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Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

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Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#11

Post by mxuribe »

rabbits_unite wrote: post #4
mpaepper wrote: post #2

Can you showcase any projects you've worked at in the mean time? That way you could fill some gaps with project stories which might make it easier for you. Good luck with the search!

I see the benefit of that. At my previous jobs, I worked on some big name products in use today. I don't have a public personal dev repo profile (with all of those years working under heavy NDAs). The private projects I worked on afterwards were minor pet projects for day-to-day life improvements (I don't think those matter). I think this is maybe one place to begin with: create some public projects. Thanks.

@rabbits_unite I have heard that even seemingly mundane pet projects are considered a good idea to show...something about potential hiring managers having access to see how your code looks, how you document stuff, how you can potentially organize a project, etc. Of course, if the role you will apply to has less to do with coding, then this matters less i supoose. Also, this is only something that i have heard...Not sure if it would be the "thing" that gets you hired or not. But, i guess if it pertains to the role you're appying to, then i guess it has some logic with it.

Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#12

Post by 1attice »

rabbits_unite wrote: post #7
1attice wrote: post #6

Something similar happened to me many years ago. I advise starting with contract work (which is often much easier to get,) and use that to re-establish a recent work history. Projects on Github are great as well.

What is the most important thing to know about contract work, for someone who had only done full-time employment jobs before? E.g. Do you need to be an some online platform to get projects? How do you protect yourself from financial abuse (someone not paying you)? Do you need a lawyer at all times? Should you create a legal entity of some sort so you're a "company" and use that instead of getting projects as an indiv…

1. Contract work can take many forms. I found great success with informal "please keep my business online" work when I was very raw -- part time network admin is how it was called, and I was a PTE of a couple of small orgs.

2. Later, I was more seriously into contract work, and I was dealing with companies that wanted me to incorporate. In my jurisdiction, this cost $300 and happened instantaneously after a visit to a government website.

3. If you live in a jurisdiction with sales tax(es), you will need to collect your sales tax. This is actually one of the worst/most irritating aspects.

4. do purchase private dental and health care insurance. You never know what will break loose next, because you're mortal. (A fact that tech folks can easily forget, myself included).

5. Back to the primary frustration. In my jurisdiction, the government can be *really harsh* with folks that aren't collecting sales tax. This can result in frozen accounts. I have a friend who forgot to collect sales tax while driving a literal taxi cab, and wound up, over half a decade and several careers later, with frozen bank accounts and an emerg move back home with the parents -- at 35, because of a tax mistake he made in his twenties.

If you're a business, you are subject to business-grade laws, and you can get in a lot of trouble, especially if you're ever asked to certify or attest that a particular system is effective, safe, or secure.

So, yeah, if you wind up doing this work for more than a few months, get a lawyer on retainer and get an accountant.

This sounds like more hassle than it actually is.

Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#13

Post by nvarsj »

I think the main change happening now is tech salaries are going to be coming down. There is intense pressure from investors on big tech to lower expenses - and a lot of that is what investors think are overpaid engineers. Rate of operating expenses has increased far faster than revenues.

So, hiring is frozen, layoffs will be happening and PIP quotas are increasing (e.g. GRAD at Google). Top end demand is shrinking and that will push compensation down industry wide.

I think you are fine as long as your expectations are tempered. There are still plenty of places hiring without big tech salaries.

Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#14

Post by lostgame »

I think FAANG companies are laying off employees because frankly they are idiots for growing to the unnecessary size of folks they had hired to start.

The bank I work up here as a dev in Canada is looking to grow it’s team and I get half a dozen emails from recruiters a day.

Don’t be afraid of the layoffs. These companies need to be taken down a notch.

Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#15

Post by b20000 »

nvarsj wrote: post #13

I think the main change happening now is tech salaries are going to be coming down. There is intense pressure from investors on big tech to lower expenses - and a lot of that is what investors think are overpaid engineers. Rate of operating expenses has increased far faster than revenues. So, hiring is frozen, layoffs will be happening and PIP quotas are increasing (e.g. GRAD at Google). Top end demand is shrinking a…

so is the cost of living in california coming down then?

Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#16

Post by nvarsj »

b20000 wrote: post #15
nvarsj wrote: post #13

I think the main change happening now is tech salaries are going to be coming down. There is intense pressure from investors on big tech to lower expenses - and a lot of that is what investors think are overpaid engineers. Rate of operating expenses has increased far faster than revenues. So, hiring is frozen, layoffs will be happening and PIP quotas are increasing (e.g. GRAD at Google). Top end demand is shrinking a…

so is the cost of living in california coming down then?

Good question... I think there will be less demand for the high house prices/rent. But there are a lot of other factors, like high inflation.

Re: Ask HN: Getting back to the hiring scene post-hiatus (& all the tech layoffs)?

#17

Post by b20000 »

nvarsj wrote: post #16
b20000 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so is the cost of living in california coming down then?

Good question... I think there will be less demand for the high house prices/rent. But there are a lot of other factors, like high inflation.

Realtors control the pricing, and will continue to drive the prices up. The state profits via excessive property taxes, so they are in the same camp as the realtors.

The compensation in FAANG is what is required to have a normal and comfortable lifestyle in California. So no, it is not "ludicrous" as some people are claiming.

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