[mrorbitman]

I've never seen anyone on a PIP bounce back. The smart move is to start your job hunt immediately when you discover you're on a PIP. Otherwise it's a long and stressful road to termination.

The second the people around you don't believe you can cut it, it's already too late and best to find a gig elsewhere.

[throwaway48323]

I had a PIP at a startup when six months in and several years later I'm the lead now.

I saved my job by working during my ~two day vacation (and weekend) and building a bunch of things that I had talked with the non-eng cofounder about that weren't on the official roadmap but that had high value.

Turned out the way engineering was organized wasn't very compatible with me (didn't take advantage of my product sense and generally was focusing too much on reviewing things in code that really didn't matter.)

One of the people above me on the org chart (VP Engineering) lost his job instead. The lead at the time is now CTO and around that time adjusted the org to better match how I like to work.

[macintux]

I suspect that kind of story is more common at small companies still trying to define a path forward (or with inconsistent management philosophies).

Still, impressive turnaround.

[otterley]

I have. I went from being PIPed after my first year due to not getting along with my team, to being nominated for Yahoo!'s Super Star award (the highest honor in the company) a year later. People can and do turn around when they are mentored with care and the will to succeed.

[topkai22]

To be the odd man out, I do actually know someone who did and managed to later on advance in his career within the company. We shared a particularly bad manager who was forced out of the company himelf while he was on the PIP, so possibly special circumstances.