I accepted a position at a start up around three months ago. This company was located in New York and I was located in California. They mentioned that I could work remotely for now but I would eventually have to move out to New York. I was okay with this, as I always dreamed of working in New York.
They had me work as a contract worker for the first month to see if I was a good fit. Once that passed they hired me full time, and I worked remotely for around a month and a half, then moved out to NYC last week. However, just this Friday they told me that I was laid off, they said it had something to do on their end. This was totally out of the blue and I didn’t believe them at first. At the office the day before we were talking about how I would get a week off for Christmas.
I’m in a total panic right now. I’m in a city I don’t know without a job and I have about 5 weeks to find a new position or I have to move back in with my parents in California. I’m not even sure if I should include it on my resume, as having only worked three months at my first job might look bad.
The job market for tech is so rough right now I’m terrified. I’m really hoping for any advice on how to go about this, what should I do?
Include this position on your resume. Reach out to people within the company to help spread the word that you’re looking for employment. They said that it was their fault so hold them to it and have them help you get a job. Work on your LinkedIn profile, apply for unemployment, work on your resume, work on yourself. I recommend watching ALifeAfterLayoff’s YouTube channel.
Thank you. One of the engineers said he would write me a recommendation on LinkedIn. I’ve already applied for unemployment. I’m thinking of pursuing a AWS Solutions Architect.
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have a beer or other liquor based frosty beverage
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update your resume
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go over your new references list
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work out a few generic cover letters
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start looking for work monday.
a year from now you will look back at this moment of time wistfully and wish you took up oil painting in Tuscany. but seek and thee shall find.
you will be fine.
It will be questioned, but you have a good explanation. The tricky part is explaining it elegantly. Hiring managers kinda glance at resumes so you should add a sentence at the end explaining that you were let off due to internal company reasons. You should also try and get a letter from the company explaining that it wasn’t for performance reasons. Even better would be to get letters of recommendation from your coworkers and manager. Hopefully they’ll be extra nice to you due to your situation, but you need to be proactive about it.
I recall there being laws in place to protect people in your position. Since you had to move across the country to remain employed and they let you go after you did so, you might be entitled to money or your job to some extent. Sorry, I have no idea the name of such laws or any source, but if I were you I’d look this up on the side because it could mean sustaining you out there while you get situated.
It’s a contract thing called detrimental reliance. As I understand it, basically you relied on a promise to do something only in the event the promise was upheld then it wasn’t. It wouldn’t hurt to speak to a lawyer for a consultation. I doubt you’d get the job back, but they could be liable for the damages caused by moving.
