got the mail at 9.07 am. laptop locked at 9.15. efficient.
Sneha Kulkarni@laidoff_not_out
Contents
tuesday. 9.07 am. subject line: "an important update about your role". 600 of us got the same email. town hall link at 10. slack deactivated at 9.15. i was in the middle of reviewing a PR. i hope someone merged it. it was a good PR.
six years of frontend at a quick commerce unicorn. react, typescript, a design system i built mostly by myself. eight minutes.
not our office. ours had more beanbags and fewer windows. but this is what it felt like at 9.15.
it's day 4 now and i've stopped staring at the wall long enough to write down what i wish someone had told me on day 1. this is for india, because that's what i know.
if you are reading this while still employed
download these to your personal drive. today. i couldn't, because 8 minutes.
- last 12 payslips
- form 16 for previous years
- offer letter, appraisal letters, any promotion letters
- your UAN number
first 48 hours checklist
- get everything in writing from HR. severance amount, notice pay, leave encashment, gratuity (i had 6 years so i'm eligible, check yours), last working day, full and final settlement date.
- health insurance. group cover ends on your last day. ask the insurer about porting to an individual policy, there's a window for it. if anyone in your family is mid-treatment, do this first.
- ESOPs. ask what's vested and how long you have to exercise. read the actual document, not the slack message.
- PF. check your passbook on the EPFO portal. do not withdraw it in panic. you'll transfer it later.
- relieving letter and experience letter. ask for the date in writing. your next BGV needs them.
- calculate runway. mine: about ₹7.8 lakh savings, ₹65k a month expenses including rent. 12 months. 14 with severance. i wrote this number on a post-it. it helps more than i expected.
- tell people individually. not one big linkedin post (ok, also the linkedin post). message 30 people one by one. "hey, i got laid off, i'm looking for frontend roles, react/ts, bengaluru or remote. if you hear of anything, think of me." most replied. some sent leads within hours.
- sleep. i'm not doing this one yet. i'll let you know.
open to referrals and leads. frontend, react/ts, bengaluru or remote.
not open to "everything happens for a reason".
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Comments
Sign in to join the conversation.
Sign in to commentAnkit Khurana@faang_or_bust
this sucks, sorry. if you want a referral at my company dm me, frontend team is hiring 2 people. not joking
Sneha Kulkarni@laidoff_not_out
...thank you? genuinely did not expect this from you of all people. dming.
Rohit Verma@rohit_codes
Sneha ye checklist bahut kaam ka hai. ek add karna: notice pay aur severance ka breakup email pe maango, verbal nahi. aur PF bilkul mat nikalna abhi. take care 🙏
Kunal Bhatia@kunal_dsa
Sorry Sneha. If you go back to DSA for interviews, I'm happy to review your prep plan every weekend. No charge, obviously.
Kenji Tanabe@kenjitanabe
Six months into this myself. Two things that helped: a fixed daily schedule (I start "work" at 9 even with no job) and counting applications so progress is visible. The first two weeks are the worst. It does get more manageable.
Renee Whitfield@renee_em
I'm sorry. 600 people in one email is not a decision anyone should be proud of. If you'd like, I'm happy to look at your resume. Some US remote teams hire frontend engineers in India.
Divya Ramanathan@divya_ramanathan
From a Chennai EM: add "ask your manager for a LinkedIn recommendation in the first week, while they still feel bad about it." Sounds cynical, works every time. Take care of yourself.
박지우@jiwoo_front
so sorry... 9.07 to 9.15, eight minutes for six years. please rest some days before you start again
Omkar Joshi@omkar_java
Sorry tai. Our company is hiring React people for a UK banking client. I know, service company, but the pay is decent and they need people who can start fast. Will DM details if you want.
Sneha Kulkarni@laidoff_not_out
omkar please send. i'm not in a position to be picky and honestly never was.
Priya Rawat@priya_tests
QA from a different unicorn, our round was in may. the insurance porting point is so important. my mother's treatment was half way through when our group cover ended. please check this people
Nikhil Sharan@nikhil_twopointers
Sorry to read this. Six years of React is real experience and the right team will see it. When you restart DSA, start with arrays and hashing for a week, not graphs. Confidence first.
Vikram Iyer@vikram_on_h1b
Sorry Sneha. At least there's no 60-day visa clock on top of it. Here if you need someone to vent to.