Laid off –> solo founder. Do I look like I'm trying to hide something?

My philosophy is that you should do what you want to do today, instead of doing something you don’t want to do because of a hypothetical future repercussion.

Could this harm future employability? Maybe. But what’s the alternative, work a job you don’t want to maybe have a better chance of working another job you also don’t want in the future? Personally, that’s not the way I’d like to conduct my life. Opinions differ on this, and that’s OK. Everyone has different priorities.

If you’re happy working on your own project, I think that’s fantastic. To me, that’s more important than optimising for a unknown future.

Nah, that won’t hurt anything unless one of your future employers requirements include low personal initiative and extremely high risk aversion.

I strongly recommend following your passions and interests above all other considerations. Just be sure to set your projects up for fast, clean failure if they aren’t viable, nothing wastes more time than failing to violently pivot when needed. Learn what you came to learn and if it isn’t financially sustainable, apply your new knowledge to the next project.

You won’t spend your sunset years wishing you had done less of the things you wanted to do. Regret is the real enemy, discomfort and struggle are stepping stones.

My$.02 as an oldster with 40+ years mostly self entertained in tech with a lot of failures and a few successes in the rearview. The only things I regret are some risks not taken, tbh.

If I have advice that I think missing could nuke your chances of success in life it would be:

Establish a point of retreat in an inexpensive place to live. A home of your own, somewhere in the world, where the cost of living is very low. It should be an economical and simple home with low maintenance requirements, in a place that brings you a sense of serenity. Being able to duck out and work on something without having to worry about significant costs has been critical to my freedom to choose my destiny. That and having a partner that is not adverse to adversity in the name of advancement, if you choose to have a life partner.

Best of fortune with your project!

Having been down this path before, my experience is that you have nothing to worry about.

I did have it come up once on a background check after accepting a job offer, because I had listed my startup on my résumé (but it no longer existed). The background check company asked for incorporation papers or a business license in lieu of paystubs, and was satisfied when I provided them.

A city or county business license is typically under $100/year and can be obtained as a sole proprietor if you're not yet ready to form a corporation or LLC but want a paper trail of when you started the company.

File an LLC for yourself. Give it a normal name. Add it to your resume if you ever need one again (and maybe you won't!). Gives whatever time you spent doing or not doing something more authenticity.

I did what you're asking about, and it worked out just fine for me.

You don't have to tell anyone that your decision to pursue your other project was partially due to being laid off. It is not dishonest to just not bring it up. (Contrary to what some interviewers and interviewees seem to think, it is not your obligation to share every shred of detail about your life and work circumstances to your prospective employer.)

I ended up taking another job after about a year of working in my side project and consulting. I was able to talk openly about what I'd learned doing both of those things, and it didn't hamper my job prospects in the slightest.

As someone who hires people -- If your resume says "Company A 2020-2023, Project Blah, 2023-X" I'll ask you to tell me about the project. If you have something to show for it, then I see no problem. If I say what's Project Blah and you don't have anything to talk about or to show for it then I have questions.

I have a friend right now who left Amazon and they are working on a side project. It's actually a great resume booster for them, exploring some new tech, owning product decisions, if anything, it shows they "understand".

No, you should be fine. I had my startup on my resume for a bit and it didn’t seemed to hurt my chances.

Some interviewers asked me technical questions about the tech stack. Others were interested in business side of things, it was a good conversation starter.

You have nothing to hide here. Accept and "wear with pride" that you used the lay-off to explore an idea. You can show its roots lie before the termination, and you made a rational decision.

why would you need to say explicitly that you were laid off?

You can just say in resume:

Apr 2018 - May 2023: For-paycheck spaghetti code refactoring engineer in Large Boring Corp

May 2023 - current: founder and principal AI/crypto/quantum/whatever hacker in nextcoolthing.com

I had a year long gap in my employment due to attempts of being a founder. The right company hired me because they gof impressed with what I tried to build. The skill to build things end to end and the ability to ship is impressive.

Also told me new employer that I love startups and that I might not last long in his company too because I want my own startup.

This seems a bit neurotic and presumptuous to me. First of all, you can't control what others think of what you've factually done. Second of all, did you actually found anything or are you just taking time off to work on a side project with plans to return. Lastly, whichever it is, that's the way it is, what's to worry about? What would you do instead of working on your side project, and what would the hypothetical benefit be?

Anecdotally, I have an absolutely god awful employment record, and the market is also miserable. In previous layoffs, it's taken longer than a year to find a job regardless of what I'm doing during the down turn. I rarely even get a phone call back these days, but when I'm asked about what I'm doing now I say "I was laid off, and am taking time to work on some personal projects and find the next worthwhile company."

You can spend your whole life doubting yourself and worrying about what other people think.

Life's too short for that. Go build.

I'm planning to quit to devote myself to a project that's been in the incubation phase.

I'm a bit unclear on why you think it might be considered a bad thing by prospective employers in the future.

Taking a project from the ideation phase to proof of concept to a product ready for end-users demonstrates follow-through, as well as the ability to manage all stages of the software lifecycle that don't involve team dynamics.

I figure it's more likely to be a selling point than something that would detract from my candidacy.

> I'll look like I'm trying to cover up a long period of unemployment on my resume

It depends on how you approach the gap in your resume. Gaps in a resume are not necessarily a bad thing. They show that you're human, and they can happen to anyone and everyone. I don't think there's any need for a cover-up here nor any justification as to why you were not perennially employed.

If you are applying for a position which is a good fit for your skill set and experience, and present yourself honestly, you should be fine.

I know people who quit great positions to start rock bands, sandwich restaurants, all kinds of things. Those side-projects can play into your hands if you approach with honesty and openness.

People don’t always need to be working.

If you have a gap and it’s filled with something you building that’s not an issue.

You can clearly explain you had saving and wanted to peruse an idea you had.

It’ll be something to talk about and shows initiative. If you explaining it in an interview it would have not worked out and from that perspective you can share your lessons learned in product or technical development.

Even if you say I saved cash and stopped working for a break - that’s ok.

I wouldn't worry about it. Interesting people with non-mainstream development backgrounds stand out in a good way. Over the years I've gotten tired of interviewing the same people over and over.

You'd just look like you tried something different, it didn't work out and you're looking for a job. I'd be most interested in what you learned from the experience and how it could benefit my team.

Put your side project in your resume. That will put no gap on your resume.

I have interviewed and hired others with ongoing side projects on their resume.

You look like you're trying to take control of your own income destiny instead of relying on some company who treats you as an expense.

Don't worry if it doesn't work out, 80% of small businesses fail within a year.

If you're looking for work later, just say you tried to start your own company. That's not a red flag on a resume (probably quite the opposite).

If you've been working for a while, then take advantage of your situation and collect unemployment. Then a month before you know it's going to run out, you can apply for jobs. You have a lot of cometition so it may take time. But if you 'have a lot saved' mixed with unemployment, then take it easy for a few months.

This isn't a problem at all. I'm interviewing candidates right now and I regularly see people who: spend 6 months working on a specific project, build out a niche project, or whatever. I think the key part is that you "have something techish in your resume" for that time period.

I assume you are working on a side (now full-time) project in order to accomplish a specific goal. Perhaps it is to make money. Wouldn't it be better to be optimistic and focus on it being successful? Thus not needing to look for a job in the future?

> I'm trying to cover up a long period of unemployment on my resume.

And if a recruiter cares about this, run. Otherwise they'll expect you to devote all of your life to working. It's nonsense.

The answer to your question is, no, don't worry about it.

What's wrong with working on a side project if you have the financial means to do so without other obligations? I’m sure level-headed hiring managers would agree and those that don’t are probably shops you’d want to avoid anyway.

Build something more impressive than you would work on while employed and it’s probably a plus. Following your interests (if you have the privilege to do so) can result in some really cool / impressive work to show off later.

I took a year off building a startup that went nowhere. I was incredibly worried this hole in my resume would hurt my job prospects and it didn’t at all, even in this market. No one ever asked.

impostor syndrome of a kind? don't ever show it. Just the opposite, be proud of what you have been doing aside of work, and without anyone paying you. That proves passion, and passion is rarely found nowadays.

But also, do carefuly read the fine print in the offers/contracts. i have seen a few claiming ownership over things made (by me) after AND ALSO before going there.. esp. if there's any overlap in domains.

sounds ridiculous but happens.

As a hiring manager at a big tech company, I would probably just be a bit jealous of your decision :)

I was laid off and took a year off doing nothing. It wasn’t too big of an issue when I recently went looking for a job.

It's preferable to having a gap in your resume as I recently discovered

Probably won’t matter, but maybe it’d be advantageous to pretend it will. “Burn your ships” so to speak.

The companies that view this sort of thing negatively aren’t ones you want to work for.

if you have friends in the industry, and they can make referrals, you'll be fine. Just explain it well. Many people understand the desire to do your own project. Or just "i had the money to take a year off, and i loved every minute of it"

If you register a company then technically you are either employed and/or a director.

No one cares. Just go for it.

if you are serious about starting a company than no, otherwise yes