A long-serving developer has shared an emotional account of being laid off after more than five years at the same company. Posting on Reddit, they described joining the firm when it was just three people in a small startup and working closely alongside the CEO.
“Today marks the end of my 5.5 year journey at my company as a developer. After all of these years building the company alongside the CEO when we were just three people in a small startup, I’ve been laid off,” he wrote.
Mixed Emotions and Uncertain Future
The developer admitted the news was difficult to process. “It’s tough, and honestly, I’m still not believing it. I still have a final meeting with the CEO to wrap things up. I should talk a lot in it, of all things. Yes, I was tired sometimes and even considered leaving. But I had decided to stay until I found the right next opportunity. This hits differently since I’ve been loyal to a company for so long and it ends like this,” he added.
They acknowledged that the job market is challenging. “I know that the job market is tough, and the search process is very exhausting. But, I don’t want to lose hope, still it’s disturbing and I have mixed feeling about it.”
Community Responds With Advice and Perspective
Other Reddit users weighed in with their thoughts. One commented, “I’ll guess you don’t have equity in the company? If thats the case then all you’ve been is a hired gun. Equity is Loyalty. You’ll be fine, the next gig will be better than you would expect. I’ve used these times to learn technologies I always wanted to know but never had the time.”
A second user offered empathy and practical advice: “First of all sorry for your loss. And it is a loss, it takes a little time to ‘get used’ to such a life changing event. And job searching the last 2.5 years (and maybe more) has been rough, there is no sugarcoating it. It happened to me roughly 10 months ago (Sep, 18 2024) and it sucked, and that with somewhat expecting it. It still affects me.”
They also shared job-hunting tips, from adding “Core Competencies” to resumes to being prepared for hundreds of applications and considering a pay cut if needed. “I wont lie i was very fortunate, I was out of work for 3 months, and found a new job, and I am over 50, so it is possible. Hopefully that helps,” the comment concluded.