Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 189 posts

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#161

Post by therealdavesky »

GianFabien wrote: post #120
therealdavesky wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

contracting jobs are great, and I love them. its all about getting referrals, that has been the best route to new jobs, at least for me

In reading through this thread, I am not getting a clear picture. What has changed and resulted in contracting jobs no longer being an option? Personally I prefer to bypass recruiters and pitch to those with a compelling need for what I can deliver. Requires more up-front research but once you demonstrate your track record in delivering results the hiring process becomes smoother.

I am open to contract positions or permanent positions, no problem either way. It sounded like I was just a corporate developer from my original post, so I may have confused some of you, sorry about that. I thought putting out a whole life's story was too much me, me, me! stuff...

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#162

Post by therealdavesky »

adamredwoods wrote: post #82
therealdavesky wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i did that for the first FB interview, spent 6 weeks writing leet puzzles down by hand, thinking them over 3X before coding, and then solving the problems. But then the interviewer hit me with a topic i didnt cover. wups!

I can relate. I don't enjoy the "pop quiz" type of interview questions, asking weird coding questions that never come up in the job. If it was just to find out how extensive my knowledge is and use it to converse on topics, that's fine, but they (Ama$on) use it as a all-or-nothing filter. One miss and you're out. We all have gaps.

thank you. my thoughts exactly!

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#163

Post by therealdavesky »

wikibob wrote: post #160
therealdavesky wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ummm. also i have an iterview with meta tomorrow morning.

I would strongly, STRONGLY advise you to email the recruiter and say that after getting some more info about the process, you would like to please postpone the interview. Get yourself onto http://leetcode.com Start practicing. Aim for three questions per day. Work on it for one hour, if you can’t get it, look at the solution in discuss tab and then understand it and rewrite it. Don’t waste your time taking any FAANG…

thanks for the links. leetcode is already familiar to me but i will study the others

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#164

Post by therealdavesky »

leesec wrote: post #97

If you'd like to send over your resume we can exchange emails and I'd be happy to give some pointers on what might stand out for a modern resume, or also recommend techs you could try get some practice with that are in demand now.

please email me at fraktalmaui@gmail.com thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#165

Post by therealdavesky »

GianFabien wrote: post #117
therealdavesky wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i forgot to indicate where I am. if I was in silicon valley it may be a bit easier to get references, currently i am in the rainforest on the big island and they sub out all their tech to the mainland here.

Ok! Are you planning to stay there and try to work remotely? Or are you willing to relocate to an environment with more on-site work available?

hawaii is only a nice place to live if you have lotsa $$$ i am willing to relocate tomorrow. just send me an airline ticket.

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#166

Post by hpen »

therealdavesky wrote: post #93
tomcam wrote: post #17

Some tough love here, from the parallel universe you. It was people like you in the late 1970s who inspired me to be a programmer (literally, talking to Hughes aircraft programmers on the bus to high school about the JOVIAL language), but one thing I knew by the time I was about 12, say, 1973 or so, was that aerospace engineering in the Hughes aircraft world was boom and bust. I did not learn programming until I was…

swift seems like a good choice for me, and i am about to release an AR app in swift that produces algorithmic music ... what do you think about swift?

Swift is great. I am actually making a pivot to Swift & iOS/MacOS now. I would say it is more niche than you might imagine and you will be expected to know a lot about the ecosystem.

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#167

Post by hpen »

hpen wrote: post #166
therealdavesky wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

swift seems like a good choice for me, and i am about to release an AR app in swift that produces algorithmic music ... what do you think about swift?

Swift is great. I am actually making a pivot to Swift & iOS/MacOS now. I would say it is more niche than you might imagine and you will be expected to know a lot about the ecosystem.

That being said, I think it is rewarding well payed work.

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#168

Post by pfp »

icsa wrote: post #143
pfp wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've been a professional software interviewer (600+ interviews) and have seen most very experienced software developers do quite poorly during interviews. So... you've 1) realized you're dealing with experienced people and 2) yet discarded them based on irrelevant "interview skills"? How does this serve the company trying to hire someone? FWIW, the couple of times I've interviewed someone -- I've always given the g…

> How does this serve the company trying to hire someone? The interviews are designed to evaluate algorithm & data structure knowledge and proficiency. Most experienced software engineers have not kept up to speed with such knowledge since they were in school. It is not their fault, as most jobs/projects don't require maintaining such knowledge in order to be effective on a day-to-day basis. N.B. The interview firm I…

Like you said,

> most jobs/projects don't require maintaining such knowledge in order to be effective on a day-to-day basis.

This is common knowledge to any developer - you really don't need the academic angle most of the time.

So... how does rejecting on that basis serve the company trying to hire someone?

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#169

Post by tester756 »

icsa wrote: post #147
tester756 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The interview skills required for FAANG-like companies and startups alike are very different from the skills required to work as a typical software engineer. What are those start up skills?

I was referring these common interview skills: Understanding the problem Stating one's assumptions Verifying one's assumptions Selecting a data structure appropriate for the problem Selecting or describing an algorithm appropriate for the problem Selecting test cases appropriate for the problem Writing the code Verifying the correctness of the code Understanding & communicating the time & space complexity of your sol…

I don't see anything special in this list

>It provides many built-in data structures and methods that make one's solutions brief and eliminate the need to write a lot of boilerplate code.

Could you name some? the most important / handy in your opinion?

Re: Ask HN: Been writing code for 40 years and can't get hired

#170

Post by ruang »

icsa wrote: post #147
tester756 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The interview skills required for FAANG-like companies and startups alike are very different from the skills required to work as a typical software engineer. What are those start up skills?

I was referring these common interview skills: Understanding the problem Stating one's assumptions Verifying one's assumptions Selecting a data structure appropriate for the problem Selecting or describing an algorithm appropriate for the problem Selecting test cases appropriate for the problem Writing the code Verifying the correctness of the code Understanding & communicating the time & space complexity of your sol…

Excellent list, thank you!
Post reply on HN