
Ask HN: Should I move back to previous employer? - adviceseeker_
tl;dr Employer announced layoffs while previous employer offering me to come back. Seeking advice on whether I should go back or not?<p>I work in silicon valley for one of the reputed employer who recently announced plans for layoffs. The things are still very uncertain as there is no visibility on which departments and how many people are affected by the company&#x27;s decision. In short, I don&#x27;t know if I will be laid off or working for the same company in next couple of weeks. I just finished first half year at this employer.<p>Hearing the news, my previous employer contacted me offering the role back in company. The position (technologies, background etc) at both places is similar. I have listed points about both companies in terms of opportunities, salary, perks and working hours etc below.<p>Opportunity
Current company is reputed brand name in silicon valley and there are lots of smart people around me. I have been focussing on single project at a time and learning curve is very shallow. Whereas, the previous company is a startup where I have freedom to work on anything I want and learning curve is pretty steep.<p>Perks
No doubt the current company has best perks in the valley.<p>No. of working hours
My current job is typical 9 to 6 whereas in previous company it varied anywhere from 8am to 8pm.<p>Salary
I had almost 50% rise + stock benefits when I joined this company. The previous employer might give me ~30% rise of my base package in old company plus some stock options.<p>I need your guidance in deciding whether I should stay at current employer for things to become more clear about layoffs or I should move on and go back to previous employer. Or take out some time and look for new opportunities in tech market (as it&#x27;s not a bad time in market to be laid off).<p>Thanks a lot in advance.
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greenyoda
You'd be making a much more rational decision if you knew whether you were
actually being laid off from your current job.

Can you wait a couple of weeks until you find out whether your current company
has actually laid you off? If your old employer really wants you back, it
shouldn't really make a huge difference to them to wait a few weeks. On the
other hand, if they're pressuring you to make a decision about coming back
before you even know that you've been laid off, they'd seem to be working
against your interests.

In any case, if you're currently working for that company with the bird logo,
it probably won't be hard for you to find another job if they lay you off.

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pavornyoh
This^^^^^ is very solid advice from @greenyoda.

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boulos
I assume you work at Twitter. The nytimes articles seem to suggest this is
going to be announced this week, so you can certainly wait that long to at
least find out.

That said, I think you might be asking: "should I wait to know if I'm laid
off, or should I return to my previous job?".

What motivated you to leave your previous job at the startup? Compensation? If
so, then your previous employer clearly believes you are likely to be laid off
but would love to have you back, so there's no "loss" in waiting to find out,
in case you're concerned about being in a weaker negotiating position. But
whatever that original motivation, it applies just as much today: there are
plenty of big tech companies that would likely hire you.

So, what's drawing you back to your previous startup? If you went, what would
keep you there?

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tiredwired
Sometimes you get a cool severence package when you are laid-off. $ * #of
years at the job and other benefits. The people that stay get nothing but more
work.

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boulos
OP has worked there less than a year. Any severance is likely to be minimal,
but who knows maybe a month or two of pay if lucky.

