
Accelerated interviews for fired employees - nabraham
http://www.layoff-aid.com/
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nabraham
A friend of mine was laid off ([https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/disqus-lays-
off-11-as-it-p...](https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/disqus-lays-off-11-as-it-
plans-a-deeper-focus-on-data/)). He spent time interviewing for a new job and
found that it sucked. Companies move super slowly because recruiting/hr
expects candidates to move slowly because of job and limited time. So he's
finding candidates and companies willing to move fast.

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adamstober
Founder here. We don't deal with fired. We connect people from SF startups
affected by layoffs with local startups that can hire quickly. Getting laid
off != getting fired. Recruiters want our candidates, but don't otherwise know
how to snag them.

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wayn3
whats the difference? regarding laid off/fired.

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redmattred
Being fired is usually the result of poor performance from the employee or
violating company policies.

Being laid off happens when the company is performing poorly and isn't
necessarily any fault of the individual employees.

~~~
wayn3
and whats the difference? how can you tell layoffs and firings apart?

~~~
adamstober
Thank you for asking. We Googled "layoffs vs firing", and got the following
from Susan P. Joyce on Job-Hunt.org:

"Being laid off is NOT the same as being fired because it is not considered to
be the fault of the employee. It is, actually, the fault of the employer. A
layoff is often called a "reduction in force" or "down-sizing." ... This is
often the reason that more highly-paid employees seem to be on the layoff
candidate list."

Here's an article from Jan 2016 listing many VC-backed startups that laid
employees off: [https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/08/burn-slower-or-
vaporize/](https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/08/burn-slower-or-vaporize/)

Here's a newer article from this year that also lists different VC-backed
startups that laid people off: [https://venturebeat.com/2017/01/14/early-
layoffs-and-closure...](https://venturebeat.com/2017/01/14/early-layoffs-and-
closures-in-2017-suggest-a-rocky-year-ahead-for-tech-industry/)

All the while, the tech scene and general economy have been _growing_. Layoffs
in tech are a byproduct of the accelerated lifecycle of VC-fueled startups,
leaving unsuspecting employees to unexpectedly look for a new job without
having one, wasting valuable time and earning potential.

Existing job-search processes usually take months from kickoff to signing, as
it takes time to both find the right fit and move through a company's various
interview steps. Our platform will address the first problem by broadly
circulating candidates to hiring startups that want to know about newly-
available talent, and we address the second problem by incentivizing employers
to compete on speed of interview process. If they don't, they'll simply lose
these local, experienced candidates to some other firm.

Layoff-Aid only accepts candidates affected by layoffs from SF tech startups.

Let me know how I can clarify further.

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DrScump
Unless a company is shutting down, the first to be laid off are (or are
_perceived to be by upper management_ ) "poor performers".

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adamstober
Would love to learn from data if you have any to back that up. From what we've
seen, top reasons that determine who gets laid off include those who: 1) get
paid well (the layoff is a desperate cost-cutting measure) 2) are randomly
selected (the company is acknowledging that layoffs are not performance-
related) 3) either got hired most recently or have most tenure (an attempt to
reward longtime employees or respect those who just joined)

~~~
adamstober
There's also the "entire department" (often post-acquisition) rationale. In
any case, your perception is pretty common, and that creates a hiring
opportunity for savvy recruiters who know better and don't pre-judge.

~~~
adamstober
Here's today's example of an "entire department" layoff at SoundCloud:
[https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/06/soundcloud-the-youtube-
for...](https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/06/soundcloud-the-youtube-for-audio-
cuts-173-jobs-closes-san-francisco-london-offices/)

