Former Colleague is asking me questions 1 month after I left the company - how to handle?

Wow, what a bunch of awful advice here ("ignore them", etc.). No surprise that businesses can't wait to fire all their IT people and replace them with AI.

The most important thing in your career is maintaining good relationships with people. If this is something that you could help with by having a reasonable call (30 min or so?) just to explain where you left things and how to address something, go for it. It will be very helpful for them, and builds massive goodwill in the future. You never know when he might end up somewhere else and might be able to put in a good word for you.

However, if they're really just clueless and expecting you to fully fix it for them, that's another issue.

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Drakoolya@reddit

Agreed. Absolutely absurd burnt-out nihilistic individuals.

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atomicpowerrobot@reddit

Perhaps they are burnt out b/c companies with no loyalty to them call them back months after separation expecting loyalty in return?

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standish_@reddit

Most people here are recommending getting paid for any real work that needs to be done. Knowing your worth isn't nihilism.

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Drakoolya@reddit

It's not real work though, just answer some questions over sms, noone is asking him to log on and do stuff.

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teqqra1@reddit

Answer questions is part of any IT role, so if you are providing advice or guidance or troubleshoting steps you should be asking for remuneration, always. Thats the way to keep profesional.

What i usually do , as an IT profesional , is asking for garden leave. For techical roles that has real impact on daily operations Its a must.

No garden leave, no advice, just ask how they going and that you cannot help legaly as you follow the legal rules ..

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standish_@reddit

You do not have a good understanding of what work entails. I have done plenty of work without ever touching a computer.

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Drakoolya@reddit

Good lord. The cringe in this sub never stops. Cool story mate.

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Fizzel87@reddit

Dude, youre the cringe. You're the reason people/companies think they can get work from people without paying for it.

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standish_@reddit

gif

Thanks!

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asdlkf@reddit

My value is not in being able to swing a hammer.

My value is in knowing where to hit something, with which hammer, how many times, and with what amount of force.

"just answer some questions" is giving away my value. Fuck you, pay me.

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sir_mrej@reddit

OP already did that once. Now they’re getting screenshots and way more questions. That’s fucking work dude.

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Drakoolya@reddit

Yeah, you ween them off slowly. If he was a good dude you help em out.

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skyxsteel@reddit

I assume a few people here, like me, have been burned a few times or taken advantaged of.

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Drakoolya@reddit

Tell me your story. I am curious.

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skyxsteel@reddit

Tl;dr: Old workplace made it seem like they’d advanced me to the final stages of being considered for IT manager. They picked someone without sending me a rejection email, then strung me along for free help until I figured it out and stopped replying.

——

The first place I worked at was where I launched my IT career. When I left, I left on good terms with everyone. Including the higher ups. I wanted more money; they couldn’t give it to me. Even if they wanted to (government).

A few months later, a former coworker and friend let me know that an IT manager spot had opened. Which I happily applied.

The interview was great- I did not assume that I had the job. Then questions from my former IT coworkers started coming in. They were outstanding guys, so I was more than happy to help. I also took it as a positive sign (who wouldn’t?) that I was being seriously considered. But even if I didn’t want to be helpful, I wasn’t in a position to not do so.

Over the course of a week, I was answering questions. Not “where do I find this” stuff. More like “the database server shit the bed what do I do” questions.

One day I saw a cc in the email exchange, and it was a name I did not recognize. I assumed what it meant and got confirmation that that was the new IT manager. My responses got shorter, and then I just stopped replying.

Once I stopped being useful, I got the rejection email.

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Drakoolya@reddit

Holy Shit! Ok point taken. I can't argue with that.

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skyxsteel@reddit

I hope you and others never have to encounter such backstabbery 🙏

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Drakoolya@reddit

That is rough mate. I can't imagine how u must have felt. Sorry, that happened to you. From a previous org none the less.

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NoPossibility4178@reddit

What these companies really can't wait to do is fire all their IT and then ask them for help for free because "goodwill". I'm not saying OP shouldn't help, I would, but thinking this is why companies want to replace people with AI is ridiculous. Who made people this jaded in the first place?

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takeurpillsalice@reddit

Disagree. I don't operate a charity so I don't work for free. If stuff wasn't handed over and they only realise after I left that is no longer my problem.

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on-a-call@reddit

Uhm a quick text, sure, but a 30 minutes call either during my new company's time or my personal time to work on another company's issue? That's too far for me, and I would never request that from anyone either.

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samtheredditman@reddit

Yeah, it's hard to say exactly what the situation is, but if I can give an answer, I don't mind helping out a colleague. I literally answered a work question today about my job I left 4 years ago.

When it comes to the screenshots and asking to hop on a call then I'd say no. Basically just say that's more involved than you want to be since you don't work there anymore, but you don't mind answering quick simple questions every now and then.

I've also had people ask me for too much help after I've left. I just told them that I've moved on and that what they're asking for is too much and I'm now focused on my current job. If they can't respect that then it's okay to drop the relationship or at least put a pause on maintaining it for a bit while they adjust to the new dynamic.

You can also consider that maybe things have gone bad since you left and your friend is drowning. Sure maybe that's not your problem but you can have a heart and maybe at least point them in the right direction for whatever they're working on.

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velofille@reddit

Reply with your hourly fee

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MinnSnowMan@reddit

Tell the person you would be glad to help. Give them a high hourly rate and require they prepay for a block of time. Ask who gets the initial invoice. Get paid and help them out.

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Entire_Dependent8214@reddit

I see..your the yes man that left work.

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Disastrous_Recipe424@reddit

His what?

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Opposite_Bag_7434@reddit

I had one where I was a product manager and a SME in a particular area. I Jews I was going to be let go, I had literally worked my way out of the job. But there was a small project to do where I was the expert

When the VP called I told her I would have to think about it and come up with a rate. She was set back a little but then said ok. For the time it was a pretty hefty amount and they paid. Should have just waited a week and even that would have been done.

You are worthy of being paid for your time OP. It is literally just business. I was professional and accommodating. The rest was their choice.

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Even_Inspection_6668@reddit

You Jews?

gif

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Opposite_Bag_7434@reddit

I have no idea what autocorrect did here. It’s fixed.

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Actonace@reddit

that's consultancy now..

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yojimboLTD@reddit

Honestly sounds like they don’t know what they are doing. Unless you plan on working for them or teaching them, better to keep it civil and just let them know you are too busy with your current role to help. Let that marinate for a few more months, they will figure it out, or if it gets bad enough they will offer to pay you. It’s passive aggressive, but what is the difference, have YOU moved on or not?

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kjeserud@reddit

It’s passive aggressive, but what is the difference, have YOU moved on or not?

Sorry, but that's not even passive aggressive. He doesn't work there anymore, and most people have more than enough going on when starting a new job to help out the previous one as well.

If the questions comes during working hours, that means he won't do his new job to help out the old one. And if it's after, that's even worse!

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cruising_backroads@reddit

If [ paid = true ]
then (answer) = true
elsif
[ paid = false ]
then $phone# = changed

End

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KoalaOfTheApocalypse@reddit

If, Then, Else. I have a difficult time looking at the world thru any other lens.

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JohnnyricoMC@reddit

Strictly speaking, your employment with them has ended, you have no obligation whatsoever to that company anymore. But in the human aspect, good colleagues and ex-colleagues help out within reason.

But there are limits to what's reasonable. A quick question shortly after departure is reasonable, but specific information requests and expecting help with tickets are no longer that. And the screenshots are flat-out a confidentiality breach.

At this stage, either direct them to your current employer's sales team if you went to another company, or make them an offer if you want to go self-employed.

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Fritzo2162@reddit

I’m a big fan of never burning bridges. I would help out once or twice, but more than that I would ask a consultant fee of $175/hr.

This has happened to me before and they gladly paid it.

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VerTex_GaminG@reddit

I've been in a similar situation and liked my coworkers so didnt have a problem answering some quick questions.

However im not jumping on a call to discuss my previous work, sorry dude i'm gone you kind of have to figure it out in this space.

Depends also on the context. Was this something I should have passed over and forgot somehow? Or is this something he should know and just never learned or just let you handle for the longest time? If its something anywhere close to the latter, then he can kindly figure it out on his own

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Signal_Till_933@reddit

I’m sure it’s the latter of your questions.

He’s now in charge of “the network” but never bothered to learn how it works.

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woahwombats@reddit

Not necessarily the guy's fault, I think it's management's responsibility when someone's leaving to make sure someone is trained up to replace them, and also that stuff is adequately documented in the first place. Maybe they told him to learn it and he didn't... but probably they're just not that organised.

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jamespo@reddit

Did you do a proper handover or half arse it?

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1960fl@reddit

Just send them an Engagement letter with our fee schedule, the communications will stop or you will get paid.

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AttemptingToGeek@reddit

If it was a nice place to work and you liked the people, why not engage with them and give them some insight. I did it with the last 2 jobs I had and didn’t feel like I was being taken advantage of, just helping out some former colleagues.

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Qvosniak@reddit (OP)

For free?

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Lovvi@reddit

Do you need compensation for being a decent person?

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spin81@reddit

To a point, but sure. Someone else here used the word "boundaries". If you're spending a couple hours a week on this, that's work. If you don't mind taking a sec to answer a question now and then, what's the problem?

To be clear, if you do want to charge, there's nothing wrong with that. But there's no harm in helping someone out within reason. It's not how I roll, I think if someone is on holiday or gone from the company they are off limits, but I don't see a problem with it.

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Send_Them_Noobs@reddit

I did it for free. I was in a similar situation as yours and you just can’t handover everything before you leave, there’s always that random ass configuration that you did to fix something and no one knows it but you.

I’d do it once as or twice as a curtesy to maintain good relationship with people. Just don’t make yourself too available, if your someone texts just drag it for a bit. Sessions I would do in a day to two… 9/10 they would come back with “we figured it out, thanks for the help”

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samtheredditman@reddit

Do you like these people? Are they reaching out because they failed to plan for you leaving or because there's just a lot and some things fell through the cracks?

The details of the situation matter. If you were in their shoes would you feel good about your friend messaging you back that they want $$/hr to continue the conversation?

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TheFumingatzor@reddit

how to handle?

Ignore.

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teqqra1@reddit

Answer questions is part of any IT role, so if you are providing advice or guidance or troubleshoting steps you should be asking for remuneration, always. Thats the way to keep profesional.

What i usually do , as an IT profesional , is asking for garden leave. For techical roles that has real impact on daily operations Its a must.

No garden leave, no advice, just ask how they going and that you cannot help legaly as you follow the legal rules ..

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b4k4ni@reddit

There's not really a perfect, all-time-usable answer here. Personally I'd answer a few minor things, basically if something was not clear from documentation or was forgotten do actually put into documentation.

If they ask for more, a call and a good portion of time invest on my side, I'd tell them politely, that the short answers before were a courtesy, but if they need a more in depth talk and with that much more time needed from my side, I'd also tell them, that I wouldn't do that for free.

The important part is to tell it to them nicely IMHO, being friendly and not sound arrogant or whatever. Just draw a clean border. No need to burn everything down because of it :)

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Artistic-Subject-956@reddit

I mean if you like them why not have a quick 30min to 1h call in the evening if you got time?! If you can’t be bothered then just tell him you got so much to do with your job and that you don’t have time. Expecting payment for quick call is a bit silly imo. I’d either do it out of good will or tell him no.

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Massive-Effect-1307@reddit

Tell them that you don’t work there anymore, and that you helped them out the first time only out of courtesy.

If they want to engage with you despite this, tell them you’d want to paid hourly, 75% upfront, and you’ll also need an indemnity arrangement.

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pakman82@reddit

Don't forget the hourly rate is $200-400, base 4hr minimum, and $1000 up front of the 4 hour minimum

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UninvestedCuriosity@reddit

Yeah, insurance costs and stuff.

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NoPossibility4178@reddit

"What if I stub my toe on the desk while helping you troubleshoot? No one ever thinks of that!"

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bottombracketak@reddit

That’s 2016 rates. $750/hr.

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DUDEBREAUX@reddit

"I take cash app or hookers & blow"

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BlotchyBaboon@reddit

Be nice, but just don't be too available. Don't reply to txts very fast, don't always answer calls. Keeping those bridges unburnt may be useful to you some day.

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Baiteh@reddit

This.

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Ferretau@reddit

Refer back to your employment contract - look for clauses regarding non disclosure etc. And just say as per your contract you can't discuss your former employer as your not authorized to anymore.

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SporadicTendancies@reddit

I would also raise with them that sending that data outside the company's communication process may be a breach of their own clause and you're unable to help them.

I know they know OP, but sending any kind of information about a company's data externally can be serious misconduct.

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nacona164@reddit

These ppl commenting are insane. If that co worker was your friend help him out bro smh

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Even_Inspection_6668@reddit

To a point. It's their fucking problem they didn't do a proper handoff. Stop working for free.

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InflateMyProstate@reddit

Seriously....this community is both extremely resourceful and sometimes outright delusional. I've helped previous teammates before, but setting boundaries is important.

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darkn3rd@reddit

Just explain you are very busy. If they need some time, let them know you can consult on a limited basis, but you would like to be compensated for your time, and ask if that would be alright.

What will happen, is that they’ll make better use of everyone’s time, as this costs them money. It also shows they appreciate your time. For consulting, if you jump on a call, make sure there’s minimum of 1 billable hour. This avoids constant interruption

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l0g0ut@reddit

I still got calls from the NOC of my old job occasionally at 3 am. I left the job more than a year ago. Apparently they have it in the playbook/notes to call my number if the actual on call engineer doesn’t pick up the call.

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Bebilith@reddit

Or quote them an hourly rate you would like.

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AgainandBack@reddit

Tell him you can do all of the remote consultations he needs, at $300/hr, four hour minimum charge, as a 1099.

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dropswisdom@reddit

Tell them your hourly consulting rate 😉

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ZealousidealState127@reddit

I'd be more than happy to provide a quick consult cause your a good dude but what your asking for us more extensive than that and I'd need to be brought in as a consultant to help. To make it official and avoid liability.

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Mysterious_Army8231@reddit

Don’t burn bridges , I now run a msp and got a larger project from a former colleague will be 40-50k end of the day .

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SirLoremIpsum@reddit

If that's the case, how should I handle this? How should I reply back?

Come on man.. you can do this.

Your neighbour asks if he can take your mrs to an event cause he needs eye candy. "No"

Your other neighbour asks if he can borrow ya car for a trip cause his is in the shop. "No"

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Lynch_67816653@reddit

Check your contact and any separation paperwork. You probably have a confidentiality duty of some kind. Ask for explicit confirmation that what is requested from you is compliant with that.

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Pisnaz@reddit

Ask for their ticket number

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KandevDev@reddit

the social engineering here is real. "nice dude former coworker" is the cover for "company that did not document anything is now extracting unpaid labor from you". the colleague might not even realize that is what he is doing, but it does not matter, the dynamic is the same.

what i would say, customize as needed:

"hey, happy to help but i need to scope this properly. one-off questions over text are fine, anything that needs a call or screen-share i charge $150/hr with a 1hr minimum, invoiced through paypal/stripe. let me know which bucket this falls into."

two things this does: (1) gives the colleague an easy out for genuine one-off questions, (2) makes it clear the call is a paid engagement. if the company refuses to pay, the colleague will stop asking and you will know it was their problem to escalate, not yours to absorb. you do not need an LLC to invoice as a sole proprietor, just use your name.

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Grrl_geek@reddit

When my last place let me go, I made it clear to my former colleagues to not contact me for anything... because I won't be answering 🙂.

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KandevDev@reddit

respect, that is the clean version. the only reason i do not do this myself is the bridge-burning calculus when you are early career, but past a certain point of seniority "i am not your unpaid sysadmin anymore" is just true and the relationships that survive that line are the ones worth keeping.

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FactMuch6855@reddit

This is a classic contract opportunity.

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zhinkler@reddit

If he’s a co-worker that just needs help on one area/config you may have known about more than him/her and you have a decent relationship what’s the harm in helping out a fellow IT person. I’m sure you’d gladly do it on here for free so why not an old colleague?
It’s about one particular issue and has not approached you before, it’s also only a month later, not like a year so I don’t see why you wouldn’t help. I wouldn’t say fix the problem, just provide any information you know and move on.

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w1cked5mile@reddit

I had a colleague ask me about a password for a system after I was laid off from a company. I nicely provided the password and politely told him to let me know if he needed anything else. It wasn’t his fault they laid me off and he was kind of in a bind. It only took a few minutes and I knew I could call on him for help too. I mean, it had only been seven years, and I had landed on my feet with a better gig anyway.

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bluegoldredsilver5@reddit

The number you are trying is currently unavailable, please try later

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Civil_Inspection579@reddit

You honestly don’t need to jump straight to “pay me” yet unless it keeps escalating. A good middle ground is setting boundaries first: “Happy to answer quick questions here and there, but I can’t really do ongoing support calls now that I’ve moved on.” Most reasonable people will understand immediately.

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skyxsteel@reddit

“Hey dude it was super nice of you to reach out. And i’m glad I can help out here and there. I have other obligations though and can’t provide the help you need. If you really need it, have manager reach out.”

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Chemical___Imbalance@reddit

Got texts from a coworker like 6 months after I was laid off, asking how to fix something on a project. He didn't want to ask anyone else in my department because he said "they are absolute dickheads". He's friends with my boss who did the laying off, and didn't know I was canned.
I told him it's all good, as he didn't even know. I let him know what a dickhead his buddy is, given it was his decision on which one of us was let go in that round of layoffs.

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oceans_wont_freeze@reddit

"Sorry, it's been awhile. I don't remember."

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pchappo@reddit

reply like this:

'my consulting hours are between 5-7pm daily and my hourly rate is $150 per hour. A signed purchase order is required if you want me to keep helping you'

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Fnarkfnark@reddit

I generally answer easy questions on a "when I can" basis and if it starts getting too much I tell them "This is more than can be managed over text, you'd need someone on site for that".

That leaves it open for them to either ask me to come in in some way, or for them to deal with it on their own.

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J-VV-R@reddit

Not your problem.

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Drakoolya@reddit

I would help em out. But single sentences, just ween them off. This consult bs is crazy, colleague is a good dude like u said, help out your homie.

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RegionRat219@reddit

Yeah I’m with this like I get what folks are saying but at the same time if he was your colleague, that you liked? Help him out

On the flip side….doesnt sound like much documentation was done there during your tenure to help your former colleague

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itishowitisanditbad@reddit

Think how weird it'd be to ask for a little extra pay after you quit.

Thats how weird it is to do a little extra work after you quit.

Its really that simple.

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SomethingAbtU@reddit

I dont' have a good sense of the scope/time commitment of what your former collegue is asking. I don't think you need to ask for payment if it's a 20 minutes tops phone convo. I understand some texts were already exchanged and I don't think that was in totality hours of your time either.

Not everything is about money, you seemed to emphasized numerous times how decent this person and your former company is, so I don't think you need to make this complicated.

I have helped former collegues many times after leaving a company and I felt great about it and I bumped into a few of them years later when they were already at a company I was interviewing with and they vouched for me. The world is small, you'd be surprised how much our past revisits us.

All of that being said, if you think the problem with your former company and your collegue is one that demands a good amount of your time, then yes discuss the company retaining you for a set time as a consultant to help them get things documented and setup right.

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zesar667@reddit

Thats very American behaviour

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jasondbk@reddit

It could be that person also left and is trying to get info to do some bad hacking of the company.

Contact your old boss or HR and report this contact. If it’s legit then paperwork ending in payment is appropriate.

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accousticregard@reddit

Lmao get real

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FearIsStrongerDanluv@reddit

Was there a proper and adequate documentation of things you did while there ? Else simply refer them to that. If you say there were nice to you, I don’t see a problem with simply pointing them in the direction.

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PM_ME_UR_BGP_PREFIX@reddit

KMAG YOYO

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aladaze@reddit

When that happened to me, I reached out to my former manager, explained what was up, and told him if he didn't need me to sign up for contracting hours, he definitely needed to coach his employee on how to get help from former teammates. "tell Brad he needs to at least invite me out to dinner on his dime if he doesn't want to admit he didn't take notes for 3 hours when I explained this in detail".

This has the added benefit that I never heard from that guy again, and some other former coworkers got a great laugh out of it.

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Darkhexical@reddit

This depends on what extent it is imo and if the former colleague was actually a friend. If it is like 5 minutes of work.. sure I don't mind too much on that. If it's 30 minutes, well I'll give a hint but I'm not doing it. If it's multiple hours, I'm going to need some money.

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MrExCEO@reddit

Can’t for liability reasons

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rebelgirl175@reddit

Step 1: "Hey X - it was good to reconnect and I'm happy to have been able to help with your question. It sounds like this is a bit more involved or needs more time to solve. Feel free to let [your old boss] know that I'm available to consult for a few hours to help get it sorted out. Rate is $500/hr."

Step 2: STFU 😄 Don't engage with any "bro, just this one..." or "come on we really need". If they need it, it's valuable to them, they can pay. They'll either agree to pay you, negotiate the rate, or stop asking you. It's not a jerk move. It shows you respect yourself and value your time.

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Nowhere_Sky@reddit

Ask him to inform the company to transfer 2K Euro and visit them for 1 day to another the questions.

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DifficultElk5474@reddit

Ghost

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Temporary-Library597@reddit

I have a business license for just such occasions.

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fpskasey@reddit

First remember to protect yourself from this situation. The company could be shitty about you helping after leaving. Texting potentially sensitive info could be bad.

This being said, you know best how this employer handles things. Use your best judgement, but if they are asking questions now, expect more to follow.

Maybe ask this person texting you to ask their manager or the right person if they should be doing this? Once you do this it will let the cat out of the bag and expect all communication to you to be severed. Best case is they offer you compensation for your time.

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Live-Juggernaut-221@reddit

Ignore them. Block them.

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Karnitine@reddit

I'm sorry my life's been very busy lately working another job. I've been gone over a month now and have limited free time. The only way I'd consider parting with that free time is if [companyname] is willing to pay a premium price as a consulting fee.

If they ask how much $500 an hour.

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Ztoffels@reddit

Easy, just reply.

“Aaahhh shit man, I forgot, allow me sometime to see if I remember” wait 1 or 2 hours, tell them you forgot.

Or something along those lines.