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Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

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Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#131

Post by Smushman »

Several points I also want add:

1) Just, Wow. I am impressed at the amount of good advice here - HN'ers really do go all out to help.

2) Problem - too much advice is hard to sift through. To a carpenter, you will need a better hammer or to charge less; to a painter, the finish isn't smooth. Choose carefully; I doubt feelings will be hurt.

3) Finally - remember this is all an odds game. Your resume has to arrive, and subsequent interview has to complete all in concert with a need.

JD's (job descriptions) are supposed to improve these odds. But often JD's are only up for an HR requirement or other reasons. Some examples are:

- An H1B requirement

- Already have an applicant they want but they have to justify something

- Internal fill

- Tire kicking (happens in security roles - teams take their time filling these)

- Comparison people for the hiring process (they have a bead on one applicant, but they have to include 2 other applicants in on-site interviews for balance)

- Position is terminated before hire due to lack of funding/budget

- Situational changes (role is fluid and changing - you applied but the role itself was adjusted afterward)

These are just some of the reasons. Don't give up!

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#132

Post by alanwells »

Hi there, fellow designer here who also doesn't like to fit in the narrow box of most product design roles. I've been doing this generalist thing for 10 years, and I've found that it makes applying for jobs pretty challenging - most companies are looking to fill a specific role and won't value the breadth of your interests.

I think there are 3 ways that you can make this generalist path work without it being career suicide.

1) Start your own profitable small business. It's not easy but if you can get to the point of personal financial sustainability based on something you've built, then you can stop worrying about the fact that nobody wants to hire you. Words of caution here - if you go this route, you will spend most of your time doing things other than design work and coding. Also, don't consider "start a business" synonymous with "start a startup". Startups are a very particular kind of business, but they aren't the only kind, and they have an extremely high failure rate. If you go this route, I would strongly consider focusing on building a small, profitable business first before you attempt to build a hypergrowth startup backed by outside capital. For this path, seek inspiration from https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses

2) Commit to the freelance gig path and make it work. This is pretty similar to #1 except in this case you're doing work for hire instead of building a product that generates revenue. I've done this path before as well, and found that the most challenging thing was to get a consistent pipeline of client projects. I think this is easier than it has been before. If I were doing this today, I would focus on building a reputation and profile on one of the gig marketplaces (Gigster seems like the best of the bunch right now) and use that to help fill the pipeline of projects. If you go this route, your personal financial planning should include a buffer for weathering weeks or months without work, as the lumpiness of income from the freelance life is one of the most challenging parts for someone who is starting fresh and trying to build a client base.

3) Find a very early stage startup that is so small that they value generalists over specialists and is working in an area that you're excited about and has high potential for growth. When you find this company, take almost any job they will offer you, and start working hard. If the company grows, there will be opportunities to take on more responsibilities. Over time, if you can prove your abilities in design and coding with hands on projects inside the ocompany, there will probably be many ways to contribute in these areas. You typically won't find companies like this by skimming the headlines of recent funding announcements - those companies have already made it far enough that they are usually focused on hiring specialists. Your sweet spot here will be smaller, scrappier companies that haven't made it that far yet and need to get a lot done with very little. Searching AngelList for startups that have raised only seed funding or no outside capital and are OK with remote work would be a good start here.

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#133

Post by didgeoridoo »

nnq wrote: post #7

Maybe it's that you're experience says DESIGNER all over the place, but you seem to look for a " DEVELOPER with some extra product-design attributes" type job. This confuses the heck out of most recruiters , since they like to put people in "boxes with labels", like "product designer, "graphic designer", "frontend developer" etc. I mean, people can't even figure out "who should interview this guy?"... which leads to…

Second the "entrepreneur" comment. If I'm looking for an employee, I'm looking for someone who can creatively execute on my company strategy — not someone who is going to push their own vision, and maybe even leave to start their own thing at the worst possible time. The only role for which "entrepreneur" is a positive attribute is that of co-founder.

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#134

Post by pmiller2 »

fecak wrote: post #113
larrydag wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great analysis. Targeting and messaging is key. Treat the job search like analyzing a problem. What kind of industry do I want? What is my market? How am I marketable in this market? Do my skillsets match? Create lists so you can visualize your opportunity. As far as messaging you need to show accomplishments? Translate to measurables like $ grown, $ saved, % improved, % eliminated, etc. Those pop out that you are go…

Measuring accomplishments for OP isn't likely to be easy, but for more senior candidates that's the ideal situation. You're correct about generalizing duties and skills. Bullet points on resumes that talk about non-specific day-to-day responsibilities are mostly filler.

I agree that it's ideal to have numbers attached to accomplishments, but how many devs actually know those numbers? I've written code that's run literally millions of times, because it's deep in the core of some task execution code, that enables easier debugging of tasks, and I have no idea how much debugging time it's actually saved. I wrote a large part of a couple of important features in a product for the company I work for now, and I have no idea how much revenue these features are going to help bring in or how many sales they'll generate.

Do you have any tips on how a dev can quantify his/her work in an easily digestible format like all the resume books suggest?

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#135

Post by moon_priestess »

> I love coding: for me HTML/CSS and code have never been anything more than tools to get whatever was on my mind into the real world.

This is a red flag for me. Working for someone as a programmer is often about getting what is in someone else's mind into the real world. To excel, you need to love the process of designing and developing software, not simply seeing the end result.

All of the best programmers I know love programming for the sake of programming. Conversely, some of the most dangerous and careless programmers I've met are the type to only be into it if they're making exactly what they want to make (and often if they can make said thing quickly).

I may be alone on this one so take my comment with a grain of salt!

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#137

Post by antoniuschan99 »

I had some trouble a few years back when I was looking for a job after 2 years experience. I wasn't junior nor was I senior and I had spent a year and a half working on my 'startup' (so basically 3.5 years experience).

I didn't have any success finding remote interviews (less than 5), and had more interviews locally. However, it was my state of mind that prevented me from getting an offer. Not sure where your head is at, but with your resume and the job opportunities in the current days, the issue is more about you than the jobs itself.

Also, it seems like your designs would suit more French Fashion houses anyway. Seems like less of a feat to work at a French Fashion house (or design house) for a few years then branch off to New York than going straight back to New York (Remotely).

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#139

Post by fecak »

pmiller2 wrote: post #134
fecak wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Measuring accomplishments for OP isn't likely to be easy, but for more senior candidates that's the ideal situation. You're correct about generalizing duties and skills. Bullet points on resumes that talk about non-specific day-to-day responsibilities are mostly filler.

I agree that it's ideal to have numbers attached to accomplishments, but how many devs actually know those numbers? I've written code that's run literally millions of times, because it's deep in the core of some task execution code, that enables easier debugging of tasks, and I have no idea how much debugging time it's actually saved. I wrote a large part of a couple of important features in a product for the company…

We all understand that it's often highly complex if not impossible for most devs to quantify an accomplishment. It's easy for some things to be quantified obviously - downloads, traction - though those aren't exclusive to engineering (could be marketing).

Scalability numbers and measurable performance improvements are relatively common. So if you built something that is able to handle n requests maybe.

The amount of revenue generated by a feature is clearly tough - but you might be able to find out new subscribers since the feature was introduced. Even if you can't, just saying you built a certain feature is probably enough in most cases.

It really boils down to unique, one-off accomplishments for me. Specificity. That code that runs millions of times - tell me the product name, what that product does, what your code does, and what tools you used to build it. Even if you can't point to a quantifiable figure, the specificity gives you some credibility.

Re: Ask HN: I’ve been applying to a million jobs

#140

Post by vmarsy »

First, 23 yo is young, don't worry.

I'm not a designer expert but a few remarks :

On your website I can't find your resume, a simple pdf that I could skim through quickly, or even a linkedin link.

On each of your projects, I would put a bullet point or 2 about the key learnings/skills you got for each project. For software engineers it'd be useful to see something like: [App Foo] : platform for X and Y. Written in C++ using Unity Framework. That way, if I know any of these, I know I can ask you more questions about App Foo if I know about C++ or Unity. "iOS and Android", "get over 8000 users the first month, be top 10 of its category, get featured in top women's publications online" should show up somewhere too!

Similarly, I understand your minimalism effort but for each job position, I would add bullet points about your key experience, key skills, and more importantly key business impacts (and key customers if allowed)

You need to emphasize why companies should hire you, not why you want to be hired by company.

If you're willing to work in the US, be clear about it (is it only NYC?), also be clear about the fact that you are a US citizen or your work authorization status in the US.

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