best thing that can happen to you', the market is still hot, plenty of jobs available, you often end up with a severance package and ... you'll finally have time to backpack through the country. Having a month for yourself, just to chill, do hobbies, backpack, mountains sometimes is a blessing.

FinalBriefing 3 years ago | |

That's what I'm looking forward to, actually.

joshxyz 3 years ago | |

a road less traveled, but one that im grateful with. sure life will become unstable, but hell it comes with freedom to take a break and try other things.

throwaway4993 3 years ago |

Assuming you are in the US.

Something to keep in mind is that 2 months is going to land you right in the middle of the holiday season. Companies slow down significantly around this time of year. People are on vacation and budgets are getting worked out for the following year so things generally take longer. You're also likely to see less job openings and traction for interviews in general. If you run into it, don't let it get you down. Recognize that things will likely swing back to full throttle during the first few months of the new year.

Best of luck with whatever path you choose. Switching jobs can be a stressful but hopefully you find something fast.

browningstreet 3 years ago |

It's easier to get a job while you're employed than when you're no longer employed. Start looking now, in earnest. It can still take 4-8 weeks from first contact to a new job start date.

Dirak 3 years ago |

Depending on how successful your job searching is going, you should be able to negotiate offers with a postponed start date (say, 3 months in the future after your company folds). A proper job search can last one or two months, so your timing is great to start now.

Job searching while unemployed can be nice, but it's better to be safer than sorry and have a future job lined up.

Another thing to keep in mind is that not many companies hire during the holidays, so the best window you'll have to conduct your job search is now. Otherwise you're likely going to likely have to wait until January to begin job searching.

icedchai 3 years ago |

I've been in a similar situation during better economic times. I stayed aboard a sinking ship for too long, since I had helped the founder recruit the initial development team, talked with the early investors, etc. I was too attached. After another down round, the company eventually was sold for a pittance and all the employees got zero. If you have less than 6 months of cash in the bank, collapse is imminent. Get out now.

jiveturkey 3 years ago |

> but I'm not 100% ready to leave yet.

You're living in the past.

It's normal for this kind of thing to go right down to the wire, but it's also normal for startups to fail (90% roughly fail; the numbers vary (a lot) by stage of the company). In a "buyer's market", you made a bet so you should see it through, and if it goes under you just get a new job.

But in today's market, I don't know. Layoffs are in the news, because they are news. Hiring freezes are rampant. But the unemployment rate is fine. So ... I just don't know! What I'd do just from that POV is make a list of top 10 or even top 20 companies I want to work for, and see how many of them are actually hiring. If that number is 75% or more, stick it out just a bit longer. 50% or less, start an aggressive job search.

Besides layoffs being newsworthy, VC funding amounts are down 53% YoY. So being this close to the end of runway and not having something lined up is not promising. But maybe you aren't part of the inner circle and know what's going on with funding.

There is a huge personal risk tolerance factor as input to your decision. To me that's the biggest factor and isn't answerable.

warriormonk5 3 years ago |

Unless you are involved in that sale discussion or otherwise have a retention bonus I wouldn't go down with the ship.

bergenty 3 years ago | |

Why? Sounds like a comfy few months that you get paid during and then can get unemployment for a few more while you look for your next position.

The real question OP is asking is the job market going to be bad in a few months.

kalupa 3 years ago | | |

With the announcement or announcement of announcements of layoffs at bigger organizations seems to indicate it might not be. But if OP isn't looking for a FAANG job, then they'll probably be fine. My employer, who I don't represent here and so won't mention, is currently looking for positions to fill, so layoffs from FAANG is often to our benefit.

brudgers 3 years ago |

[random internet idea]

If sale of the company is your best upside, then it might make sense to apply to the potential buying company.

I mean if the company sells, you’ll probably be interviewed before the new owners hire, if the new owners are interested in keeping you on.

And they might not be since delaying a purchase only increases the likelihood people like you will jump ship…and because aquihires usually focus on the principals first and valued employees third.

Good luck.

mindcrime 3 years ago |

Depends on your tolerance for risk and your savings / expenses scenario, etc. Personally I hate being unemployed, even briefly, and in a scenario like that I'd probably start planning my exit now. But that's just a reflection of my personality and approach to things. Not saying this is the objectively Correct Way To Do Things.

theGnuMe 3 years ago |

Get another job lined up and push out the start date. You want multiple offers anyway to leverage them against each other.

tacostakohashi 3 years ago | |

I think this is the right answer. Even without pushing out the start date, it can easily be 1-2 months or more between applying and a start date, with various online tests, multiple rounds of interviews, background checks, etc, etc.

That being the case, I'd be applying now, and moving through the pipeline with a few possibilities, so there is something ready to go/push out in 2 months.

Move37 3 years ago |

I would ask myself if the company you work for will go bust 100% or not.

If it does, than seek an open conversation with the founders.

Also, how big is the company and do you hold shares? All things that play into a decision like that I'd say.

IlPeach 3 years ago |

Like others have pointed out: it's not your company, stop acting like it is. The fact you have spent and dedicated so much time to it doesn't change this fact.

"Sorry for your loss, move on."

jollyllama 3 years ago |

If I were you, I would start looking for work at an consistently profitable firm, ideally with low amounts of debt (especially if the debt is in adjustable rather than fixed rates).

FinalBriefing 3 years ago | |

Agreed. I like smaller companies, but I'd like something that will last for more than two years...

jollyllama 3 years ago | | |

FWIW, I followed my own advice earlier this year, in at least one respect. I left my previous job for other reasons, however.

crmd 3 years ago |

I would stay if i had savings, ie personal runway. The only reason not to stay is if you think the job market will severely soften between now and the end of your runway.

joanfihu 3 years ago |

Don’t rage quit but start looking for your dream job. Take yer time

freedude 3 years ago |

If the writing is on the wall then the wise heed the warning.

too_bad_123 3 years ago |

You should immediately start looking for a job, and leave.