The Competitors Want To Talk

Some people from my old work who were also laid off (or are about to be laid off) are feeling bad about talking to the competition. They think it is shady, or unethical in some way. I am here to say that it's just business.I hold no animosity toward my old employer, even though they handled the layoffs poorly. However, the FIRST thing I thought of doing was continuing my work and contacting the competition, and guess what - they are interested! I may not be able to share confidential information with the competition but that does not exclude me from coming up with "creative solutions".

Here is an email sent out by my former boss and former company's CEO, David Mosher to some people who were feeling "shady" about talking to the competition:

Note that given (the former company's) bankruptcy filing, it is not unusual or inappropriate for competitors to hire laid off workers. If you think about it, they are going to pickup clients that (the former company) is no longer able to service so they are going to need more staff. You have valuable experience that they would like to capitalize on.

Most companies when they lay off this many people arrange for local companies or recruiting firms to come in and help people find a new job. You owe no allegiance to people that treated you this poorly. Your old exec staff has taken on this responsibility of setting this up for you. Note in California non compete agreements are not enforceable. So long as you don't take anything in paper or electronically you can use what you have learned at a competitor.