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Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

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Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#181

Post by screwturner68 »

floydian10 wrote: post #171
ReDeiPirati wrote: post #95

I finished my job search after 5 months and 1 week. After 179 applications, 22 interviews, 2 offers later, I'd say that it's one of the toughest and miserable job market someone can find into. I job search-ed even during the pandemic, and although it was very difficult, imho this one is order of magnitude worse... The Senior you are the better chance you'll have, but there is no market for JR, and I feel so bad for t…

> Unfortunately even if you feel like your resume is super strong, getting a job now requires to literally excel in every single step of the interview and having the luck of having the team feeling you as a perfect fit for the team. Even a single meh would mean instant rejection I'm part of the interview process for a role we're trying to fill, and it's 100% like you describe it. I lost count of how many people we in…

It sounds like you really don't need to fill the position, is that true? I know when I hire it's because I need someone yesterday not in the next year. The multiple interviews and hoops that applicants have to jump through are akin to fraternity hazing not a interview process especially for non-entry level positions. My last three positions I was hired during my first interview, my guess is that today that would be unheard of, again I question if there is really a need to fill the position or the company is just adding another worker.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#182

Post by screwturner68 »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #94
vrosas wrote: post #44

On the flip side I’m trying to convince my CTO to fire half our engineering team - a group of jokers he hired during the run-up who are now wildly overpaid and massively under-delivering. With all the tech talent out there I’m convinced we’d replace them all within a week.

>I’m convinced we’d replace them all within a week. If only. It can take a week just to go from recruiter call to the first hiring manager talk. that gauntlet of 4-6 weeks of interviews is what makes me dread the interviewing time the most.

Why? It shouldn't take two months and multiple interviews to hire a quality employee. I've been hired multiple times by large companies tech and otherwise during my first interview. They liked my resume, they liked my experience and I proved that I didn't have a third head and would wear a suit if totally necessary and that was good enough because they needed the worker. The whole process today seems gratuitous, at least in the United States everywhere is still at will employment, if it doesn't work fire them and hire someone else. Frankly I think the process is so long because a company doesn't want to hire new people/a replacement, they'd rather string the workers along with the "we just can't find the prefect fit" and pocket the savings than hire a needed worker that might not be a prefect fit -nobody is a prefect fit. Or maybe the answer is simpler, they really don't need another worker.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#183

Post by johnnyanmac »

screwturner68 wrote: post #182
johnnyanmac wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I’m convinced we’d replace them all within a week. If only. It can take a week just to go from recruiter call to the first hiring manager talk. that gauntlet of 4-6 weeks of interviews is what makes me dread the interviewing time the most.

Why? It shouldn't take two months and multiple interviews to hire a quality employee. I've been hired multiple times by large companies tech and otherwise during my first interview. They liked my resume, they liked my experience and I proved that I didn't have a third head and would wear a suit if totally necessary and that was good enough because they needed the worker. The whole process today seems gratuitous, at l…

I very enthusiastically want an answer to this as well. If I get an offer on my current farthest company today and start Monday, it'd be the shortest turnaround I'd ever expeienced. I applied on August 31st and got a reply on September 10th (and a call within a few more days). So the process was 6-8 weeks depending on how you measure it.

well, 2nd fastest. My fastest would be my first role if you count "reply back starts the process", since the process was 3 weeks. The problem was they took 6 weeks to reply back (and yes, applying in December is rough. one reason not to graduate in fall semester I guess), so it cancels out. Take that one as you may.

> Frankly I think the process is so long because a company doesn't want to hire new people/a replacement

to give some generosity: a bad fit SWE can certainly do a lot of damage to a codebase and overall team morale, even if kicked out in 3 months. That plus the higher pay compared to other industries makes me understand some scrutiny. those 3 months are still ~30-50k+ just to "test" someone on the field.

But I do agree at some point in your career that it shouldn't take 5 interviews to see if someone is BS'ing their resume (that's what background checks and references are for) nor has "1 years of experience 10 times". I can only see more than 3 interviews (or 2 + recruiter call) being necessary if they are considering you for multiple roles (which you hopefully agreed to, either in applications or in the recruiter call). recruiter call -> technical/leadership evaluation -> soft question/culture fit (this can be 2nd if you want).

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#184

Post by austin-cheney »

Things are much much better if you have a security clearance. If you have a TS, experience with Java, fullstack web, and Angular/React you are super in demand and don’t have to be good at any of it.

If you just have a security clearance and high competence with fullstack web you need to know what you are doing well to be competitive but should have no problem landing interviews. These positions are constantly getting candidates for interviews but none of the candidates are competent enough even with consideration for the big stupid frameworks carrying most of your job.

Even better is that security clearance positions appear to pay better if you aren’t already making Bay Area money.

My learnings:

* Applying directly to companies results in a failure to receive a response about 100%.

* GitHub repos need to be ridiculously simple or solve a common already solved problem or they are probably doing you more harm than good (scares people away).

* If you have a LinkedIn profile ensure it’s fully updated, lists all your credentials, and uses only your legal name.

* You stand a vastly superior chance of landing interviews using third party recruiters. They get paid on commission and may not understand the technical considerations of your job but then neither does the client HR or sometimes the hiring manager at the client. That means the job requirements tend to become a qualification checklist.

* At some point you have to make a forced decision between dicking around with arbitrary tools/frameworks or continuing to be unemployed. Keep in mind you gain superior competence by not wasting time on the tool nonsense and you need to be more competent than the next guy but you also need enough time with the nonsense to land/pass an interview.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#185

Post by another2another »

hiAndrewQuinn wrote: post #169
lylejantzi3rd wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my strategy for most of my career. It doesn't work anymore. AI + remote positions have changed the game. Even the feeblest job description gets 100+, or even 1000+, applications. ChatGPT can generate a custom resume and cover letter for each position you apply to that's hard to distinguish from the real thing. This makes all 100-1000+ applications look like rock stars. How does a recruiter filter through all…

Probably by using more AI? No, seriously, you make a good point. The idea of ha resume is fundamentally to de-risk the applicant; in a world where good writing no longer transmits that signal, you probably need to find new tactics to get that info across.

Actually I wold argue the opposite - by using more human contact.

Agency Recruiters have a list of people that they know and trust, and if you keep the recruiters in the loop periodically, then they'll remember you and bat for you when the time comes.

If recruiters are getting swamped with AI generated resumes they can't trust then I'm pretty sure their instinct will be to get on the phone and call people they know and trust.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#186

Post by tejinderss »

satvikpendem wrote: post #40

Pretty good, actually, although I've just been using LinkedIn recruiters. It's important to optimize your profile such that you get recruiters to contact you. I usually have 5-10 recruiter messages per day asking me to work for some company or another. A lot of them are startups though, which is risky in this climate, as I've heard many that got fired or laid off from their startup job this year.

Getting recruiters contacting and getting the job offer are very different things in this climate.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#187

Post by satvikpendem »

tejinderss wrote: post #186
satvikpendem wrote: post #40

Pretty good, actually, although I've just been using LinkedIn recruiters. It's important to optimize your profile such that you get recruiters to contact you. I usually have 5-10 recruiter messages per day asking me to work for some company or another. A lot of them are startups though, which is risky in this climate, as I've heard many that got fired or laid off from their startup job this year.

Getting recruiters contacting and getting the job offer are very different things in this climate.

It's been fairly reasonable for me, getting offers and all. Probably around 50% or so from reaching out (and those I've replied to), to offer.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#188

Post by tejinderss »

satvikpendem wrote: post #187
tejinderss wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting recruiters contacting and getting the job offer are very different things in this climate.

It's been fairly reasonable for me, getting offers and all. Probably around 50% or so from reaching out (and those I've replied to), to offer.

Good for you, i am having tough time here in Uk, Ireland though with 13 YOE

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#189

Post by piku »

satvikpendem wrote: post #40

Pretty good, actually, although I've just been using LinkedIn recruiters. It's important to optimize your profile such that you get recruiters to contact you. I usually have 5-10 recruiter messages per day asking me to work for some company or another. A lot of them are startups though, which is risky in this climate, as I've heard many that got fired or laid off from their startup job this year.

Where are you located? I am in UK and have a difficult time finding jobs, I only have 3 years of experience though.

Re: Ask HN: How's your job search going in this current economy?

#190

Post by satvikpendem »

piku wrote: post #189
satvikpendem wrote: post #40

Pretty good, actually, although I've just been using LinkedIn recruiters. It's important to optimize your profile such that you get recruiters to contact you. I usually have 5-10 recruiter messages per day asking me to work for some company or another. A lot of them are startups though, which is risky in this climate, as I've heard many that got fired or laid off from their startup job this year.

Where are you located? I am in UK and have a difficult time finding jobs, I only have 3 years of experience though.

I'm in the US, around 6 YoE and it's still fairly hot.
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