When we last spoke with Moe (not his real name), an engineer who was elevated to the ranks of management at a software-development firm five months ago, he had just been fired. He was unhappy, of course, but he had been deluged with offers of freelance work. “I’ve got two salaries now,” he said. “With my two-month severance package and the freelance offers, as far as money goes, things are fine. But I hired two people in my four months on the job, who came because I recruited them. I don’t know what will happen to them now.” In the month since, Moe found out what happened to his new hires: they were fired as well.
“It’s unclear whether they were fired because they were associated with me or because the whole department got somewhat downsized. Either way, they’re not there anymore.” Moe has indeed picked up an unexpectedly large amount of freelance work. “All it took was a half dozen or emails to people I knew and the offers came in,” he says. “It’s a step down in the type of work I’m doingI’m back to coding and QA instead of managingbut the hourly rate is far beyond what I was earning at the full-time job. Considering that the Chicago technical market is so oversaturated and I could get 80 hours a week of work if I wanted, the key for me is to pick projects that can lead to something bigger or better. I didn’t do that right after I’d been bounced. For about a week I was really depressed and took anything that was offered because I was afraid I might not get anything better. Now, I’m finishing the less interesting projects and starting the fun stuff.” While Moe has been offered a great deal of work, he hasn’t been offered any jobs.
“I don’t know if full-time jobs aren’t as plentiful as freelance gigs or maybe I’ve been so pleased with the freelance assignments I haven’t pushed hard for full-time work. But I must admit it. I’m not hearing as much about good old-fashioned two-weeks-of-vacation-and-health-benefits jobs as I thought I would.” Would he jump back into the job market if he got an offer?
“Eventually I will, of course. Last month I said I’d even take another management job if the right one came along and I stand by that statement. But for a while anyway, I’m going to have some fun. After getting fired, it’s a real kick to have people call you all the time and say they want you to do something for them. Eventually, I guess I’ll get sick of paying COBRA and quarterly tax estimates. But right now, I’m enjoying the novelty of it. Hey, I wish I’d have gotten fired sooner!” WorkSpace will continue to check in monthly with Moe. If you have any advice for Moe, we’ll pass it along.
