Hi guys, i need help. I had a great role as a Sr. PM. However, a startup persuaded me to join their team. The startup founders had 3 successful exits. The company had just hit PMF and was in growth mode. They raised a fresh round of capital, $30M. I had experience in the core product they were building. The CEO was personally invested in my hiring and would reach out to persuade me. After I resigned, the startup emailed me that my job offer was rescinded. I pleaded with them and asked why they are doing this. They gave no context and only sent me a cold email that said the offer is rescinded. Now I am in an embarrassing position. As an HR policy my company doesn’t take an employee back after they have resigned. Since they are already deep in the hiring process it’s too late to go back. Less than 6 months ago, I bought a house and had a baby. I do not know how I will provide for my family next month. I am filled with anxiety and anger and I feel completely overwhelmed. Here’s my experience: - 6 years of consumer PM experience (Marketplace and e-commerce) - I have also worked with Ads products and Booking products for 2 years - Ex-founder that raised $1M and scaled product to 50,000 users (Marketplace product) Here’s how you can help: - If you work for a consumer marketplace I would appreciate a referral - If you are a hiring manager looking for a PM, I can give you references that will vouch for my work ethic I got screwed, I need someone to take a chance on me. I promise you will not regret it.
Risk in moving in this market.
Risk is always there when you switch but to lead an employee on and rescind a signed offer is just unethical hiring practice.
Dm if you see a fit at TikTok/Bytedance - I’d be happy to refer you. Sorry you’re going through this op
Did you sign the offer? If you already signed probably worth talking to an employment lawyer or something.
Yes I did sign the offer and received a copy when the CEO signed it. I spoke with an attorney and the law favors the employer. I can only sue them if they did this based on discrimination, which is nearly impossible to prove without substantial evidence. When you accept a job you are hired “at will”. This means you can leave the job at any point you want to quit. It also means the employer can fire you at any point they want.
What is the point? They could have not rescinded the offer, then fired him 5 days after he started. Employment at will.
Your former company's HR policy is stupid. Why wouldn't they take back an employee who was high performing, assuming you handled your resignation professionally and they haven't already hired someone into the position? People move during their careers, and pretending they don't is like shooting yourself in the foot.
I left on great terms. My team, manager, VP of product all have a great relationship with me. My manager is still trying get me re-hired. This is the pushback HR gave, how do we trust an employee who already told us they are leaving? The other reason is that they started interview process and would have to ghost candidates that have already invested time in.
Yeah. This is very weird. It is possible OP was termed for cause, but just does not want to say that.
You can go nuclear and tell them if they don’t give you the job then you will post the story in every place possible
If I had known that they were the type of people to mess with others lives I would never have engaged with them. The only reason I would name and shame is to protect others from a similar situation
Just an advice… when going to start ups, always try to negotiate a golden parachute clause which at least gives you a financial windfall if things don’t work out
^^^ THIS. Everyone should keep this in mind, the riskier the startup, the more karat the parachute should be. I got screwed by startups in the past well. Although I wasn't in as dire of a situation as OP, I wish I had taken more time to evaluate the offer upfront - sign-on bonus when signing the offer. If given one-year cliff, negotiate 5% upfront. etc etc.
Dang I didn’t know about parachute clauses. This is a huge learning lesson
Could you please dm me the name of the startup? Asking so I can avoid and you won’t post it publicly. I promise to respect your privacy. Good luck with your job search! Something better awaits you soon.
Man you need to blast it in linkedin like ex amazon chinese employee. Blinds got your back. Link the post and we can improve its popularity. Make it viral
Publicly name & shame
Every part of me wants to name and shame, but I get nothing out of hurting them. I just want to take care of my family
Its for the community too, w’ll know to avoid the company. Name & shame