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Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#31

Post by delbronski »

dxuh wrote: post #17
delbronski wrote: post #12

Personally, I'm not interested in a FAANG or hot startup job. So not sure if my "classic" strategy works for those positions. I also got 15+ years experience(in my late 30s). I use the exact same approach today as I did 15 years ago. When I'm in job hunting mode I search through job postings every morning. If I find an opening that stands out I write the company a short email stating my interest and why I think I'd b…

Where do you look for job postings? I figure this is very dependent on location.

Yeah, I think that's a very valid point. I've worked half my career in the US and the other half in Northern Europe.

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#32

Post by dheera »

jongjong wrote: post #24
keyle wrote: post #6

The older I get, the worse I find the experience. I've had so many poor experiences with recruiters over the years, I think I'm becoming allergic. It's getting harder to pierce through the BS layers with all that new meat on the market, and to make the matter worse, recruiters are even less skilled than they ever were and are often offshored now. It's insane today. When I'm on the hiring side, we can't find candidate…

Age discrimination is real... I'm 35 and I could feel it kicking in big time. It's particularly obvious in my case because my resume is excellent. I don't say that to brag. Speaking to recruiters and prospective employers is cringe because, for most of them, I'm the best developer they'll meet this year but they can't hire me because of my age, race and sexual orientation. Can you guess them? I think also in my case,…

> Age discrimination is real... I'm 35

That's not really the typical age where age discrimination sets in. In fact 35 is very much a sweet spot where people would respect your experience but you still look young enough to be hanging out with people in their mid 20s.

If you really think it's an issue don't state your graduation year on your resume.

> my libertarian views on social media and cryptocurrency background have hindered me

Most big tech recruiters don't go around searching your social media, it's a liability and they don't have the time for that. Startup founders might, that's another story.

If you're really worried about it, just delete it, temporarily hide it, or make that stuff private so only your friends can see it.

Stop whining and find solutions.

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#33

Post by jongjong »

degosuke wrote: post #27
jongjong wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Age discrimination is real... I'm 35 and I could feel it kicking in big time. It's particularly obvious in my case because my resume is excellent. I don't say that to brag. Speaking to recruiters and prospective employers is cringe because, for most of them, I'm the best developer they'll meet this year but they can't hire me because of my age, race and sexual orientation. Can you guess them? I think also in my case,…

Do you think it might be a good idea to keep or your social accounts private? Or it's mandatory to reveal it during recruiting?

Unfortunately my Twitter account uses parts of my real name. I didn't try to hide it enough. Over time, they must have discovered it. I didn't foresee that society would turn into a censorship totalitarian hellhole when I created the account years before. I'm not controversial or hateful at all. Just Rand Paul level common sense but some people see it as improper.

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#34

Post by michaelt »

jongjong wrote: post #24
keyle wrote: post #6

The older I get, the worse I find the experience. I've had so many poor experiences with recruiters over the years, I think I'm becoming allergic. It's getting harder to pierce through the BS layers with all that new meat on the market, and to make the matter worse, recruiters are even less skilled than they ever were and are often offshored now. It's insane today. When I'm on the hiring side, we can't find candidate…

Age discrimination is real... I'm 35 and I could feel it kicking in big time. It's particularly obvious in my case because my resume is excellent. I don't say that to brag. Speaking to recruiters and prospective employers is cringe because, for most of them, I'm the best developer they'll meet this year but they can't hire me because of my age, race and sexual orientation. Can you guess them? I think also in my case,…

> Speaking to recruiters and prospective employers is cringe because, for most of them, I'm the best developer they'll meet this year

Have you considered instead applying to the kind of organisations that are in the habit of hiring people at your skill level?

You should - there will be far more people to learn from, and they're probably in the habit of paying higher wages.

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#36

Post by tmountain »

I staffed an entire team back in January just using HN (Who's Hiring) and a very high-touch email strategy. I made a video introducing myself and my company, and I screened on comp in the first series of exchanges (based on the budget we could afford). I've been running with this team for 7 months now, and the folks I hand picked out of ~200 applicants have been truly fantastic. I know this is about finding a job and not hiring, but on the other side of it, I'll say that with so many applicants, if I didn't find something impressive in the portfolio, I didn't bother going any further. You really have to make yourself stand out, and proof of work is a great way to do that (personal websites showing work, etc).

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#37

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

keyle wrote: post #6

The older I get, the worse I find the experience. I've had so many poor experiences with recruiters over the years, I think I'm becoming allergic. It's getting harder to pierce through the BS layers with all that new meat on the market, and to make the matter worse, recruiters are even less skilled than they ever were and are often offshored now. It's insane today. When I'm on the hiring side, we can't find candidate…

> When I'm on the hiring side, we can't find candidates

i had the perception that people's standards and expectations are too high.

like it's not enough to just be able to do the job, you have to demonstrate something extra to stand out.

when i read the job ads HR posts for my own team, it doesn't sound anything like what we actually do.

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#38

Post by jongjong »

dheera wrote: post #32
jongjong wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Age discrimination is real... I'm 35 and I could feel it kicking in big time. It's particularly obvious in my case because my resume is excellent. I don't say that to brag. Speaking to recruiters and prospective employers is cringe because, for most of them, I'm the best developer they'll meet this year but they can't hire me because of my age, race and sexual orientation. Can you guess them? I think also in my case,…

> Age discrimination is real... I'm 35 That's not really the typical age where age discrimination sets in. In fact 35 is very much a sweet spot where people would respect your experience but you still look young enough to be hanging out with people in their mid 20s. If you really think it's an issue don't state your graduation year on your resume. > my libertarian views on social media and cryptocurrency background h…

I have a job now. You bet I'm not going to bring my real self to work. Never again.

Re: Ask HN: How do you go about finding a job?

#40

Post by johnnyanmac »

abdussamit wrote: post #18
keyle wrote: post #6

The older I get, the worse I find the experience. I've had so many poor experiences with recruiters over the years, I think I'm becoming allergic. It's getting harder to pierce through the BS layers with all that new meat on the market, and to make the matter worse, recruiters are even less skilled than they ever were and are often offshored now. It's insane today. When I'm on the hiring side, we can't find candidate…

So true about the last part! Over my last 8 years, I've learnt that to grow in the company and have a good position, you need to be a rock for at least 1 core area the company works in. Like you said, "become a knowledge source, a reference"

This was what I ideally wanted to do. In practive, when I'm laid off every 3-4 years (right around the time I start to feel like I'm becoming a knowledge source), the layoff hammer comes down.

Maybe it'd be a bit faster now with 9YOE, but In some ways I also feel like I'm "3 YOE 3 times over".

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