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Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

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Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#111

Post by AlotOfReading »

busterarm wrote: post #56
ermir wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone wondering about the best times to apply, conventional wisdom is that January is the best time, since it's planning season for the whole year, and then around August, to get some quick help to reach the end-of-year goals. Of course this is anecdotal and applies in normal circumstances, which I don't think the industry is at.

A ton of people have the impression that "nobody hires in December" but it's the furthest thing from the truth. Almost every job I've ever landed I interviewed in December. Just last month I interviewed a dozen people or so for roles in my company. My recruiter friends that I talked to all landed a bunch of offers last month. Everyone is about to get swarmed with resumes right now but there's a pool out there with a…

The problem with December is the 2 week scheduling break for holidays as everyone leaves the office. Even if your application is in, you probably aren't scheduling interviews for that whole back half.

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#114

Post by busterarm »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #111
busterarm wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A ton of people have the impression that "nobody hires in December" but it's the furthest thing from the truth. Almost every job I've ever landed I interviewed in December. Just last month I interviewed a dozen people or so for roles in my company. My recruiter friends that I talked to all landed a bunch of offers last month. Everyone is about to get swarmed with resumes right now but there's a pool out there with a…

The problem with December is the 2 week scheduling break for holidays as everyone leaves the office. Even if your application is in, you probably aren't scheduling interviews for that whole back half.

Except we did and all of those employers I interviewed with in December did as well. Not everyone leaves the office.

Late December is a perfect time for interviewing because of code freezes and lack of progress on bigger projects. We had more time to interview than candidates in pipeline during that back half. Plus it's a time of year when generally people are relaxed and in a good mood.

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#115

Post by madamelic »

busterarm wrote: post #56
ermir wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone wondering about the best times to apply, conventional wisdom is that January is the best time, since it's planning season for the whole year, and then around August, to get some quick help to reach the end-of-year goals. Of course this is anecdotal and applies in normal circumstances, which I don't think the industry is at.

A ton of people have the impression that "nobody hires in December" but it's the furthest thing from the truth. Almost every job I've ever landed I interviewed in December. Just last month I interviewed a dozen people or so for roles in my company. My recruiter friends that I talked to all landed a bunch of offers last month. Everyone is about to get swarmed with resumes right now but there's a pool out there with a…

Did you apply in December?

In my experience, you _can_ get hired but it tends to be much slower. These were all also small companies so only 1 - 2 people were sorting through applications.

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#116

Post by catwalk_moto »

jurassic wrote: post #61

Of the people I know who got laid off in the last year, pretty much everyone got a job after seriously pursuing one for 3 or 4 months. By seriously pursuing I mean preparing, applying, networking, and interviewing for >20 hours per week. If you aren’t talking to people in your network to find warm leads and obtain referrals and introductions, you’re doing it wrong. Things seem toughest for the very young. If you have…

[dead]

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#117

Post by strikelaserclaw »

jwestbury wrote: post #100
Slix wrote: post #9

I've struggled to find a Software Engineer job for many months, even with FAANG on my resume. It's nowhere as easy as it was when I graduated college 7 years ago. I send out my resume and barely get any answers. I don't even get a chance to interview. That being said, I had a good luck streak in December! I'm waiting to hear back from several companies right now.

Same -- FAANG, Dropbox, quant hedge fund on my resume, ~10 years of experience, senior engineer. I don't actually want a new job, to be fair, but I prefer to interview at least a couple times a year to keep skills sharp and get a good idea of my value in the market. Right now, my value appears to be approximately nil. It's wild.

how are you looking for new jobs?

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#118

Post by spamizbad »

lucasyvas wrote: post #109
spamizbad wrote: post #63

I’m a hiring manager. My company did a round of contractor layoffs in 2023 and made a smaller number of FTE hires backfills. My advice is to hang in there. Often we have 3 strong candidates per open position. The people we reject aren’t getting rejected because they aren’t a good fit or lack skills - it’s just that someone else was a little better. If I had the budget I’d hire all the great people I have the privileg…

I think you may be right. Though, depending on where you live the supports for starting something vary wildly. And many people are in a position where it is riskier than ever financially to strike it out on their own. It definitely feels like it's time for next wave of entrepreneurship, but the current environment may make it difficult to realize it. I was laid off in the summer and tried some smaller ideas for a few…

For what it's worth, I'm not suggesting anyone who doesn't want to an entrepreneur to become one. For those who always wanted to do it, I'd say take your shot now while everyone's guard is down. Those efforts will ultimately create more engineering jobs and put more devs back to work - so for those folks who are ICs there's downstream benefits (if you're comfortable working at a startup that is)

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#119

Post by zippergz »

righthand wrote: post #89

The job market is extremely rough right now. I was one of the first layoffs of this job drought which happened to me in December 2022. I took a sabbatical and now jumped back into the job search in August 2023. I get very few call backs/interviews and I’ve been developing software for 20 years. I noticed companies are being excruciatingly picky during interviews. One interview for a senior position the interviewer ke…

I hate take home projects, but with the hiring environment being what it is right now, I'm not sure we have the luxury of refusing to interview with companies just because we don't like their interview process.

Re: Ask HN: Has the tech recession affected you?

#120

Post by AlotOfReading »

busterarm wrote: post #114
AlotOfReading wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with December is the 2 week scheduling break for holidays as everyone leaves the office. Even if your application is in, you probably aren't scheduling interviews for that whole back half.

Except we did and all of those employers I interviewed with in December did as well. Not everyone leaves the office. Late December is a perfect time for interviewing because of code freezes and lack of progress on bigger projects. We had more time to interview than candidates in pipeline during that back half. Plus it's a time of year when generally people are relaxed and in a good mood.

Your experiences are very different than mine then. I've been interviewing all December and no one was able to schedule for those weeks.
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