You're clearly not FOB based on your written English. Don't demean yourself.
Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
61–70 of 249 posts
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#62Not to be mean spirited, but it sounds like you either need to learn how to close or you are going for positions you really aren't a good fit for. I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for that I really wanted. In the end, it's about perception and desire. If you don't go in acting like you deserve the job and can be an asset to the company, you are not likely to get an offer. You also have to be able to sell y…
> I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for I once said this to a friend. He then suggested maybe I wasn't being as ambitious as I could be in the roles I was seeking. Gave me some food for thought.
woah... woah. don't cut off that sentence.
> I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for that I really wanted.
the point is not that "i get every job i interviewed for because i'm that good" -- i think the point is "i get every job i really want because the enthusiasm fuels the interview".
i can say with certainty it has nothing to do with a lack of ambition. enthusiasm is the only thing i can attribute to offers i've received for positions i wouldn't consider myself qualified for. :)
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
"If the companies are worth their salt, they should be giving (or willing to give) you detailed feedback. _Especially_ if you got to a face-to-face interview. If they don't, then I'd consider that a lucky miss." Really? It's been my experience that companies will not give feedback, at least anything that could be considered detailed feedback, as a blanket policy. The perception at least is that giving feedback opens…
I take your point, but I've seen this from a few sides of the fence and I really believe it to be true. i.e. If they're not willing to give feedback, then they're not worth their salt. An interview process is a huge investment for a person, especially if it's face to face. We're talking hours, maybe days. Not giving feedback is really an insult. A poor interview experience is a massive miss for a company. If they don…
I've interviewed more than everybody else I know, and I always get great feedback on my interview technique, particularly when I hear from someone I know who works for the business. Not one of them has ever told me why I didn't get the job, with one exception.
One place I interviewed at, an educational institution, apparently had some very serious behind-the-scenes arguments and some hurt feelings between friends, because most of the interviewers wanted me for the job but one of the decision makers had already promised it to someone else. (Which is illegal, I might add.)
That's the closest I've been to "Here's why you didn't get the job..."
[edit] I'm not including the times someone's discriminated against me for daring to have a disability.
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#64Not to be mean spirited, but it sounds like you either need to learn how to close or you are going for positions you really aren't a good fit for. I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for that I really wanted. In the end, it's about perception and desire. If you don't go in acting like you deserve the job and can be an asset to the company, you are not likely to get an offer. You also have to be able to sell y…
> Not to be mean spirited
In the history of human interaction, has anyone said that and not then followed it up with something arrogant and dickish?
> I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for that I really wanted
Of course you have. And the jobs you didn't get you later decided you must not have really wanted enough. I wonder how you would have felt about those jobs if you had gotten them.
We get it, you're a super impressive person. You can stop trying so hard to impress us now.
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#65I've had job searches that lasted 3+ months, and involved several hundred applications. Sometimes it just takes volume. A very talented friend had to take 190 coffee meetings to find his job.
When you are fresh out of school, you're hired for general human capital. It's many people chasing many jobs. The best people get many offers. When you're later in your career, it's more of a matching problem.
Net - hang in there!
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#66It sounds to me like you're analyzing your job-hunting process like one would a sales funnel. You're probably thinking that if you put in enough into the top of the funnel, then you're bound to get a closed deal out of the bottom.
My recommendation would be to identify a handful of companies that you'd really want to work for and instead invest heavily in building relationships with people connected to those companies. Attend meetups at the company's office, reach out to employees on linkedin to chat, or find out who the hiring manager is and see if they'd be willing to speak with you over the phone.
During my limited time as a hiring manager, I've experienced the impact that a pre-existing relationship has on the hiring process. Even if I've only had a coffee or phone conversation with someone, they're almost always guaranteed a better shot at landing a job than if they apply cold.
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#67I was in exact same situation until a week ago. Indian, mid 30s, 4-past companies, 15+ interviews, 7+ onsites and only one went fine. On top of it, I was going through a layoff. I may be able to offer some insight. Lets talk over the weekend. Email in profile. (I am on engineering side)
Keep two things in mind 1) You are the interviewer's bitch. They can ask any and every question from your resume. And in product management, all questions are subjective. 2) Interview is not reflection of your on job performance, its a reflection of how much you can convince a new guy. You only have to convince one company unlike sales people who have to convince someone every single time.
But, looking at what you have written, my guess is that your leadership aspect is not showing up well. Atleast, thats what happened to me.
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#68Work on your interview skills is my best guess.
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#69Not to be mean spirited, but it sounds like you either need to learn how to close or you are going for positions you really aren't a good fit for. I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for that I really wanted. In the end, it's about perception and desire. If you don't go in acting like you deserve the job and can be an asset to the company, you are not likely to get an offer. You also have to be able to sell y…
> Not to be mean spirited In the history of human interaction, has anyone said that and not then followed it up with something arrogant and dickish? > I've gotten every job I've ever interviewed for that I really wanted Of course you have. And the jobs you didn't get you later decided you must not have really wanted enough. I wonder how you would have felt about those jobs if you had gotten them. We get it, you're a…
He may also be in an industry or an area where given a certain bar of quality and a friend at whatever company you are applying to, you get in. From my viewpoint, it's super common in engineering.
Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?
#70Product Manager is a position which is not always easily transferable.
As a software engineer these are the character traits I most value for a product manager:
- Knowledge about the history of a specific class of products; CAD, Mapping, consumer electronics... whatever it is we are selling.
- Capable of effectively translating customer needs to engineers.
- Capable of effectively translating engineer concerns to customers.
- The ability to prioritize requirements in succinct communication in both e-mail and in person.
Unfortunately "12 years of well known brands" does not mean much to me unless that experience is very closely related to the domain of the company. In a parallel example; I am not going to hire an 12 year expert in kernel hacking to build my SAAS payment system.
Unfortunately (for many people) software trends come and go fairly quickly. Business models of yesterday become the pejoratives of today. If your specific area of expertise has met such a fate... you need to re-tool.
Find a specific narrow niche in the larger business market and become an expert in that 1 thing. Grow outwardly from there. But target it based on your true personal interest... not what you think will be most profitable.