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Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

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Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#91

Post by bsvalley »

You should seek advice from people who are looking for jobs right now, or people who got freshly hired (within the last 2 months). If you listen to people who aren't in the market now then you won't hear anything relevant. Things change, the market moves up and down, if you're not in it then you're disconnected from reality.

Reality is - it is not a candidate's market anymore for many reasons. It is early 2017, things have changed since the end of last year. The amount of jobs available hasn't changed but the number of candidates has raised significantly. It is extremely high and will remain high until April, when visa applications will stop, as well as a lot of other high profiles who won't be on the market anymore. Right now companies are super picky and treat candidates like crap. They line up 10 interviews, give you assignments after a few calls and an onsite. They reject you even if you haven't failed any tests, etc.

Give it a month or two and it'll come down. You're not doing anything wrong, it's just that a lot of very very good candidates are out there right now looking for jobs. You might be a second/third pick since they bring you onsite.

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#92

Post by amenghra »

dpweb wrote: post #11

You could have a problem with your interviewing. You may want to get someone you trust and will give you HONEST feedback to mock interview you and get some feedback. The companies turning you down, you're not going to get any useful info from them. That and just keep trying. Its a numbers game though, if you aren't getting any offers there must be something wrong with your interviews.

> The companies turning you down, you're not going to get any useful info from them.

My understanding is that companies won't give you feedback because they are afraid to get sued. So don't expect any feedback from them. Read some books/websites on how to improve your skills and do a few mock interviews.

If you can get on the other side of the table by interviewing candidates at your current job, it might help build confidence.

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#93

Post by united893 »

siquick wrote: post #88
throawayname wrote: post #87

What are you willing to sacrifice? I can give you an answer, but you won't like it. As an Indian man you'll be discriminated against. Period. Lots of empirical proof for that, not just job wise but in lots of other cases (dating, etc). While folks here will give you lots of tips on the professional side, here are a few actionable things you can do to minimize racial bias: - Change your name to an americanized version…

>> Take acting classes and learn to speak with no accent It wont be permanent, but you'll be able to minimize your accent for a few hours in the interview. It's akin to speaking with a fake French accent. This is terrible advice. As soon as you start the job, the people who interviewed you will wonder why your accent is totally different, and it will instantly put you on the backfoot. >>I am almost thinking of haltin…

>> This is terrible advice. As soon as you start the job, the people who interviewed you will wonder why your accent is totally different

That's not quite how accent reduction works. I think the goal is to be clear and understandable in the interview. The accent would have no weight on his professional capabilities.

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#94

Post by slantedview »

> You are a great candidate, and we would like you to interview with this other role

What is the other role companies are suggesting you for? Perhaps your resume, which is helping you get so many PM interviews, doesn't match with where your experience actually is. That's not to say you don't have valuable experience, but it may not align with the role you think it does at other companies even if, in theory, the titles are the same.

Another way to put it, maybe your current PM role and experience is, for some reason, misaligned with what it means to be a PM at the companies you're interviewing with?

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#95

Post by eatrero »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #78
vacri wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and not then followed it up with something arrogant and dickish I remember a comedian saying that he likes to say "I don't want to sound racist, but" and then follow it up with something that actually wasn't racist. As in "I don't want to sound racist, but do you have the time?" or "I don't want to sound racist, but can you tell me the way to High St?"

I wish I could remember which comedian this was, I distinctly recall the line as "I don't mean to sound racist, but could you pass the salt" in reference to reclaiming phrases that are usually negated by what follows.

Neal Brennan's Netflix special

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#96

Post by jimmywanger »

bigmanwalter wrote: post #79
a_t48 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

He's also probably also a well off, straight, white male.

Based on what? Racist misconceptions about how hiring processes work?

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#97

Post by thaumasiotes »

cookiecaper wrote: post #50
SeanBoocock wrote: post #36

Earlier 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…

Yeah, this has been my experience. The one time I got a company to provide feedback, it was that I "didn't seem assertive enough", which really couldn't be further from the truth (I'm usually getting in hot water for being too assertive), so I assume that it was a randomly chosen from a grab bag of meaningless-but-legally-sanitized "useful feedback" phrases. Even if someone does provide feedback, it usually can't be…

When Google gave me feedback, it was that they thought I didn't seem to care whether or not the code I drew on the board actually worked.

This despite the fact that they recruited me through their code jam, in which whether your code actually works is the only criterion.

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#98

Post by seppin »

mrg3_2013 wrote: post #47
henryw wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just finished the book on audible. I highly recommend it. Here are my notes for it, but don't let this substitute the book. Talent x effort = skill Skill x effort = achievement Grit is required in life. Watch out for claims of otherwise Grit is not just working hard, but sticking to it for months. Doing what you love and staying in love. There's a pyramid of goals. Concrete ones on the bottom, like getting up at 8a…

Appreciate you sharing the notes. I am going to keep this handy

is there a site / service that provides these types of notes for non-fiction books?

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#99

Post by aminscore »

eatrero wrote: post #95
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could remember which comedian this was, I distinctly recall the line as "I don't mean to sound racist, but could you pass the salt" in reference to reclaiming phrases that are usually negated by what follows.

Neal Brennan's Netflix special

Also Demetri Martin

Re: Ask HN: 50 job applications, 15 interviews, 7 onsites, and no offer – what next?

#100

Post by microcolonel »

united893 wrote: post #93
siquick wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Take acting classes and learn to speak with no accent It wont be permanent, but you'll be able to minimize your accent for a few hours in the interview. It's akin to speaking with a fake French accent. This is terrible advice. As soon as you start the job, the people who interviewed you will wonder why your accent is totally different, and it will instantly put you on the backfoot. >>I am almost thinking of haltin…

>> This is terrible advice. As soon as you start the job, the people who interviewed you will wonder why your accent is totally different That's not quite how accent reduction works. I think the goal is to be clear and understandable in the interview. The accent would have no weight on his professional capabilities.

Is being clear and understandable not an important professional capability? If not, then why does the interview require it?
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