hiding under a rock with some bourbon until one of my industry friends drags me out kicking and screaming. in all seriousness this industry is very much a word of mouth back door room career, and if you actually try to fight on the job boards you are fighting for positions that were already turned down by top talent against recruiter firms that get a percentage of your salary. i don't work unless it's for a friend and there's equity. not everyone has that luxury and jobs have to be posted publicly even if the candidate was already internally chosen, so it's really rigged. i guess it's just old fashioned git gud scrub mentality which is very toxic but what can i do about it? i wouldn't trust a single person on linkedin if i was in a hiring position so it's really a losing game for everyone.
Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
11–20 of 89 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#12Personally, I'm not interested in a FAANG or hot startup job. So not sure if my "classic" strategy works for those positions. I also got 15+ years experience(in my late 30s). I use the exact same approach today as I did 15 years ago. When I'm in job hunting mode I search through job postings every morning. If I find an opening that stands out I write the company a short email stating my interest and why I think I'd be a good fit (I normally got a template ready for this that I customize for each job), and then I submit the job application. I got a 100% success rate of landing a job within 2 months with this approach.
I'm quite selective about the jobs I apply to. I read job descriptions carefully to try and get a sense of the place. I know the kinds of environments I prefer to work in at this point.
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#13It sucks. At this point, I'm focusing more on quantity rather than quality. I need a change.
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#14"Looking for work" on LinkedIn and replied to one of the hundreds of messages.
Same for me for the past 20 years. LinkedIn may deserve some hate, but I was never disappointed when I had to find a new job.
I only follow friends and coworkers I like, I don’t use it as a social media, and I reject bad offers. That’s all and it’s good enough for me.
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#15Agree fully with recruiters being BS.
Google keyword alerts/searches and/or word of mouth, although the latter is less trustworthy. Search, goshdarnit!
Have also randomly contacted a few people in my LinkedIn network for advice at 2 times in my career, in order to get more knowledge about skills, industries, company landscapes, etc.
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#16Personally, I'm not interested in a FAANG or hot startup job. So not sure if my "classic" strategy works for those positions. I also got 15+ years experience(in my late 30s). I use the exact same approach today as I did 15 years ago. When I'm in job hunting mode I search through job postings every morning. If I find an opening that stands out I write the company a short email stating my interest and why I think I'd b…
That is crazy! Is it true that behind your 100% success rate, your portfolio looks great?
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#17Personally, I'm not interested in a FAANG or hot startup job. So not sure if my "classic" strategy works for those positions. I also got 15+ years experience(in my late 30s). I use the exact same approach today as I did 15 years ago. When I'm in job hunting mode I search through job postings every morning. If I find an opening that stands out I write the company a short email stating my interest and why I think I'd b…
Where do you look for job postings? I figure this is very dependent on location.
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#18The older I get, the worse I find the experience. I've had so many poor experiences with recruiters over the years, I think I'm becoming allergic. It's getting harder to pierce through the BS layers with all that new meat on the market, and to make the matter worse, recruiters are even less skilled than they ever were and are often offshored now. It's insane today. When I'm on the hiring side, we can't find candidate…
So true about the last part! Over my last 8 years, I've learnt that to grow in the company and have a good position, you need to be a rock for at least 1 core area the company works in. Like you said, "become a knowledge source, a reference"
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#19Personally, I'm not interested in a FAANG or hot startup job. So not sure if my "classic" strategy works for those positions. I also got 15+ years experience(in my late 30s). I use the exact same approach today as I did 15 years ago. When I'm in job hunting mode I search through job postings every morning. If I find an opening that stands out I write the company a short email stating my interest and why I think I'd b…
Where do you look for job postings? I figure this is very dependent on location.
True, dxuh. I'm in Asia, I won't get many replies from companies outside my country, for sure. So I can't afford to get picky.
Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?
#20I deleted my linkedin years ago: I found it utterly useless. i won't lie, my social media game is as bad as they get but linkedin seems like the least effective option. I have not gotten the standard "while your credentials and experience is very impressive blah-blah" bollocks message from linkedin applications. So far it's been either local job boards or angel.com.
Recruiters are a mixed bag. I've had wonderful and horrible experiences(and almost nothing in between). My current job - 10/10. The one before - same - the guy was awesome and was the reason I took the offer(against my better judgment) and ultimately was the only person I liked in the company and the only one I miss. The job before that - uugh... I joined the company before the HR did and had it been the other way around, I would have turned the job down - she was absolutely unbearable. In the grand scheme of things I agree: HRs are atrociously insufferable.