
How to Lay Off Your Developers the Right Way  - edw519
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/web/620559733.html
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edw519
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.

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iamelgringo
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).

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albertcardona
"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.

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a-priori
It requires -- dare I say it? -- _humanity_.

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

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parker
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.

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wallflower
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

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mtts
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?

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JulianMontez
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

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mynameishere
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".

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brentr
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.

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kschrader
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.

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dreish
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.

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Tichy
"they may not survive a long commute"

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

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

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icky
Wait a sec... Telecommute makes _possible_ the 9AM start...

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dd7199773f
I agree: developing a strong relationship with coworkers in every direction is
highly important, and this is a stunning example!

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tonyvt2005
That's awesome. I live near Herndon VA and if I was hiring I'd definitely give
those guys a look.

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byrneseyeview
This is pretty schmaltzy. Nice, if true.

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michjeanty
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.

