Yes, it's really that bad. Even trying to change teams internally at my company is the hardest it's ever been in over a decade of experience.
Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
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Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#22What I find paradoxical is that despite the fact there's a lot of people "on the market" (or so many say), I'm having a hard time finding software engineers to fill a few open positions.
Granted, I work for a small company doing things that may be considered boring and maybe people are looking elsewhere.
I would be curious to know if that feels like the case for other companies too.
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#23Yes/No. It's probably the worst it's been in a decade, but it's my understanding it's nothing even resembling the 2008 crash or the dotcom bubble (I wasn't working during those times). With that said, it feels worse than it is because the 2021-2022 period was uniquely euphoric.
Key driving factors are people who have been laid off working to find positions against the backdrop of many tech companies not adding headcount right now. Additionally the decade+ long messaging campaigns of "CS is going to be the most in-demand major forever etc etc" have now materialized into a steady supply of CS grads every year.
I'm fortunate to be interviewing for a role at a big tech company right now (arguably the most desirable tech employer rn outside of MANGA) and the recruiters have told me that they get almost 1000 applications for every role posted and are basically exclusively hiring from referrals. I imagine this is exacerbated by people using llm scraping bots to automatically submit applications.
With all that said, anecdotally I'm seeing cold approaches from recruiters tick up. 6 months ago my linkedin/email were radio silent, but I've had ~10 people reach out in the last 2 months or so.
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#24Side bar: I've been back in the UK for a longer spell for the first time in years, and the number of adverts for "blue collar" jobs I've seen just walking around is unreal.
So many places looking for kitchen staff, waiters, carers etc. Might just be that I've been in smaller towns with leaner recruitment pools, but it's been striking.
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#25Yes/No. It's probably the worst it's been in a decade, but it's my understanding it's nothing even resembling the 2008 crash or the dotcom bubble (I wasn't working during those times). With that said, it feels worse than it is because the 2021-2022 period was uniquely euphoric. Key driving factors are people who have been laid off working to find positions against the backdrop of many tech companies not adding headco…
This “It's probably the worst it's been in a decade, but it's my understanding it's nothing even resembling the 2008 crash or the dotcom bubble”
The worst of 2008 started in October of that year though … tick tock ?
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#26Very rough out there. Response rates are almost zero.
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#27Yes - 20 years of tech experience at major players and not able to find a single full time role in over a year- looking remote anywhere or in person in Seattle
Have been doing contract work - currently doing AI engineering
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#28Been looking for a year and a half for something full-time and permanent. No luck so far. Chopped about fifteen years off my resume, and that seemed to help get more interviews, but I think that backfired because then they were surprised by my wrinkles and bald spot and figured if I was lying about my experience, I was lying about other things too.
One thing that does not help was a string of startups I worked for which all eventually ran out of funding, so I have like four companies in four years. Also, no thanks to Patreon, who hired me to do one thing, went through a bunch of managers and could never get the ball rolling, then laid off a bunch of people nine months later. really hard to explain to a hiring manager without sounding like I'm mad and resentful. Because I'm mad and resentful.
Picking up odd jobs here and there. Small part time gigs, some substitute teaching, bar-backing and construction work.
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#29I graduated recently and have been looking ever since. It’s abysmal. No replies at all. Compared to co-op where I was interviewing a dozen times a week and getting half a dozen offers, it’s post-apocalyptic.
No one’s interested in taking on anyone at recent grad / entry-level. Not sure what to do.
Re: Ask HN: Is the Job Market That Bad?
#30Side bar: I've been back in the UK for a longer spell for the first time in years, and the number of adverts for "blue collar" jobs I've seen just walking around is unreal. So many places looking for kitchen staff, waiters, carers etc. Might just be that I've been in smaller towns with leaner recruitment pools, but it's been striking.
Yes, I’m in the UK too and there’s a massive shortage in that sector. But, of course, the pay is terrible so no one wants to do it.