My fear is that should I return to the job market, I'll look like I'm trying to cover up a long period of unemployment on my resume. Employers would see that I only committed to this project after being laid off.
At any rate, it wouldn't be much of a handicap signal.
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.
First, my point is about optimising for happiness. Running out onto a road without thinking has nothing to do with happiness.
Secondly, the risk profile between these two scenarios is completely different. In one, the OP _might_ have a slight difficulty in finding employment in the future (we actually don’t know, because there are so many variables). In the other, the OP is likely to be dead or seriously injured (which is something we actually know). These scenarios are not comparable.
A lot can change in a year. There’s a lot of jobs. The OP can probably get one of them. Some employers won’t care at all about what the OP thinks they might care about.
Your risk tolerance may vary but I’m not going to do something I don’t want to do for a year because of what someone I’ve never met before might think a year or more from now.
> 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.
Even interpreting this absolutely literally, the hypothetical car would be a today problem — not a nebulous future one. “Survive the day” would, for most, seem like a present want.
Though some of these other comments may suggest otherwise, there's no reason that the thing you want to do today can't also be the result of careful consideration.
Yes that’s hyperbole but the point stands, delaying instant gratification on impulses, individual tactics, individual strategic and societal level is a hallmark of a stable society encouraging conscientiousness.
The OPs scenario is hypothetical because we cannot know effect this will have on their future employment.
You are arguing against something I never said.
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_o...
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!
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.
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.
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".
I point this out to make you reconsider a bit whether you might be putting pressure in the wrong place. It’s an easy mistake to make, and one I’ve made many times.
If I'm hiring you I need to assess three things:
- Can you do the work I need done?
- Do you want to do the work I need done for the time I need you to do it? (flight risk)
- Will you work well with others on the team?
In all of those answers I'm looking for: Will this person own their story and do I believe them?
I was laid off and was looking is an acceptable answer. Discretionary quitting and shitting on your prior employer is a red flag.
Larger companies' hiring process is all about de-risking you and screening out problems. They can only de-risk so much based on a resume, and it's more rare to have someone with 10+ years and zero gaps.
If a job candidate responded that they spent time between jobs playing TOTK without some levity layered on, I'd be concerned and ask further questions to see if they're a flight risk or in the right head space to join my team.
It's a yellow flag to me.
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 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 doubt people remember all these dates for a long time.
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.
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."
Life's too short for that. Go build.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I have interviewed and hired others with ongoing side projects on their resume.
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).
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.
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.
