Startup is going under, what to do now

Question

The startup I&rsquo;m working at now does not have much runway left after working here for almost 4 years, it seems likely that we will not get more funding and that will be that sometime in the next 6 months.I&rsquo;m pretty nervous about finding a job as a SWE in todays job market when that happens, and I almost feel a little embarrassed applying to places with a startup no one has heard of that failed being the most recent thing on my resume. I also feel like my technical skills have become more rusty since I&rsquo;ve been at this company because of all the corners we have needed to cut to move quickly and try to get to PMF (for example I have written about 5 unit tests since joining the company)I have worked at a couple of other larger non FAANG companies as a SWE before moving to my current position, so I&rsquo;m hoping that helps but am wondering if anyone has advice on what the best thing to do I&rsquo;m my position would be. I have begun studying for interviews again but have a limited about of time I can spend on this during the week because of work.

codegeek · Accepted Answer

"little embarrassed applying to places with a startup no one has heard of that failed"Don't do this. You worked at a startup which went under and this is expected based on stats (95% of startups fail etc). Be proud of what you learned over 4 years there. The brand or name doesn't matter. If you solved real problems and 4 years is a decent amount of time, any startup would appreciate it.

palidanx · Answer

Funny you say this, because I actually cite my failed start-ups when talking about my resume when chatting with bigger companies. It provides a uniqueness that you are a risk taker and you should use that narrative to your advantage to stick out separately from other candidates who may have a more traditional background.

PaulHoule · Answer

In the US at least I think people understand (even outside the startup culture) that if you’ve worked for a few startups you have worked for at least one that went under and there is no shame in that.
I would not feel so bad about not writing unit tests, that is a common sin, and I have also seen places that wrote tests but didn’t attain a positive balance of costs and benefits thanks to test-drive design deformation, waiting waiting waiting for tests to finish running and other problems. The person who suffered through the latter and never got any insight into it scares me more.
Your tough decision has to do with timing. “Big Tech” and some firms have been laying off lately but I think right now most normal firms are still hiring. You would be competing with those people but I see many of them are self-funding startups that might be your next employer. VCs are pulling back, particularly from late stage boondoggles like Uber, but there has to be a rush for A.I. startups right now.
The Fed is still struggling with inflation and may feel the need to raise interest rates more and it is possible (though not certain) that the general economy will be much worse in six months. If you believe that, you might feel a since of urgency to get your next job now.
Myself if I was expecting a job hunt in 6 months to 6 years I would get into side projects and blogging, that can get recruiters calling such that you don’t have to deal with the ‘meat market’ aspects of sending applications, struggling with interviews, etc.

yuppie_scum · Answer

No employer cares about what the company was that you used to work at, they only care what skills/experience/accomplishments you have made there. Don&rsquo;t be embarrassed.Just get the resume spiffed up. Unless the perfect opportunity arises, I would see if you could wait it out and take a severance/unemployment so you can put 100% of your focus into your job search rather than dealing with your day job and job hunt simultaneously.

itronitron · Answer

I'd recommend applying to the postings on HN's Who's Hiring thread, especially if you can talk with the founder. Since they will gain value from hearing of your past four year's experience that might be a good opportunity to showcase your fit, since you have been in the startup trenches very recently.

rhelz · Answer

Procrastination is not going to make anything easier. You have nothing to gain by waiting around for something to happen.Good news is that the job market is still incredibly tight by historical standards. A job search is never the funnest thing to do, but you'll probably be pleasantly surprised and how many companies take an interest in you.