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Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

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Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#351

Post by dbancajas »

snakedoctor wrote: post #7
codegeek wrote: post #5

Need more details to give you a more accurate feedback. How long you have been working/in the industry in general ? It seems like you have done a few things over the years but don't really seem to have stuck to something that made you a specialist or someone worth hiring. Being brutal here but making assumptions. Do you quit a lot ? Do you have any criminal records that you are not aware of ? Are you too opinionated…

I've quit a lot. I haven't lasted anywhere longer than 2 months. I contribute a lot and then quit after I feel like I'm not getting appropriate compensation. Though I certainly agree that I need to stick with a job. I think ageism, and other biases are in place though. More years of experience I get the less disdained I will be I think. I don't think I'm a know it all. I'm only in my early 20s. I definitely have a lo…

> more about the team/product/company etc ? Are you that person who "knows everything" ? Lot of factors could be causing you to lose out.

2 months each job? holy shnizzle nobody will hire you like that. Next gig you get better suck it up for 2 years. I don't care how you don't like it. 2 months is barely enough for a ramp up. Have the fortitude and tenacity to stay on something even if it sucks. Remember your parent's stories "back in the day i walked 10 miles to school barefooted blah blah blah". That's the equivaalent of staying 2-3 years in a job. Everyone knows a job sucks even at FAANG companies.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#352

Post by acdw »

Try checking your local library for a career center -- I work for a career center locally and we do career coaching, mock interviews, and will review your resume and cover letter. Maybe your local library has the same, and can give you some one-on-one coaching and help with your job search, at least better than strangers on the internet can.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#353

Post by racl101 »

xpe wrote: post #160
klyrs wrote: post #42

Brutally candid advice? You sound like a creep. Am I reading it right here, you spoofed your number to talk to executives? In the best case, they'll assume you're a pen-tester; but more likely, you're blacklisted from those companies now. I wish there was, like, short and simple advice that I could give you to not be a creep. I just tried to google that, and I'm not finding a good clear resource. Like most social ski…

Spoofing your number does seem shady. However, saying someone is a creep is not very helpful. There is a big difference between how one is perceived and what a person -is-. The most helpful advice I've seen here is: get direct feedback from a candid friend. This HN feedback offers a range of opinions, but -please- don't dwell on it. Find a way to have people you know help you ... practice interviews, talking out loud…

To be fair they didn't call OP a creep. They said he "sounds like a creep". Maybe they should've said: "seem creepy". But to me is po-tay-toe and po-tah-to. Nevertheless, it can be helpful if OP is looking for brutal honesty.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#354

Post by zxcvbn4038 »

Any feedback from the interviews? From the recruiters?

You need a good story to explain your leaving all those other positions - nobody cares that you didn’t like the pay or how hard it is to transfer internally, you need to tell the story of all the great knowledge and experience you gained at those positions, how your looking to build on that in your next position, and why your so excited for the position your interviewing for because it’s an opportunity to grow and do something new or continue working with technologies you love. Presentation is everything. Always remember that an interview isn’t a reading of your book of reckoning, it’s an opportunity for you to advertise your best aspects.

You don’t have to be homeless either - you can flip burgers at Sonic and make $15/hr these days. Nothing wrong with that. Take an evening shift so you can interview during the day.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#356

Post by jldl805 »

javajosh wrote: post #310
inopinatus wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a FAANG hiring manager and those rules were not rigidly enforced. There are other deterrents, however. As a younger manager I was keen to respond to such requests, but a significant proportion of unsuccessful candidates would then argue, sometimes quite vehemently, about the validity of the feedback. This curtailed my enthusiasm, and I've been rather selective since.

Interesting. I'm curious: roughly how often did the candidate promise they'd take your feedback constructively, calmly and then argue with you anyway? (I'd hope it would be close to 0, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was much higher.)

I'm a recruiter and candidates argue 95% of the time. Maybe higher. I only give feedback in very, very selective situations and even then I almost always regret it due to the response. Most people are not calm, rational, dispassionate receptors of critical feedback... especially when there is money and ego at stake.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#357

Post by kfold3 »

If you're a rockstar coder, you should be able to crush something like Triplebyte, skip directly through to talking to founders and find some who will tolerate your scattered personality.

They might not be there in a year, and you might not be there in two months, so at least your time horizons match ;)

Also 'What Color is Your Parachute' is a must-read. As suggested there, you'll get much better feedback if you connect with tons of engineers (not hiring managers). They'll give you a straight take and in many cases suggest other places that are hiring and more of a fit.

Personalities don't change. Focus on turning your weaknesses--short time horizon, ownership mentality, all-over-the-place--into strengths. This means very early startups, consulting/contract work, or possibly launching your own projects. Forget about big companies completely and just try to talk to a few dozen very early startups whose risk profile includes making bets on SWEs.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#358

Post by Causality1 »

klyrs wrote: post #42

Brutally candid advice? You sound like a creep. Am I reading it right here, you spoofed your number to talk to executives? In the best case, they'll assume you're a pen-tester; but more likely, you're blacklisted from those companies now. I wish there was, like, short and simple advice that I could give you to not be a creep. I just tried to google that, and I'm not finding a good clear resource. Like most social ski…

I have to admit I snorted after reading your comment and scrolled back up to notice he's using an FSF email address. Apple, tree, etc.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#359

Post by eyelidlessness »

snakedoctor wrote: post #89
kryogen1c wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I'm seeing a therapist. I had an abusive childhood. Not that it justifies anything. I was also homeschooled since the 6th grade, so I didn't really have any IRL friends etc. I hope that I'm not a sociopath... I might be on the high functioning autisim scale. I've never been tested so I don't know.

Speaking from personal experience I think it’s a good possibility you’re on the spectrum. I can’t say for sure of course. But I can say taking some time to find resources that might help you understand if that’s part of what’s going on might help you navigate both the issues you’ve discussed here, and working with your therapist to determine any steps you might want to take toward diagnosis.

I’ll also say I have been where you’re at as you describe. You sound very capable, but you haven’t had the opportunity to thrive. I also had an abusive childhood.

I won’t say what’s important is overcoming all your obstacles and persevering. I’ll say this: you have shown you have a desire for more and you’ve shown you have a capacity for more. I believe you can do it.

I’ll echo one thing other people said but in a different way. I don’t think you should set your sights lower. I think you should consider looking for smaller ponds and see how big a fish you turn out to be. Some of those smaller ponds are wonderful, might even be more wonderful for you than the big ones you’ve looked into.

Re: Ask HN: How can a unhireable person get a job?

#360

Post by srinivgp »

bmdavi3 wrote: post #270
snakedoctor wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried out meetup.com and went to one meetup. It was ok. I felt a little uncomfortable though. They solicited for my name, and email to be added to the Slack. There was a lot of recreational clubs etc at my college. I tried rock climbing, and liked it. There wasn't a lot of social interaction with rock climbing though. I went to a party in Austin. Chatted with strangers etc. Wasn't really sure what else to talk a…

The secret to being a good conversationalist is to have the other person do most of the talking, and everyone's favorite thing to talk about is themselves. Being, and therefore appearing, genuinely interested in what the other person is saying about themselves creates the best feelings in the world for the other person, and you won't run out of things to talk about. "You just got a new dog? Cool!" Then you can ask an…

I hear people say this so much and it's so incredibly not true for me but I dunno if I'm different, they're all full of it, or both.
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