alt Hacker NewsThis post feels like it was lifted straight from a corporate HR Layoffs FAQ section.
Most people don't want to hear from old co-workers, from a job they just got laid off from, especially those that are there to offer fake, self-serving sentiment with a bunch of rules attached. Unless you already have a relationship with the person, you would probably have already talked anyway and it would be natural without all these weird rules of engagement.
People who do this are fake and its amazing to me they think this kind of thing isn't perceived as anything other than fake. There is a time and place for everything, networking with recently laid off co-workers is not one of them.
Author here. Appreciate the feedback.
I will ask: have you ever been laid off?
I have, and I'll tell you, being seen and thanked, even in a perfunctory manner, helped me be less hurt and angry.
N of 1 and all that, but that was my experience.
The rules of engagement I outline are, as I mentioned elsewhere, to take some of the stress off of folks who might otherwise not undertake this simple, humane gesture.