Twitter layoffs spark recruiting frenzy on (where else?) Twitter

Getting laid off sucks. No doubt about it.

First, there’s the basic injustice. A bunch of fools mismanage a company, pocket some nice bonuses along the way, and when it goes south, fire a bunch of underlings.

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Second, there’s the inescapable feeling of: “Why me?” Some companies have last-in, first-out rules for making such decisions. But more often, in our post-union world, the choices seem a bit random, and leave lots of room for self-doubt and shame.

Finally, there’s the survivors’ guilt. Once a company walks down the layoff path, it’s hard to keep the remaining employees from looking over their shoulders. And if they’re not sure the company is really invested in their future, well, it might be more tempting to keep their next idea or brainstorm to themselves in case they want to start their own company.

Still…given all of this, the folks at Twitter are in a far better position than the vast majority of people who get fired in this world. The hiring market in Silicon Valley is insane, particularly if you’re an engineer.

As I joked last night on Twitter:

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Twitter engineer shares her horrifying layoff tale: "The 37 minutes before I found a new job were the darkest moments of my life."

— Chris O'Brien (@obrien) October 13, 2015

Indeed, almost as soon as the layoffs were confirmed yesterday, recruiters flooded Twitter with job openings before most of the victims could clear out their desks. Here are just a few samples at #Twitterlayoffs:

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A whole lot of tech companies are using #twitterlayoffs to try to recruit Twitter employees that lost their jobs. pic.twitter.com/ezOvXL5vNE

— Denham Sadler (@denhamsadler) October 14, 2015

https://twitter.com/bradyparon/status/654012826906824704

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https://twitter.com/detobey/status/654015916800278528

https://twitter.com/johnmcl69/status/654041867886002176

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If you were in the #Twitterlayoffs, @cloudera is in SF and Palo Alto and is hiring in pretty much every department.

— Mike Olson ?? (@mikeolson) October 14, 2015

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Interested in wearables, video, and sports? Peeq is hiring #Twitterlayoffs

— MG (@MarkGray) October 13, 2015

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Of course, maybe these folks headed out the door already have an idea for their own company. In that case, Sam Altman invited them to apply at Y Combinator:

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If you're a Twitter employee that got laid off and you want to apply to YC but need a few more days, email me and we'll give you more time.

— Sam Altman (@sama) October 13, 2015

And, of course, ex-Twitter employees weren’t hesitant about posting about their unfortunate availability. In this case, a tweet prompted numerous responses from folks interested in discussing possible job offers:

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@mdoroud talk to us!!

— Tracy Chou ? (@triketora) October 13, 2015

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https://twitter.com/csong/status/654069453374623744