# 8 Hard Truths I Learned When I Got Laid Off From My SWE Job  ## Metadata - Author: [[Steven Buccini]] - Full Title: 8 Hard Truths I Learned When I Got Laid Off From My SWE Job - Category: #articles - URL: https://www.stevenbuccini.com/8-hard-truths-on-getting-laid-off ## Overview An article about [[Career Advice]] / [[Personal Career]] / [[Programming as a career]], and what to do when asking for help after a layoff. ## Highlights - That being said, there’s nothing wrong with making a strong, specific ask to folks who offer assistance. Just be sure to set your expectations properly (i.e. at zero). Examples of concrete asks that I found helpful in my search: • “Can you send me five companies you would work for right now? Could you include some thoughts on why you think they’re so interesting?” • “Do you need a surge in engineering capacity to get that big project out the door? If so, could I come on as a contractor?” • “My goal is to push one feature to my open-source project a week. Can you call me every two weeks to check in and hold me accountable?” • “I know you’re really into machine learning. Could you buy me your favorite book on the subject if I promise you I’ll read it cover to cover?” • “I am interviewing at $YC_STARTUP and am really excited about it. Do you mind backchanneling with the founder/lead investor on my behalf ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gncza2rk6pazk8peg78fej00)) - finally, Hard Truth #8: You’ll learn more from getting laid off then you did at your job ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gncze7f6g7nx45bw2vabzbdw)) - The instantaneous switch from “buried by work” to “I can’t do work on those things even if I wanted to” allows folks to analyze their day-to-day work in a clinical manner. It leads to subconscious reactions like, “I really wish I was able to launch that product, it would have changed the entire market” or “I guess this means I don’t have to do performance evaluations now, thank goodness”. For me, these insights occur regularly; they are just drowned out by the constant drumbeat of work. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnczertdex9vyx6pkq31ax4e))