Ask HN: Having trouble getting senior applicants, wondering what to do about it

But if you are paying $200K, then presumably you will not hire anyone who is now making $100K, $50K, or $5K. So you're restricted to a fairly narrow band.

Where is your "glass ceiling", the minimum someone has to be making for you to take them seriously?

I can whiteboard, I can tell you about past projects, sure. The demand on my time is fixed. I can communicate and discuss it with you. We have a conversation.

Take-home is too opaque and too much of a potential time demand.

Four hours of focus time is A LOT for a candidate with family responsibilities and heavily restricts your recruitment pool.

No parent is going to give up a precious weekend afternoon for an unpaid assignment.

That plus the lack of salary range will put 95% of "good" candidates off.

Instead have a time-boxed "chat" where the candidate is invited to talk about a topic they feel strongest in - networking, architecture, security, whatever.

As a company you want to leverage these strengths.

My thoughts on this as other Seniors have pointed out (and I am a Senior myself)

1- I have not looked for a job since 2014, every job since came through my network. Then the interviews were basically friendly meet&greets but super informal, not a single coding test or take home assignment - note than I always started as Tech lead/Architect. I put in the hours and took pride in my work, have never let anyone down.

2- Unless I am unemployed and desperate, why would I give you between 6 and 7 hours of “free” unpaid labor for an interview that might not go anywhere? A big part of the interview process is “luck”. I have many terrible interviewing stories; interviewing is hard and for the most part a numbers and luck game. I hate wasting time and for that reason I carefully calculate my odds before applying and put more emphasis on gigs when I have a sponsor on the inside or where the upside and risk make it worth the attempt. Which disqualifies most non tech non brand name companies.

My suggestions for you;

1- Include salary and TC on your job post (it will set you apart from others) and will attract more attention.

2- Shorten/Simplify your hiring process and consider paying folks for their time, at least $100hr.

I have interviewed at places where it costs $40 to park for the day, you are there for 3-5 hrs for a final in person round, but if you don’t get an offer they don’t validate your parking ticket so not only you wasted your time but also spent a bunch of money on top of taking a day off from your current job.

Last but not least, think about the state of the market, Seniors are likely older, with families and mortgages. in this market, stability is important, changing jobs can be a gamble, their offer could get rescinded, etc Why take the risk? This will be true in the next 12/24 months, what is the incentive - unless the candidate is already unemployed.

Thanks for your time.