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

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

#411
post #348
post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do they make difference between "tech lead" and "team lead"? Asking for a friend :)

Yes! Team Lead has a management component to it. You often handle 1-on-1s, promotions, conflicts resolution, lead hiring processes, act a middleman to other parts of the company, but you still code (unlike a "pure" manager). Tech lead is more of a tech-only role, and there's often a non-coding manager present as well. All IME of course.

Makes sense, thanks!

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

#412

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they can afford to wait three months (!) to start looking for work because of "feelings" they they deserved to be laid off.

Not everyone lives from hand to mouth and need a job ASAP. Additionally, most people I know in (US) big tech do not take adequate time off from work - it appears the unspoken rule is to take substantive breaks between jobs, rather than annually like they do in Europe.

I've found this to be true, looking at the course of my own career. Just told a German tourist over breakfast that some US workers get as little as two weeks' vacation when starting a job. You should have seen his reaction— his eyes bugged out and he almost choked on his eggs and sausage.

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

#413
post #232
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s the salary on the offers you have, and in which region of Germany is that? Just curious.

Berlin. 140k and 150k but I'm still shopping.

I'm also based in Berlin. Do you mind if I ask what companies are you talking to?

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

#414
post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> were hanging on to their jobs to save maybe 10% more or whatever The amount of wealth all people need is constant. It is 1.5 x whatever they have today.

As a counter example, I need about 100x what I have today.

Man I need about -15x the net wealth that I have today.

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

#415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As software developers, everything we build will be obsolete, discarded or dead in 5-10 years. We are craftsmen of the ephemeral.

Ah, I miss the view of someone that has never worked outside of startups or technology sectors.

I majored in classical music, released 40 records, played to hundreds of thousands of people, produced national US radio shows, recorded bands, tended bars, washed cars, been a cook, built generative music systems and much more.

It is precisely due to my varied experience that I can point this out: the vast majority of startups and tech is dust in the wind.

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

#416

I was laid off in november, in vc. Looking for PM/Ops roles. Applied to a ton of stuff where I was a great fit, no answer or immediate rejection lol. I'm 8 years out of school and am not applying for roles that are unrealistic. I think the entire hiring/search process is so broken. Different applications, formats. Don't get me started on having to fill out sections in a form that are just resume sections (work experi…

>"Don't get me started on having to fill out sections in a form that are just resume sections" I haven't been laid off but I've been dipping my toe in the past few months because I'm a bit bored in my current role. The process is much more fiddly than it needs to be. When I run into those 'fill this out again for our system' forms, often times it's after a long day and I will just save it to come back to it later...a…

The problem with "the process" has been exacerbated recently (I'd draw the line at COVID) by the breakdown of public trust in corporations and the media.

If you can't trust that somebody who has 10+ years of experience as an engineer at a FAANG company is competent, then that says something bad about social proof and confidence.

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

#417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean.. that sounds like a legitimate reason to not extend you an offer. But it's good that you know this about yourself and can hopefully formulate an actionable path to improvement!

I'm just going to coast/struggle at my current job.

You might not like this answer, but I was once in the place you are now. The only thing that will change the situation for the better is to invest in yourself and learn new skills. The problem is motivation and time. I know how discouraging it is to come home exhausted from the job you hate, eat a quick dinner, and hit the O'Reilly and Addison-Wesley books to learn that new programming language. But eventually it will pay off.

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

#418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard from a few sources that there's a disgusting stigma of "if you were laid off, there must be a reason."

I've always assumed this was the stigma, so I've always avoided mentioning it, but during the much more competitive market in 2020-2021, it seemed like big tech types were the only ones wise enough to look past that stigma and appreciate that often, cuts are to business units, not people. My wife was part of a big (31%) layoff at an AI Healthcare company during the earliest round of layoffs, and she had literally hun…

It's like those people think there are layoff cooties or something, as if it's a virus that will transfer to their company. It's just a big shakeup of talent finding a new home.

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

#419
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure there's plenty? Some reqs are ridiculously detailed and specific. Oh you have Python 3.10.7 installed, sorry we can't hire you we use 3.10.6 here. Next! Oh we want someone with 4 years experience, you only have 3 yrs 11 months call back later. Next!

My favorite was from some years ago when Java was about 8 years old and C# about 3. They wanted 10 years of Java and 5 years of C#.

One of my faves is the guy who created Homebrew getting turned down by Google even though something like 80% of the company uses it.

Or how about the time a clueless recruiter asked DHH how many years of Rails experience he had and he replied "all of them."

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

#420
post #46

Serious question for the folks who are not getting many callbacks. Are you looking for remote-only work, or are you looking at both remote and on-site opportunities?

My situation is kind of different. DevOps guy with 10+ years of experience. I've been fully remote for the past seven years, but the past five years I haven't had any choice but to be fully remote because I am staying with my family in SE Asia. Since I'm not in a position to move at the moment, I can only take remote roles.
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