Past that, why do you want to hang out with other people who are doing poorly when you could be hanging out with people who are doing better?

Being laid off does not equate to doing poorly. Some people just get cut because some people who wear suits to work seem to not care.

I think you're interpreting "doing poorly" wrong.

I read GP as saying that people who are laid off are currently going through a stressful time in their life: "doing poorly".

If your buddies are going through a stressful time in their life then you should be spending even more time with them if possible.

I completely agree... My comment was based on the assumption this conversation isn't about helping your buddies through a tough time, it's about who to network with when you've been laid off.

Support groups are common for all kinds of things, so there seems to be some kind of value in it.

Or maybe too many people got hired by some guy in a hoodie because they were afraid any talented people they didn’t hire would work for a startup that puts them out of business or that they feel they need to spend $15 billion to buy so they don’t face competition.

Said “guy in hoodie” and his close buddies “guy in khakis” and “athleisure gal” have just materially increased the likelihood that they’ll be spending $15B (or whatever the going rate is in 5 years).

Without going as far as "dog eats dog", I don't know if I would feel the need to socialize with laid off people if I got laid off. What would that serve? It's not like one of them is gonna be like "hey, we're hiring at my company!".

Socialize with people who have a job.

Other people laid off are looking and might find something for you. They are looking for companies actively hiring.

People who have a job 1. don't have time during the day and 2. only know about their company since they aren't looking.

I would guess that even if someone had my exact skillset, I would be better off teaming up with them in the search than avoiding them. We could identify more jobs and there is a good chance one of those is looking for more than one person.

People have networks. It’s important to leverage different networks and get help.

On the other hand, when you are laid off and looking for people to socialize with, your other laid off friends will be the most available. Nothing like taking advantage of things like discount matinee rates, happy hours you never were able to make on time with a job, or speedy efficient trips through town without traffic when you are already generating no income.

Here (Israel tech scene) there are a ton of initiatives to help people who were impacted by the recent layoffs. Lots of mixers with companies that are hiring, free tutoring/help and meetups. Certainly not perfect but it's very far from "dog eat dog".

Such is the way in an unorganized labor market.

Perhaps we should organize....

And expect lower salaries as a result. Nothing is free

Do you have any examples of where labour organisation has led to lower pay?

I seem to recall companies closing stores that voted to unionize. /s

Right. The weird American manufactured distaste for unionism has progressed to the point where y’all can be working for some of the most rich and profitable companies in the world and somehow convince yourselves that unionising will make you LESS money. Frankly you get what you deserve at this point.

So like it’s always been in the job market?

One thing I appreciate about our industry is people tend to be generally helpful or atleast give you parting advice with no strings attached.

That definitely wasn’t the case for me. I was laid off with 30% of my company several months back and the support was absolutely enormous. Tons of people reaching out on LinkedIn, leads being passed around from coworkers both laid off and still employed. I went through the interview process and had offers from 4-5 companies within 2-3 weeks. Many of my colleagues had similar experiences.