Cover photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
Well, I'm not proud to say that I got fired two weeks ago. It was the hardest thing that could happened to me because I loved that company, but at the same time, I realized that I was too comfortable and felt like my job would last forever.
After two years working for a clothes store e-commerce, my skills in React grew exponentially. I learned a lot of stuff because it was my first huge project, working along with a lot of people with higher seniority and experience, it was pleasant to experience a lot of real problems that can come in a business and get rid of them, but then in my final days I realized that I was being like a robot just writing code and not understanding it at all, I was like in a rabbit hole for several months, then suddenly the business started to having budget problems, and guess what? we got laid off :)
It's important to say that I was working for an IT consultant, so it didn't seem a big deal, because when a project comes to an end, you just need to find a new one and in the process, the company still pays your salary even though you are not being "productive" for them. The problem came when you also needed to take some interviews to see if they could ensure you're the best fit for the project, this means that is exactly like looking for a job outside, with the difference that you still get paid.
I got a reality hit when I arrived at my first interview after two years and I just got in blank with basic Javascript questions! I felt so dumb at that moment, how could be possible to forget how the event loop works? or asynchronism? some basic stuff. The thing ended awful and obviously, I didn't get the project, and I realized how important is not to take things for granted! even though you are developing the most complex stuff in the world, it is important to go back to the basics from time to time.
And if that was not enough, the industry now demands a lot of full-stack engineers! I have worked with PHP in the past, but it was in my beginnings doing "spaghetti code" all the way, then I jumped to Laravel without knowing too much about how PHP works behind the hood. Then I created a basic API with Node.js for my final project at university by just following a short course in a platform without knowing what was I doing, if it works it works, right? That was all the background I have for Backend development and for obvious reasons I didn't feel secure about my knowledge. So in my way to increase my tech stack, I spent a month and a half trying to learn Angular due to a lack of React projects, and also a bit of Node.js and looking for suitable projects, but then suddenly I got an HR call telling me that it was being hard to set me in a project, and they cannot afford to keeping me without being "productive" and... I got fired...
And now here I am, after about a week of being a bit depressed for losing my dream job, and another week to seek my next job, right now the industry is leaning toward full-stack development; React, Redux, Node.js & AWS are the most common stack I've seen through LinkedIn, at least the opportunities here in Mexico 🇲🇽
So, the whole point of this post is to take out in public what I have inside my chest because it makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and gives me motivation to keep going and compromise with this community (even though nobody reads me for the moment lol xD) to grow my tech stack and be the Software Engineer I always wanted to be. I feel like this is the perfect and emotive start for my #30DaysOfCode with Node.js which I found is critical for my career, so starting tomorrow I will post every day (Maybe skipping Sundays because everybody needs to rest) my learning process of Node.js from a Frontend developer's perspective, and hopefully, to get a job soon because I can only survive 5 months until I have to sleep under a bridge or end up in the streets.
I'm excited and happy though 🤩 Let me know in the comments if you guys have been through a similar situation and how you managed to succeed and find the light after the storm!
Come and connect with me (in Spanish) on Twitter/X: @juandadotdev
Top comments (52)
Fall in love with your work but never with your organization. You are just a resource for them and can be replaced anytime. Wishing you the best
Well said. I think that’s the correct approach and mentality to have when you are employed. Work with a good heart and love your job, but not really your company especially if you are an employee.
Best advise I've heard all week. Everyone needs to hear this...not just developers and engineers!
I'm going to barrow this wisdom,l like sharing!!!!
Agree, I take this as a daily reminder from now on :)
Im not agree with this advise. The organization may not good enough in this case, but this provide a environment where you can study, practive and have some connection with orther guy work in your dreamwork.
Be happy when you can learn something guy.
Wish I could give a thousand likes
Best advice I've heard. This apply for all kinds of job even!
NO! You were not fired, your skillset was simply no longer needed by that company. You didn't make any mistakes, you didn't damage or steal, your skillset is just not needed anymore, not you personally.
Never, ever take it personal, that's the worst thing to do. A redundancy is simply that your skillset is no longer required and unfortunately there is no longer a position that requires your skills. It's not about you, it's about their business.
Just remember that somewhere out there right now there are dozens if not hundreds of jobs being set up right now, one of which you will ace the interview and get, when you accept that fact it's just nowhere near as bad as it seems.
Stay lucky!
Your comment helped me to change my mindset about this, thank you very much for this! I totally agree
I'm sorry you're going through this, Juanda, but I'm really impressed with your resilience, positivity, and willingness to go back and learn things. I bet you'll bounce back stronger than before and I'm looking forward to hearing about it when you land your next dream job!
I always think of my fellow blue badger who got laid off from Microsoft, Barnacules Microsoft laid me off after 15 years of service & it's time to adapt!.
In my own experience, the first time you get laid off, it's very traumatic. The second time... not really a big deal.
I think it depends on how far they are apart! I was laid off the first time in 1999, the second time in 2003, the third time (a forced resignation) in 2004, and then the fourth time in 2005. Then for the 18 years since then, no layoffs.
If I was laid off right now, I'd probably be pretty traumatized!
I'm sure I will laugh in my next laid-off lol
This breaks my heart. I'm so sorry you have to go through this.
I totally understand that depression, it's all too real!!
But with your can-do attritide and resilience, I'm sure you can make it!
I'm rooting for you. All the best!! ❤️❤️
The honesty and self-awareness in this blog post is exceptional and something I commend a lot! Good luck finding a new opportunity and keep your head up!
This is super good. I have been there and experienced this firsthand:
I got a reality hit when I arrived at my first interview after two years and I just got in blank with basic Javascript questions! I felt so dumb at that moment, how could be possible to forget how the event loop works? or asynchronism? some basic stuff. The thing ended awful and obviously, I didn't get the project, and I realized how important is not to take things for granted! even though you are developing the most complex stuff in the world, it is important to go back to the basics from time to time.
I really hope that you land something really good in near future.
Wishing you all the best.
Working and interviewing are separate skills, you don't need to train for your work, you do it every day, but if you go longer than a year without interviewing you loose the reflexes. I have been at my last job for 6 years and had to interview again since August and it was a thing.
To me, having worked as a hiring manager gave me a lot of advantage in knowing the kind of signals the other person would be looking for.
I wish you a lot of luck.
Node and React are everywhere nowadays, I hope you don't have a hard time getting up to date.
It's great that you're staying positive and working on improving your skills, and that you have some savings to back you up! Five months is a long time if you use it well. Hopefully you're starting to apply for new jobs already, I wouldn't recommend waiting until you feel you're learned enough, that's a neverending journey. Good luck!
Didn't take the time to see all the comments because I was busy, but I love to see all your support and advice on this post, thank you very much, this is a supportive community and I never thought that this post would reach to one of the tops in the weekly newsletter. It is hard but I'm eager to keep working on myself and my abilities very hard, I don't want to give up in this industry yet 💪🏻 Thank you all!
Hi Juanda,
Really sorry for what happened to you.
I'm from France where I work as an IT consultant for 25 years now. Things might be quite different here that in Mexico but something disturb me in your story.
Do we agree that the e-commerce store pays your company for you working for them for 2 years ?
In France, for 100 € a client pays my company for my work, 30 € are taxes, 30 € are my salary and 30 € are for my company.
The very important point here is : what does my company do for me in regard to these 30 € it took from my work.
And one part of the answer is that you are supervised by a senior consultant, or a manager, or HR or peers in order for you to stay relevant on the market. So your company is (partly) responsible for the skills you keep up-to-date regarding the job offers it is able to conclude. Your company has to train you with new technologies or extend your skills to new frontiers.
Your company has to animate a technical curiosity among you and your peers, in order for you to keep a pace in your technical track.
Thank you for sharing, I am in somewhat of a similar position myself. It's different actually but not different. I don't have a solution for you. I don't even have one for myself. All that to say, you aren't alone and don't feel like you are! The night is always darkest before the dawn!
I thought that I would retire from NCR; I enjoyed the work and the coworkers. But after 14 years, I was laid off. The year before, my wife1 was laid off after 13 years. After that experience, my wife and I practiced "paycheck diversity"2. After that experience, I didn't get emotionally attached to future employers.
My advice: Keep your resume and LinkedIn profile3 always up to date; LinkedIn has the Open for work setting. GitHub4 has the "Available for hire" setting in the Public Profile group settings. I'm retired now, so I don't use those options.
There is only one start date that I remember, February 14, 1977. I didn't realize that I'd meet my future wife at NCR. There were easily over a dozen married couples employed at that NCR location. ↩
At another employer, I was on the elevator with another coworker and his wife. He asked what my wife did. I answered "Computer support". He replied "Why don't you get her to apply here?" I answered "Paycheck diversity." I saw him mouth the words, then he replied "Gotcha." ↩
LinkedIn: Ralph Hightower ↩
GitHub: RalphHightower ↩
Wow, thanks a lot for sharing this story Ralph! I'm happy to say that I'm not alone in this, I'm not yet married, but living with my girlfriend, and although she is starting her career and her salary isn't enough to keep our lifestyle (mostly because of the expensive rent in the city) I feel very supported by her. Looking forward to learning more of this "paycheck diversity" stuff.
Quite simply, "paycheck diversity" means both are not employed by the same employer.
About the 'I became blank' don't be so hard on yourself.
A simple revision regime will fix this issue. Hope you make/made simple notes
check out codevolution's core Node.js playlist (2023 one). It really helped me. Since most other courses talk about app development (express, databases) and not core Node.
Yes, indeed. I just had to read again the concepts and realize that I could understand all of this even better than before!