Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley • Hacker News Board

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#11

Post by digitalchaos » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 7:11 PM UTC

thurn wrote: post #2

I was looking for a job in the Bay Area in September (similar situation, non-US citizen). I never used a "job search" site, though, I just researched companies I was interested in and applied through their sites. This worked out fine... most places replied quite quickly to my application. I don't really see any advantage to using a site like Monster.com. If I haven't heard of a company, I probably don't want to work…

For all you guys targeting startups, do you have a recommended location for finding them? There are plenty of amazing startups around that I have never heard of. I feel like I just don't have the time to keep up or am unaware of some magic resource that some of you must have.

I am mostly curious about companies specific to the bay area but a larger scope would certainly be welcome.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#12

Post by diminish » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 7:15 PM UTC

Just wanted to use this opportunity to tell everyone; I setup an experimental web site at http://www.jobrupt.com to help people challenge the companies to create or open a job position for them by telling how they can add value. Would love to see that it will be useful to at least one person on earth. Except the design which sucks, I would like to hear if that will at all be useful to anyone or how to modify it to make it useful.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#13

Post by patio11 » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 7:30 PM UTC

Job sites are basically designed to exploit clueless people (on both sides of the transaction). You're not clueless, or you are shortly to become less clueless, so you should never be involved with a job site.

Draw a rectangle, where one side is the number of people with hiring authority you've had coffee with recently and the other side is your attractiveness as a candidate. As the area of the rectangle gets bigger, the number of job offers you get will increase. (And, if you're savvy about it, the attractiveness of them will as well.)

If you already have Google on your resume, increasing your attractiveness as a candidate is probably not as good ROI as lining up more coffee dates. They are really easy to arrange: start by knowing at least one person in Silicon Valley who has hiring authority. (Your local Internet has a few hundred options.) Ask for introductions.

The custom is for a short two-line email: "Hey Bob, meet Dave. Dave is a smart chap, he previously worked at Google. You guys should get in touch." Dave then sends Bob an email inviting him to get coffee. (There are other options: lunch and dinner work, too, but asking someone to coffee is basically the smallest imposition you could possibly make which still gets you face time and you want face time.)

Or, if you're opposed to networking (which seems oddly common among engineers), put on a T-shirt which says "I am looking for an engineering job. Previous work experience: Google" and walk down Castro during lunch hour. You'll probably get three offers.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#14

Post by shawndrost » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 7:47 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #13

Job sites are basically designed to exploit clueless people (on both sides of the transaction). You're not clueless, or you are shortly to become less clueless, so you should never be involved with a job site. Draw a rectangle, where one side is the number of people with hiring authority you've had coffee with recently and the other side is your attractiveness as a candidate. As the area of the rectangle gets bigger,…

Even easier than coffee dates: email sdrost@gmail.com, and I'll sic three great recruiters on you. They've already had coffee with the people with hiring authority, they won't send you crappy jobs, and they get paid based on how much you get paid, so they'll make sure that amount is high. I just did this and finished a job search in 2 weeks, ending up working for my long-term heroes at a great salary.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#15

Post by dotBen » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 7:58 PM UTC

digitalchaos wrote: post #11

thurn wrote: post #2

I was looking for a job in the Bay Area in September (similar situation, non-US citizen). I never used a "job search" site, though, I just researched companies I was interested in and applied through their sites. This worked out fine... most places replied quite quickly to my application. I don't really see any advantage to using a site like Monster.com. If I haven't heard of a company, I probably don't want to work…

For all you guys targeting startups, do you have a recommended location for finding them? There are plenty of amazing startups around that I have never heard of. I feel like I just don't have the time to keep up or am unaware of some magic resource that some of you must have. I am mostly curious about companies specific to the bay area but a larger scope would certainly be welcome.

If you are involved in the startup scene (attend meetups, read HN, have other friends involved in startups, etc) you soon know what startups are around.

If the Internet is just "Facebook" + "Google" to you then, sure you're missing out but by just posting to HN I'm guessing that isn't your world.

If you mean super early startups (and be mindful that there are plenty of reasons not to be the first employee at an unfunded/newly funded startup) then Angel List is probably the "magic resource" you are aspiring for.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#16

Post by timr » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 8:00 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #13

Job sites are basically designed to exploit clueless people (on both sides of the transaction). You're not clueless, or you are shortly to become less clueless, so you should never be involved with a job site. Draw a rectangle, where one side is the number of people with hiring authority you've had coffee with recently and the other side is your attractiveness as a candidate. As the area of the rectangle gets bigger,…

"Or, if you're opposed to networking (which seems oddly common among engineers), put on a T-shirt which says "I am looking for an engineering job. Previous work experience: Google" and walk down Castro during lunch hour. You'll probably get three offers."

Yeah, except he didn't do engineering at Google -- he was a "data quality evaluator" contract employee. He's also looking for a position in "quality assurance, data analytics, total quality management [or] desktop support". He also never mentions code, engineering, or another hard technical skill.

That's not to criticize the guy or take away from his accomplishments -- he could be a great potential employee. But just because someone worked at Google doesn't automatically make them a gold-nugget hire. There are a lot of people at Google who are doing grunt work. Even in an exceptional job market, I'd hope that people aren't being interviewed simply because they have "Google" on their resume without regard for context.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#17

Post by shawndrost » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 8:03 PM UTC

alexwolfe wrote: post #9

thurn wrote: post #2

I was looking for a job in the Bay Area in September (similar situation, non-US citizen). I never used a "job search" site, though, I just researched companies I was interested in and applied through their sites. This worked out fine... most places replied quite quickly to my application. I don't really see any advantage to using a site like Monster.com. If I haven't heard of a company, I probably don't want to work…

This is sound advice, forget the big job boards, write companies directly. People love hearing a sincere email about why you want to work at their company. Set yourself apart by doing a little research and it will pay off big time. Besides, many good jobs are not even listed on the big job boards.

I just concluded a job search, and found that writing sincere emails did indeed establish a positive rapport, but 1) job-seeking engineers are already universally adored and 2) the recipient of the email will need to be herded, because their primary job is not making sure you get hired.

Recruiters, guys. Do you know there is a whole class of people that will work full-time to bring you whatever jobs you want? Why am I the only one mentioning them in this thread?

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#18

Post by shawndrost » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 8:07 PM UTC

diego wrote: post #7

In the Bay Area, high tech jobs hunt you (at least right now). Fill in your LinkedIn profile like the first comment suggests, build your reputation (GitHub, StackOverflow) and you'll start getting approached by recruiters.

If you want recruiters, just call them. You need a linkedin or a resume, but the other steps are more useful to employers. (You can also email me, sdrost@gmail.com -- I just worked with seven in my job search, and can pass on the three I recommend.)

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#19

Post by pjscott » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 8:16 PM UTC

thinker wrote: post #3

thurn wrote: post #2

I was looking for a job in the Bay Area in September (similar situation, non-US citizen). I never used a "job search" site, though, I just researched companies I was interested in and applied through their sites. This worked out fine... most places replied quite quickly to my application. I don't really see any advantage to using a site like Monster.com. If I haven't heard of a company, I probably don't want to work…

I've been doing the same and it works quite well if you are targeting startups. I've had a 50% response rate so far.

You can get an even higher response rate by looking at the monthly "Who's Hiring" threads on HN. When I graduated from college, everybody back home was telling me that getting a job in this economy would be a terrible, several-month-long ordeal. It actually turned out to be pretty quick and straightforward, and I'm very happy with the results.

Re: Hunting For A Tech Job In Silicon Valley

#20

Post by donall » Sat, Nov 19, 2011, 8:30 PM UTC

I actually have a pretty similar situation. I am Irish, living in California after just finishing up in Dublin City University (I was probably one of Mervyn's lab tutors at some point!) and I'm also on the J1 visa.

The difference is that I found a job before I left Ireland (made the visa application a lot easier). I responded to a post on the "Who's Hiring?" thread here on HN a few months back and landed a gig in an awesome startup in Los Angeles called Factual.

HN is a truly invaluable resource for job hunting.