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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?

#431

Post by kfogel »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #211

As a hiring manager, the things that stand out to me in your post: - You said you quit a job at EA, quit a job at IBM, dropped out of college your freshman year. You may have valid reasons for leaving each of these, but you have to see this from the manager's perspective: You had 3 different great opportunities that all came to a dead end at the beginning of your career. You need an alternate narrative. - You talk ab…

I just want to say that this was a kind, detailed, and thoughtful response -- beneficial to the OP, no doubt, but also probably to others.

It was nice to be reminded that sometimes the Internet doesn't suck. Thanks for taking the time to write that reply.

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

#432

Post by andbberger »

javajosh wrote: post #305
void_mint wrote: post #18

Have you tried asking any of the jobs that rejected you're getting rejected? Honestly, just a guess, you're probably giving off bad interpersonal vibes/people don't really like talking to you. Half of interviewing is just being very personable/being able to talk comfortably with other people. Generally in this space (this space meaning those interested in tech/startups/etc) sometimes people struggle in this area but…

>you kinda seem like you might struggle just doing exactly what you're asked to do. Bringing up how frequently you quit things for various reasons or finding issues and bringing them up with your superiors' superiors Yes, this is what stood out for me. OP sounds malcontented, and habitually dissatisfied with his role, and makes antisocial decisions (like spoofing numbers - which is not just dishonest but shows contem…

I think you're reading a lot into a very short post and that it's pretty ridiculous, not to mention extremely condescending, to suggest that OP might have NPD

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

#433

Post by bad44 »

wildermuthn wrote: post #411
maroonblazer wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When responding to a comment that asserts your writing is not strong you'd want to read, re-read, and re-re-read your reply to ensure it is well written. You seem to have not done that, which lends credence to the parent's comment. My take is you seem to have an inflated sense of your abilities. I've interviewed people who share this trait and it's a turn off unless they have a portfolio of work to back it up. Perhap…

Good point, but snakedoctor did set this in motion by asking for candid feedback. Ostensibly, he wants to receive and integrate feedback. Seems like the sort of thing a smart kid would aim for. Part of me feels like in a decade people will reference this thread in the same way we reference the shellacking of Dropbox back in the day. It takes a cosmic-sized ego to ask HN to give you advice about why no company will ac…

Or maybe he just kills himself because he's close to being homeless already and a few hundred assholes just told him that he's a hopeless, narcissistic, uneducated "creep"?

Snakedoctor, I think this whole thread says a lot more about Hacker News and its penchant for armchair psychology and condescension than it does about you and your future prospects.

There's a few helpful posts here... take what you can and go out and seize the day! I am routing for you.

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

#434

Post by frman »

WalterBright wrote: post #346
snakedoctor wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to be argumentative. But yes, I did attend college. Send me a email, and I'll send you an email from my college email address (Hasn't been deactivited yet). I can send you my college transcript if that helps.. Well, I did get hired by IBM as a programmer so... I've contributed to a GNU open source project.. So I feel that I am qualifed for a entry level developer/SecEng/Security Analyst role. I went above my boss…

Gentle tip: writing "shouldn't of" instead "shouldn't have" is one of those critical writing misteaks one should never make when communicating with educated people. Some others worth special effort to do correctly: 1. their there they're 2. its it's 3. your you're A couple other writing tips: 1. don't terminate sentences with .. or ... 2. "bosses" is plural, I think you meant "boss's" for the possessive I know it sou…

their going

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

#435

Post by reader_mode »

void_mint wrote: post #18

Have you tried asking any of the jobs that rejected you're getting rejected? Honestly, just a guess, you're probably giving off bad interpersonal vibes/people don't really like talking to you. Half of interviewing is just being very personable/being able to talk comfortably with other people. Generally in this space (this space meaning those interested in tech/startups/etc) sometimes people struggle in this area but…

>Lots of lower-tiered jobs literally just need people to show up and do what they're asked. A part of getting a "first" or "entry level" job is accepting you're there mostly to learn, not to teach/move outside of your lane.

I recently saw a junior CV that said "I can lead and I can follow" in personal skills... meanwhile his CV was full of spelling mistakes and his biggest project was setting up a website for some realestate agency.

The number one thing I would want to see in a junior hire is effort and attention to detail, on the extreemes I prefer working with someone who's less talented but reliable and paying attention over someone who's technically capable but unfocused and all over the place.

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

#436

Post by tern »

You remind me of some of my friends. I think you might benefit from a little perspective—standard life narrative scripts (like: "get a job") might not be so helpful for you, for instance. Shoot me an email rot13(baylgjbpnacynlguvftnzr) at gmail and we can jump on a call sometime.

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

#437

Post by lumost »

asidiali wrote: post #103
brundolf wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconding this. The advice I've always heard is that if you quit a job in under a year, it's a red flag. Generally you get one freebie where people will understand if you had to quit because of a bad fit or a toxic situation or whatever - though you'll probably have to talk about that in your interview - but if there's a pattern of it happening over time, that's a huge red flag. If I were you I'd try and get one soli…

Just chiming in to say, while this is mostly true, it is not always true. I had a stint of about 2 years of job hopping every 3-6 months at the beginning of my career. Worked great for me every time. The trick is to get the new job while you still are employed, not quitting and then looking for something new. Employed = attractive to other employers, but still a bit of a red flag. Unemployed = just a big red flag.

when you're working you can always toss it off as "exploring my options". I had a period of 4 years where I traded jobs every 1.5 years. This strategy works well if you're starting at a company with a low bar and are working towards a top firm. Companies don't usually question it as long as you are moving up with each switch.

Once you cross the 5-7 years of experience mark companies will start to ask the question more pointedly as 1.5 years roughly corresponds with a performance review cycle. We all know engineers who have failed upwards or outwards for years but are competent enough to pass an interview and personable enough not to be fired. Senior level positions also tend to involve multi-year commitments that the company needs to know you're onboard for.

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

#438

Post by javajosh »

andbberger wrote: post #432
javajosh wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>you kinda seem like you might struggle just doing exactly what you're asked to do. Bringing up how frequently you quit things for various reasons or finding issues and bringing them up with your superiors' superiors Yes, this is what stood out for me. OP sounds malcontented, and habitually dissatisfied with his role, and makes antisocial decisions (like spoofing numbers - which is not just dishonest but shows contem…

I think you're reading a lot into a very short post and that it's pretty ridiculous, not to mention extremely condescending, to suggest that OP might have NPD

The OP asked for candid feedback, and told us not to hold back. I myself added a caveat to my post to address your very concern. Is there something more that you think I should have done?

(BTW I agree I'm reading a lot into his post, Sherlock Holmes style, but without confirmation one way or the other, its hard to say if I'm on target. In any event, I do not believe that the OP would share your umbrage, given his post.)

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

#439

Post by aeoleonn »

x0x0 wrote: post #49
snakedoctor wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I think hiring managers think that I'm a quitter. I definitely think that I was whining too much about the Amazon role. Beggers can't be choosers. However, the no health insurance thing rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like it was a dead end job. I wish that I would've stayed with it though. I probably would've been promoted by now. I need to stay with a job and rack up some years of experience for sure. Like I…

Also, to be direct -- you appear to have little to no programming skill. You've never worked as a dev before, except perhaps at IBM, from which you transitioned to QA? You have no college degree in programming. And you're applying to the top echelon of software companies, that have the ability to have a shot at almost any candidate they want. You need to be a fulltime dev somewhere, and without a degree (let alone fr…

This person is correct in that:

You MUST show your programming skills.

How?

* Github. I spent 4 months programming a project in NodeJS, ReactJS, Postgres, (+ html/css of course) on Linux. I posted the code on Github for the world to see. Within 2 weeks I was hired to my first 100% programming job: $80k, on 1099 contract. Two months later, I was hired on salary at $105k by a different company. Once I had those on my resume, plus the github code, and the two next bullet points, recruiters began contacting me. Sure, no one paid me for those 4 months, and it was a grind, but now they certainly do pay me.

* A web portfolio. Web Dev is my bread and butter. How could I call myself a Web Dev without my own website?

* LinkedIn presence + LinkedIn Connections

To build skills:

* Udemy.com , Youtube, other video sites (google "sites like udemy" for more)

* IRC --> Google "nodejs community" and you'll find there's an IRC chatroom filled with hundreds of Node devs, many of whom are experts & work at major tech companies. There are also chatrooms on Discord and Slack, besides IRC. And they offer chatrooms in many languages & frameworks

* eBooks. Free ones.

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

#440

Post by kortilla »

ipiz0618 wrote: post #341
kryogen1c wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It's impossible to tell if OP's on the spectrum. I used to think I could do that until I got close with a Clinical Psychologist. Sometimes it can't be confirmed even after a few in-person sessions with professionals, so it's certainly dangerous to "guess" it from a few internet comments.

For sure, but this person is asking for help and it’s worth pointing out that there is a lot of socially unacceptable behavior going on here. If he/she doesn’t understand that, it’s probably coming through in the interviews and would explain the ghosting. This is not a diagnosis, it’s a suggestion to get one.
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