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Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#71

I always have this overwhelming desire to comment on people's posts in those threads. I wish they had a peanut gallery.

I've actually done this (in who's hiring). There was a startup that was going to rate people or something and I thought "wow that's super weird and not good." A few years later, and I think they're pretty big. I generally feel like a lot of the posts sound goofy and pointless.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#73
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One simple trick: I bike to work. Remote-only companies hate me!

This idea always appealed to me in theory but I sweat so easily that it never made sense unless I want to show up covered in sweat and feel sticky all day. Maybe if there's a locker/shower I can use and go directly to work and shower there it could work for me.

Get an ebike

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#74
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the HN candidate had a website that a business was based on? Or the candidate just had a good "fake" website that has a lot of good business code in it?

No, rather they had a good “I’m a freelance developer” web site that showed two things: 1) Some amount of professional experience in the technology we were looking for a contractor in. 2) An attitude that boiled down to “I write software to fulfill business objectives.” (The opposite attitude is what I characterize as the “hipster coder,” who says “I couldn’t possibly work on your legacy system unless you agree to re…

It is a funny old world when the one fact that they are willing to be managed as a technical contributor sets a candidate apart.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#75
I started the "Who wants to be hired?" threads over 5 years ago [1] after dang giving his blessing on it [2], and was super excited that it led to the job [3] that I still happily hold today.

I really wish these threads were more active -- and received more upvotes -- relative to the "Who's hiring" threads, as it seems like the signal to noise is so much better, and also seems like the success rate would be quite a bit higher.

I'm not sure if a) people aren't aware of the threads, or b) people don't have confidence in their success rate.

But as someone whose career -- and as a result, life -- got a big boost from it, I highly recommend anyone considering a move to try posting there. Seems like it could only help!

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7685170

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7682189

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7833251

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#77
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's mainly about security. We keep our stuff off of computers that can reach the internet. I get two computers at my desk, one for random internet junk and one for real work. I happen to like the side-effect on work-life balance. Nobody will ever expect me to do a bit more work at home. When I go home, I'm totally off work. I also get paid overtime, so I'm not getting cheated at the office either. It's also somewhat…

> I happen to like the side-effect on work-life balance. There's no problem with work-life balance while working remote. You can even have better work-life balance as you don't need to take half a day off from work to attend to a 10-minute chore that can't be rescheduled. It needs maturity and trust on the part of the employers and the employees. You're almost boasting about calling a bug a feature.

I think I see the problem: "half a day"

Depending on what you mean by "a day", each commute direction is 2 to 3 hours. (or I suppose 6) You have a very long distance, or severe traffic, or something else unusual. It sounds like you would be driving over the mountains to reach a place like LA or SF.

I've been a software developer at 5 different work locations in 2 different states, but I have never commuted more than 20 minutes. Currently it is almost that if I walk, or 3 minutes if I drive.

This is because I choose small cities with affordable housing and low traffic. Big urban tech hubs are popular, but they mean you probably won't get a large property right near work.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#78

I always have this overwhelming desire to comment on people's posts in those threads. I wish they had a peanut gallery.

You're allowed to comment on posts in that thread. It's nice to read different perspectives about the hiring process and what it's like to work for these companies (like we are getting in this thread). You can also ask and receive answers to clarifying questions.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone ever been hired from “Who wants to be hired?” threads?

#80
Yes! I posted in the threads on Jan 1 and Feb 1 of this year. I was contacted by a cumulative total of 14 companies, of which 2 were actually interesting to me. I'm a mechanical engineer working in robotics hardware, so that's a little different to the typical opportunities listed here. For both companies I was interested in, the process started with 2-3 phone interviews, then I was invited to fly out for on-site interviews (very important when working on hardware!). I was offered the position at both places, and ultimately accepted one. I joined a couple of months ago, and I'm loving it so far!! Feel free to ask me any questions
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