Ask HN: Happy at your job? Why not leave? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Happy at your job? Why not leave?

2 pointsmutaaf4 comments

Hey HN,

I'm building a new team of 20 software engineers in downtown Dallas. I have recently been meeting a lot of great candidates that are happy with their current roles. I understand that, however, what if the opportunity you present is better? How can you convince them of taking the leap? Have you been in this position, what made you take the leap?

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Look, you can talk about a lot of "blah, blah, blah" on this, and some of it matters to some people, some of the time. But the simple, straight-forward, naked truth is this: offer more money. Yes, some things other than money matter, but to most people, most of the time, the way to pull them away from where they are is to increase their compensation. This really isn't rocket science.

Seconded... but you also need the rest of it. I'm making a lot of money, doing work that helps people, in a (mostly) sane environment, with really good co-workers. Yes, I'm kind of bored, so I could be talked into leaving. Not for less money, though. And not for a garbage working environment, or for co-workers who are jerks, or for management that is insane.

Yeah, there are some things that are kind of the "cost of entry" like decent work conditions, etc. But once you meet that minimum bar, I think more money is the easiest way to lure most people. Now there will always be some people who can be lured away by something else... one good possibility would be offering a private office instead of open plan. Hell, I'd probably take less money just to have a private office. But I doubt everybody feels as strongly about that as I do.

I have no evidence that the opportunity you claim is better is actually better. Especially in the ways that matter most to me, many of which can’t be determined until you’ve been at a new job a few weeks. And then there are the obligations I feel to my teammates (if not to the company), which I don’t take lightly.

And hopping jobs all the time doesn’t look great on a resume. If I’ve been somewhere 11 months and don’t hate it, taking that slightly better opportunity is probably a poor choice.

Dream job might be another thing, but I highly doubt your open position is anyone’s dream job. Nothing personal. Just that the odds for any given startup are extremely slim.

Now, offer a private office or a 10 minute commute on foot or 10 weeks PTO annually or to increase my salary by 50%, and I’ll at least hear you out.

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