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Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

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Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#171

Post by hinata08 »

tricksforfree wrote: post #139

I just interviewed a developer for a senior level front end position and they couldn't print a 2d array to the console. They apparently worked on a large web application and wrote typescript everyday. What I've known for years, I'm finally seeing first hand: There are way too many people out there that should never have been engineers in the first place. This is a rebalancing. Those who are competent will always be h…

> couldn't print a 2d array to the console. > should never have been engineers

that's a challenge for a technician, not an engineer's role.

I know plenty of engineers who can tell you how cars work, what customers like, how they should interact with the cloud, what functions make them safe,... They are ok at designing new models. But they would 100% feel distressed if they had to check their oil or tire pressure.

Also, knowing how to properly print an array is probably something you can find on the internet, when you're not familiar with the specifics of a language. So it's not even a relevant skill to test for a technician.

Secondly, "Those who are competent" is a terrible thing to hear from a recruiter. You usually hear that from mismanaged companies with no introspection nor continuous improvement process, who judge the candidates and absolutely not themselves nor their processes and job ads. They think that competence is an 1 dimensional absolute value, and interview you in java for a C# position, turn you down because you don't know the number of ports available in ipv4, or make you play games with dominoes.

or in that case :

> senior level front end position > console

you think all developers know how to develop console applications.

Unfortunately, a console application is pretty specific, uses specific packages and methods, and you never need that when you work on GUI apps or web apps. This question would have been a relevant if you wanted a sysadmin or a devops engineer to do scripts. But it is not relevant to interview a front end developer. FE developers have a knowledge of frameworks to build interfaces, as their title indicate. They don't do scripts for the console.

"It's not the job ad, the position, or the interviewing processes that are flawed. That candidate was definitely not born competent but had to learn his job, and we only want naturally skilled persons here" aka >Those who are competent will always be hired. Those who are are not, the jig is up.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#172

Post by monero-xmr »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #162
monero-xmr wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are profitable but in hiring freeze as we wait to see what happens. We were going to IPO last year but decided to delay because the market sucks. Interest rates need to stabilize and the IPO market needs to thaw before sentiment changes. People don’t get it because money was so cheap for so long, but the key word here is venture - this is extremely risky stuff. Ad venturous . Uncertainty and low success rate is su…

If you don’t mind me asking, are y’all doing anything to provide liquidity to common shareholders until an exit event? Aggregating ground truth around what “almost IPOs” are doing.

Yes, we are going to be repricing and giving amazing terms to vested employees

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#173

Post by misterhtmlcss »

fnbr wrote: post #144
e-_pusher wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do folks still expect you to keep up with research papers as an ML engineer?

Yeah, you should be familiar with the state of the art in your field. You don’t need to be as strong with theory though as Research Scientists.

I’m a web dev and I’m wondering if there is really any practical way of levelling up to become an ML Engineer. Seems there are ‘schools’ out there but based on what I read on Hacker News these places won’t remotely prepare me to make that transition.

Not complaining just would appreciate some of your thoughts on what are good options to consider to make that leap.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#174

Post by glminvictus »

snizovtsev wrote: post #61

I had to quit in September due to burn out. Given how many better engineers now on market I feel there are no space for me anymore. Now burning my saving money on rent and food and going to commit suicide few months later.

Don't give up. You've got a reason to live.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#175

Post by devstein »

inertiatic wrote: post #168

Getting laid off soon, so I still have a few months to look for a job. I work in a somewhat niche field (search / information retrieval) and wanting to stay in that limits my options heavily. Things are looking very very grim, even compared to how the market looked to me a few months back.

I'm working on a tool for candidates to make the transition from "not looking" to "actively looking" for a job easier. It plugs into your email and leverages your historic inbound opportunities to jumpstart your job search.

It's still invite-only, but check it out at https://sharedrecruiting.co/ and let me know what you think!

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#176

Post by JohnFen »

h0l0cube wrote: post #6
bosch_mind wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hang in there. I’d say your experience is pretty good. Maybe try AB testing your resume structure and wording, improving social media, etc.

Whenever I've seen a situation with low supply/high demand, networks trump credentials

I wouldn't say that networks trump demonstrated ability (I prefer that to "credentials" because that's what credentials are a proxy for), but in any economic environment, your network is as valuable as your demonstrated ability. This is for many very rational reasons.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#177

Post by 40acres »

71a54xd wrote: post #15
40acres wrote: post #5

I was laid off in November - few false starts here and there but I start my new gig on the 20th. Better yet I have $20k left from severance which is really nice.

I assume non-startup / large company? Congrats on the role.

Thanks. It’s a startup of about 100-150 people.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#178

Post by bunnyhop »

misterhtmlcss wrote: post #173
fnbr wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, you should be familiar with the state of the art in your field. You don’t need to be as strong with theory though as Research Scientists.

I’m a web dev and I’m wondering if there is really any practical way of levelling up to become an ML Engineer. Seems there are ‘schools’ out there but based on what I read on Hacker News these places won’t remotely prepare me to make that transition. Not complaining just would appreciate some of your thoughts on what are good options to consider to make that leap.

TBH the code behind generative stuff is "fairly" simple, I made a GAN for my Masters degree back in 2019 that produced 16x16 tile assets for x-bit styled videogames. The rough part is CREATING the math that supports the learning models, its very easy to implement it after the fact. If you have a strong data structure foundation, and are decent with math then it shouldn't be a hard transition to pick up ML. It's the flavor of the year and everywhere you look schools are hustling for your money, can't say I've tried any of them/have an opinion of them so GL with that.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#179

Post by bunnyhop »

hackily wrote: post #58

I was laid off a month ago, senior frontend engineer. I've reached out to my network and have been talking to various startups, but it seems like most of the bigger companies do not want to bite. Compounding that is my desire to keep working remotely, or somewhere local to the DC metro area, so many of the same opportunities that would be available to me in the Bay area, had I remained there, are closed to me, becaus…

...You're in DC, NSA is in MD, CIA is in VA. The amount of contracting work in your area is ridiculous. As for non-major contracting companies, Amazon and Microsoft fork over silly bonuses for cleared workers, but that in itself is your barrier to entry... Can you pass an investigation? If so... go roll around in contractor money, there's no hiring freezes or layoffs right now.

Re: Ask HN: V2 – Laid off folks, are you getting hired yet?

#180

Post by inadequatespace »

ericmcer wrote: post #72
iaaan wrote: post #51

I was laid off about a month ago (senior software engineer). I remember the whole job search for my last position, back in June 2021, lasted all of about two weeks. This time, it feels like there's significantly fewer interesting positions open, and the ones I apply to aren't even leading to HR screening calls. I've probably applied to about 30 positions. The one place that did call me back gave me their take-home co…

Yeah I think it’s important to remember that we aren’t terrible failures, but the market has shifted completely. I’m entering my second month of looking really hard (30+ applications a month) and have only had a few interviews so far. For my last job I sent out a few lazy applications in early Jan 2021 and was debating which of 3 offers I wanted to take a few weeks later. I’m a better engineer than I have ever been,…

Exactly. The market is a terrible failure.
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