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Ask HN: Company is about to have a huge black mark how will this affect me?

3 points by CorvusCrypto ↗ HN
So I can't discuss details of what happened but this is irrelevant to my following question:

How does a big (rather big in this case and possibly fatal) black mark on a company affect me as a developer. No, I'm not the cause, directly or indirectly. However, I'm worried now that if I say that I worked at company "X" on my resume, or people see that I have worked there, that this will affect my career as a job seeker should I be seeking again in the future.

Does anyone else have any ideas on how this kind of thing affects employees? This is giving me massive anxiety, but as always thanks for your thoughts!

EDIT: yes, this is due to my department and related to software btw.

7 comments

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sharemywin
I wouldn't worry about it as a resume blocker. I wouldn't try to throw your department under the bus if someone asks either. doubt it comes up but I would answer with something like "there's a lot of great people that work there and I wasn't directly involved any of the decisions or work that lead up to it."
sharemywin
you might also want talk about what you learned from it.
dexwiz
Not talking about something sensitive is a safer route. The risk of saying something bad outweighs the off chance of a reward.
sharemywin
sorry I should clarify I meant only if they brought something up about it.
jpeg_hero
Depends on details of scandal...

1) was the whole company a fraud? Aka You were a trader for Bernie madoff or was a scientist at Thernos

JSeymourATL
Impossible to know to long-term damage just now...

Think other scandalous scenarios-- Theranos/FIFA/VW-- all of those firms had good, honest, hard working folks who were otherwise blameless.

Generally, it's a good idea to address a possible blemish upfront with a potential employer. Make sure your story is solid. You'll want to have superiors & colleagues who can vouch for your work and character. As time goes on, memories will fade. Switching industries may also be a smart play. Fortunately, development work is in demand across every sector imaginable.

epc
I wish I could tell you that it won't affect you, but it will. At several companies I worked for I, as a hiring manager, wouldn't even get to see your resume or application if the suspect company was a recent (< 5 years) employer, you'd be filtered out by software, recruiting and H/R.

If there's an active criminal investigation involving the company, you'll be suspect, fairly or not.

If you're looking to leave, I'd recommend finding direct connections in candidate companies who could "sponsor" you through their H/R filtering systems, just so you get a chance to get an interview without the bias of whatever's going on at your current company.