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Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

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Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#121
post #18

This doesn't quite answer your trend, but personal anecdote: I recently switched jobs, and as part of my job interview process, I was pretty firm about only looking for companies that were working at least part of the week in the office. I just really thrive on in-person work. Fast forward a few weeks... and I ended up taking a job with a startup that was fully remote. I loved their product, loved the founders, loved…

I have had the same experience! Remote work at a big company is miserable

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I wouldn't think anyone would judge me, especially these days (plus there's blurred backgrounds etc). But a separate room I use for work helps me keep work separate from personal life when working from home. If I didn't have/couldn't afford that, I'd at least have a separate desk I use only for work. If not that either... it would be harder for me.

They'll judge you poorly for spotty or slow internet on calls more than the background of your home office.

>They'll judge you poorly for spotty or slow internet on calls

Of course, realize that there's a good chance there's nothing they can do about that.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#123
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh, a neutral wall in my 600 sq ft place? I have such limited layout options to put my desk, that would be an additional challenging constraint. Virtual backgrounds are popular in my workspace, and I think a more general solution to the issue. I'm not a huge fan of virtual backgrounds, they make things even more artificial, anyhow I would use them occasionally but for the fact that Google Meet does not support them…

If you're concerned just get a roll up picture or greenscreen for your background

Yeah, I have my office pretty well arranged as a "set" but I do have some very utilitarian metal file cabinets behind me. I was mulling making furniture changes but ended up just draping a fabric hanging over the cabinets from a curtain rod. Take about 30 seconds if I need to get into the cabinets for some reason.

I care less about meetings but I also shoot some video so needed some sort of decent setting anyway.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just ridiculous though. It's a shitty trend that's filtered down from social/dating applications. A decade ago, I always got a follow-up rejection email. Sometimes it took months from bigger companies but it still came. Today: more often than not you're just ghosted. Milliennials now being in positions of power are 100% to blame for this. They see no difference between the conversation with a job candidate and t…

I think it's more the trend of companies being scared of litigation. They can't be sued for discrimination if they never actually turned you down.

That's just an excuse for bad behavior. "We are going in another direction" isn't going to get you sued any more than radio silence will.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm happy for you! Out of curiosity, did your current housing situation provide the space for a comfortable and productive home office, or is this unexpected development putting pressure on your housing situation? (If you're part of a trend, that has implications for preferred housing layout and square footage. And, of course people in different housing situations should be expected to respond differently to fully-re…

I've worked remote for a long time. It's very common to see people working from their home bedrooms. First-time remote workers will often overthink their office, but seasoned remote workers don't really care. It's worth taking a minute to tidy up the room in your background, but nobody is going to be judging you for not having a dedicated home office. > I'm also a manager. My workspace needs for desk layout, equipmen…

Also, most video chat apps have filters where you can make your background look like a couple of different options. A standard, clean, organized home office being one.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#126
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll judge you poorly for spotty or slow internet on calls more than the background of your home office.

>They'll judge you poorly for spotty or slow internet on calls Of course, realize that there's a good chance there's nothing they can do about that.

Trying different providers and even different routers helped me. Wi-Fi is less reliable generally.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm happy for you! Out of curiosity, did your current housing situation provide the space for a comfortable and productive home office, or is this unexpected development putting pressure on your housing situation? (If you're part of a trend, that has implications for preferred housing layout and square footage. And, of course people in different housing situations should be expected to respond differently to fully-re…

I live in a 48sqm apartment and never even thought about this. I work usually either from my little desk and kneeling chair in my bedroom or my couch. My remote coworkers at different levels have all kinds of stuff in their backgrounds - pets, kids, books, walls, posters, clutter, paintings, and thinking back I have not once found myself judging them negatively _or_ positively for it. A candidate judging your house i…

I judge people who still live in tiny apartments in downtown cores after 2 years of lockdowns and remote work. I don't want coworkers who are so stalwarts they stick with a bad plan for years. Get out of the city.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#128
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can people really tell anything about your living situation from your teams call background, though? Just aim your camera at a neutral wall and you're good to go. You could be living in a giant palace or a inner city slum and nobody would know the difference.

I recently left a large tech company. It was very obvious who was "higher up" in the food chain, as the home offices of Director+ level folks were generally larger and much more nicely decorated. At VP-level, they almost resembled super-villain lairs.

Yes, at my firm one has a very extensive library behind them complete with ladders and everything.

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#129

I desperately want to work in an office again, but there are effectively no opportunities to do so. The companies doing in-office around here are outfits like Dish Network, that everyone knows are terrible employers. Like it or not, the software labor market is now nationwide, and remote is the rule rather than the exception. I don't know how long that will last, as I see very obvious negatives to remote for creative…

Would coworking or being a regular at a cafe help?

Re: Ask HN: How is the remote vs in-person trend looking?

#130
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I ignore all the recruiters that contact me. It's just too many. Not humble bragging, it's just the reality. And not trying to rude. I have trouble keeping up with my personal emails, much less random recruiters on the internet. I hope it doesn't come back to bite me. So far in my career (10+ years), I've just applied to company job postings and that's worked out pretty well for me.

Recruiters probably won't hold a grudge against you if you're a highly skilled engineer that they know they can place easily. Fortunately for us there's just not enough skilled engineers for recruiters to be too picky. That said, I personally try to keep good relationships with recruiters because as a contractor because it can be useful when looking for my next job. If you're a junior dev or working in a highly compe…

The worst is a recruiter promising a "highly competitive salary" in a company that's "one of your competitors" that wants "your specific skills"

It feels like nine times out of ten "one of your competitors" means they are also a limited liability company, "your specific skills" means you know what a keyboard is, and "highly competitve salary" is $30k a year.

I have a very particular set of skills that I have acquired over a long career which are honed to a very narrow industry. I did have a genuine recruiter after me for a job which used a small subset of those skills, on 20% more than than I currently earn, but it was a second line support position rather than the various roles I play today. I couldn't face the prospect of working in such a confined environment.

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