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

Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 79 posts

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#41

Post by Consultant32452 »

In psychology there is a phenomenon called "the missing missing reasons." Usually this refers to parents whose children no longer have a relationship with them. The parents claim the child never gave any reason. Except the children always gave them plenty of reasons. The parents just weren't willing to accept those reasons.

I suspect you are in the same position here. I think you know exactly why you aren't getting interviews but you just aren't ready to accept it yet.

Also, you posted your Linkedin. We know where you work. And you just publicly called them "shitty." If I were your boss I'd fire you. And if I were a potential boss I'd never hire someone who did that.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#42

Post by Lapsa »

JackMorgan wrote: post #33
_vpbe wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve made tons of things in Django. My first experience w Python was making something in django (for actual users). I don’t feel like clogging up the internet w some post about how I made something in django, but if that’s what it takes then maybe? It just seems as much like garbage-self promotion as posting a pic on Instagram or something. Anyway, with me I don’t think experience is the problem. As silly as it seems…

I used to feel like "playing the game" or "playing politics" was for poor performers to cover up their weaknesses. Thankfully over time I swallowed my pride and decided if I was going to play, I was going to play to win at any cost. Check out the free book Playing to Win by David Sirlin [1]. Once I adopted this mindset, it was easier to do the "lame" things that were clearly just signalling mechanisms. Better clothes…

you sound like someone I wouldn't want around :)

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#43

Post by _vpbe »

mustyoshi wrote: post #40

You should become familiar with Git and at least one of the hosted options github/gitlab. You should become familiar with docker and docker compose, potentially kubernetes as well. Also wouldn't hurt to know at least something about a major cloud provider like AWS/GCP/Azure. At a minimum I would want git and docker experience, but really (since my company is cloud based), I would pass on anybody without AWS experienc…

[link redacted]

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#44

Post by JackMorgan »

d9000 wrote: post #38
JackMorgan wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to feel like "playing the game" or "playing politics" was for poor performers to cover up their weaknesses. Thankfully over time I swallowed my pride and decided if I was going to play, I was going to play to win at any cost. Check out the free book Playing to Win by David Sirlin [1]. Once I adopted this mindset, it was easier to do the "lame" things that were clearly just signalling mechanisms. Better clothes…

Interesting book. Any other books do you recommend?

For tech career stuff, here's my suggestions both for books I liked and how to pick your own books

http://deliberate-software.com/page/books/ http://deliberate-software.com/next-book/

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#46

Post by mustyoshi »

_vpbe wrote: post #43
mustyoshi wrote: post #40

You should become familiar with Git and at least one of the hosted options github/gitlab. You should become familiar with docker and docker compose, potentially kubernetes as well. Also wouldn't hurt to know at least something about a major cloud provider like AWS/GCP/Azure. At a minimum I would want git and docker experience, but really (since my company is cloud based), I would pass on anybody without AWS experienc…

[link redacted]

I assumed since it wasn't in the skill list on your profile (I'm on mobile so apologies if it is there and I can't see it) that you didn't know anything about it. So I guess my next comment is add to the skill list all the ubiquitous technologies you know but thought weren't necessary to enumerate.

But definitely good to provide a GitHub link in your resume, I don't usually make a decision based on reading the code, but showing it is a positive in my mind.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#47

Post by _benj »

I’m sorry you are struggling to get a job :( been there, it sucks!!

There are two things I would tell you:

1. Skip the recruiters! In tech I’ve come across some amazing and helpful recruiters, but that is a tiny minority. I used to hear the word “networking” and the sole concept was frightening to me, but at the end of the day all it means is making connections in whatever way you find comfortable for you. My current job came through a conversation in the golang slack. And I’ve had a few offers from just being part of meetups, in person and virtual. It is a completely different story when your first contact with a company is with a manager or through a referral. In such cases the recruiter job is not really to “judge” you but to facilitate you getting to know the company and the company getting to know you!

2. Show, don’t tell. Instead of telling people what you know, show them instead! A few blog posts that I’m not too proud about have had a pretty big impact on job conversations, and as a bonus it lets you know the level that a hiring manager might have in you. Make a few shiny things, at the end of the day, the people hiring are human and are attracted to shiny things thus, check out one or two cools projects in dribbble.com (with 3 b’s) and implement them. If you can have them hosted somewhere so people can click on them even better!

One last thing, which I want to say as sensibly as I can. Confidence is something hard to fake and realizing that very few companies, if any, simply can’t operate without somebody with your skills, your perspective starts changing from “somebody give me a job” to “are you (X company) good enough for me”. Is not about being a conceited jerk, but companies compete for people that seem confident, processes are expedited or even skipped if the individual is comparing companies/offers, etc. All I’m saying is, know that your skills are very valuable and in high demand and let that knowledge and conviction be conveyed in your conversation. Again, is not about being a jerk, but neither a push-over.

Best of luck on the search. My email is in my profile if you wanna continue the convo :)

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#48

Post by _vpbe »

mustyoshi wrote: post #46
_vpbe wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[link redacted]

I assumed since it wasn't in the skill list on your profile (I'm on mobile so apologies if it is there and I can't see it) that you didn't know anything about it. So I guess my next comment is add to the skill list all the ubiquitous technologies you know but thought weren't necessary to enumerate. But definitely good to provide a GitHub link in your resume, I don't usually make a decision based on reading the code,…

One possibility is that the code is just really bad. Anyway, most of what I’ve written is either private or not my property.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#49

Post by mustyoshi »

_vpbe wrote: post #48
mustyoshi wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assumed since it wasn't in the skill list on your profile (I'm on mobile so apologies if it is there and I can't see it) that you didn't know anything about it. So I guess my next comment is add to the skill list all the ubiquitous technologies you know but thought weren't necessary to enumerate. But definitely good to provide a GitHub link in your resume, I don't usually make a decision based on reading the code,…

One possibility is that the code is just really bad. Anyway, most of what I’ve written is either private or not my property.

Might be worth adding more Python stuff to your Github then. But for sure add more stuff to your skill list, to tick more boxes for the automated searches that recruiters do.

And I'm not sure what type of work you're interested in, but Madison seems to have at least somewhat of a startup scene, so I'm sure there are plenty of startups that would hire you, even if you aren't hired in as a developer/engineer, you could likely move into that role, and restart your technical career trajectory.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#50

Post by _vpbe »

_benj wrote: post #47

I’m sorry you are struggling to get a job :( been there, it sucks!! There are two things I would tell you: 1. Skip the recruiters! In tech I’ve come across some amazing and helpful recruiters, but that is a tiny minority. I used to hear the word “networking” and the sole concept was frightening to me, but at the end of the day all it means is making connections in whatever way you find comfortable for you. My current…

Wow - this is a plan! Thank you for putting it all right there and thanks for the link.
Post reply on HN