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Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

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Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#241

Post by ItsBob »

lrem wrote: post #147
sosodev wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re struggling with 22 YOE? That’s unfathomable to me

Possibly the ageism in our profession is not only a myth?

I've heard about that many many times yet I don't believe I've ever experienced it (I'm in the UK and in my late 40s).

I am a contractor and for the most part it's still, thankfully, a meritocracy. So experience is, in my opinion, the biggest factor.

I have no doubt that sometimes, perhaps for the entry-level roles, they will discriminate against age but for senior roles, due to the cost of the candidate and the potential damage they can do, a younger candidate without the experience, could affect them badly.

Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#242

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Paul-Craft wrote: post #199
esquivalience wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't understand this comment and wondered whether you had misread the parent. The point is that they are posting job openings and getting thousands of applicants per role i.e. They are oversubscribed.

That literally cannot be true unless the supposed "more or less qualified" applicants actually aren't qualified. Now, I suppose it's possible that thousands of people are lying on their resumes just to get a chance to work at Dropbox, but given this year's layoffs, I find it far, far more likely that people on the hiring side have gone off the deep end. You can disagree with me on that, and that's fine, but stay with…

The person posting did not say they had trouble filling the position, only that for positions that do open up they get thousands of applicants.

Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#244

Post by meeuwer »

MrDresden wrote: post #187
meeuwer wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They prefer stealth layoffs here in the Netherlands. The end result is the same: you’re out, but with no severance and gaslit AF. Thanks Rutte, I guess?

How do stealth layoffs function and how did the Dutch government make it possible (as I'm understanding your comment saying)?

When a corporation runs out of money, the managers get an assignment to hand out a high number of performance improvement plans to their direct reports. Those who can leave, prefer to resign. Those who can’t, stay and play along and face either no pay adjustment / no promotion or risk getting fired for “underperforming” after a while. Either way, the company achieves its goals of reducing the costs and headcount.

Of course this works only if you have a well-oiled HR machine and docile managers, which is typical for every Big Corp out there.

Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#245

Post by ssijak »

hamburglar wrote: post #204
darkwater wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, what's your definition of "full stack", if you started working in the early '00s?

I’m confused by the question. Are you under the impression that the term “full stack” didn’t exist in the early ‘00s? I recall the term already being an overused joke by then. It basically just means that whatever stack you got, the person can work on all parts of it.

he is probably wondering if maybe his tech is some out of fashion one so that could be the reason for difficulties in getting interviews

Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#247

Post by kuchenbecker »

Pmop wrote: post #120
firefoxd wrote: post #63

I hate to say this, stop applying. Find a recruiter on LinkedIn. This is what it has come to. There are thousands of resumes being sent at my company, yet the recruiter can't find anyone. Why? Because no one is applying through her link. The regular resume channel is reserved for bots at this point. Contact a person and you have more chances.

I also had good results with recruiters. They will actually get you at the door, so you better be prepared. Seems to be a decent strategy for people who are bad at networking like I am.

I have three recruiters that I contact every job hunt, makes the process better and I actively like the recruiters as people.

It's like reconnecting with a work collegue every few years.

Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#249

Post by ZephyrBlu »

Arisaka1 wrote: post #212
misja111 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> do you use it as a major factor when choosing candidates? If you do, why? Definitely. Motivation is of major importance in whether a new employee will be successful or not. And if a candidate obviously has put a lot of effort in preparing for the interview, then this indicates that he/she is motivated to get the job. Ofc it is not the only factor to take into consideration, but surely an important one.

>And if a candidate obviously has put a lot of effort in preparing for the interview, then this indicates that he/she is motivated to get the job. In case someone doesn't see the absurdity of this situation, let me make it clearer: We all have 24 hours in a day. Given that fact, whenever I'm at the crossroads between "practicing my interview skills" and "diving deeper into " then it makes sense that I should be prior…

This is not absurd. You're not a drone. Being good at your job requires many more skills than that.

I'd argue that interviewing well is strongly correlated with skills that are valuable for a SWE role. It's not perfect, but overall I do feel like there is signal there.

Re: Ask HN: Is the market bad, or am I having the worst luck job hunting?

#250

Post by nelsonic »

herodotusxviii wrote: post #236
firefoxd wrote: post #63

I hate to say this, stop applying. Find a recruiter on LinkedIn. This is what it has come to. There are thousands of resumes being sent at my company, yet the recruiter can't find anyone. Why? Because no one is applying through her link. The regular resume channel is reserved for bots at this point. Contact a person and you have more chances.

If you don't mind, could you tell me how I should go about finding a recruiter directly on LinkedIn? I've been out of the market for three years now (had to take care of sick family) and it's extra brutal; I've been contacted by a few recruiters but I'd really like to speed up the process of networking with them if possible. Thank you. (I'm in the Inland Empire in Southern California).

Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonic I will help you fast-track this.
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