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Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

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Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#41

Post by tehchromic »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #39
wincy wrote: post #25

I don’t know OP, I’m a tech lead who has done his fair share of interviews and based on your few comments on HN there seem to be some red flags with how you’re viewing the interview process. Saying “one person derails things because I’d outshine them” seems to externalize the blame. I don’t know that I’ve ever worked with any engineer who thinks they’d be worse off by hiring an extremely intelligent engineer. I’d lov…

If someone is actually way smarter than me, my concerns would be: 1. Would they get bored or frustrated here? 2. Are their people skills good enough for the role? 3. How long do they plan to be here? 4. What do they expect from us? But I’m a generalist and find being the dumbest person in the room to be very educational. :)

What is their ethics and motive? This is #1 question regardless of smartness imo

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#42

Post by rahimnathwani »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #39
wincy wrote: post #25

I don’t know OP, I’m a tech lead who has done his fair share of interviews and based on your few comments on HN there seem to be some red flags with how you’re viewing the interview process. Saying “one person derails things because I’d outshine them” seems to externalize the blame. I don’t know that I’ve ever worked with any engineer who thinks they’d be worse off by hiring an extremely intelligent engineer. I’d lov…

If someone is actually way smarter than me, my concerns would be: 1. Would they get bored or frustrated here? 2. Are their people skills good enough for the role? 3. How long do they plan to be here? 4. What do they expect from us? But I’m a generalist and find being the dumbest person in the room to be very educational. :)

Wouldn't #2 apply equally to someone who isn't way smarter than you?

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#43

Post by mytailorisrich »

wincy wrote: post #25

I don’t know OP, I’m a tech lead who has done his fair share of interviews and based on your few comments on HN there seem to be some red flags with how you’re viewing the interview process. Saying “one person derails things because I’d outshine them” seems to externalize the blame. I don’t know that I’ve ever worked with any engineer who thinks they’d be worse off by hiring an extremely intelligent engineer. I’d lov…

There is always office politics and no-one wants a new guy that they perceive as a potential threat.

It's not just someone they might think is 'brighter' but someone that seems experienced and senior enough to have a good shot at taking over or being promoted over them.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#44

Post by tmpz22 »

wincy wrote: post #25

I don’t know OP, I’m a tech lead who has done his fair share of interviews and based on your few comments on HN there seem to be some red flags with how you’re viewing the interview process. Saying “one person derails things because I’d outshine them” seems to externalize the blame. I don’t know that I’ve ever worked with any engineer who thinks they’d be worse off by hiring an extremely intelligent engineer. I’d lov…

I agree - OP is the common denominator with this level of volume. I also believe OP is applying to the wrong jobs, perhaps out of frustrations. Candidates who are very clearly going for the wrong roles - like a junior position when they have decades of experience, are going to stand out like a sore thumb.

Ultimately hoping for the best for OP, but sounds like they need to take a break and re-evaluate their perspective and approach.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#45

Post by snarkypixel »

fallingknife wrote: post #34
snarkypixel wrote: post #6

I wanted to make an app to make job searching easier. It's a pain in the ass on both side and imo current tools on the market suck.

Is this really a problem that can be fixed by an app? It seems more like a human behavior issue to me. There is a filter, and people are trying to get through it. It's adversarial, and automating the process makes it easier to game, which is why those solutions have not been adopted.

I think the problem is how the vast majority of inbound job requests are spam or irrelevant, while at the same time there are a few gems out there that can't seem to reach the right candidates.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#46

Post by apohn »

deckard1 wrote: post #23

There's a lot of woo-woo going on in this thread. You need to find the actual problem. You're making it to the interview, so all these companies feel you're at least minimally qualified for the job. Are you just getting unlucky that all these companies are in a hiring freeze and aren't willing to commit right now? Have you changed up your interviewing, tried anything new? Are you having further post-interview discuss…

>There may be something going on that you're not aware of and interviewers don't want to tell you.

100% Agree.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#47

Post by purpleblue »

Which part of the world are you located?

When you say 40 interviews, do you mean 40 separate companies?

You probably need to get your interview behavior evaluated by a friend or someone else. Either your technical chops are not good, or you're giving off the wrong vibe. Maybe get rid of Technical Lead off your resume and shoot for a lower-level position, and see how you do.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#49

Post by __ryan__ »

paxys wrote: post #37

Assuming you are making it to final rounds, 40 interviews, at an average of 6-8 per company, means you have been rejected by 5-7 companies. If you are aiming for only FAANG-equivalents then competition for the open positions is obviously intense, and your experience isn't too out of the ordinary. I'd wager the best programmer on the planet will have a You have two paths forward. Either double down, do more coding pre…

  at an average of 6-8 per company
Based on what?

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#50

Post by thfuran »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #43
wincy wrote: post #25

I don’t know OP, I’m a tech lead who has done his fair share of interviews and based on your few comments on HN there seem to be some red flags with how you’re viewing the interview process. Saying “one person derails things because I’d outshine them” seems to externalize the blame. I don’t know that I’ve ever worked with any engineer who thinks they’d be worse off by hiring an extremely intelligent engineer. I’d lov…

There is always office politics and no-one wants a new guy that they perceive as a potential threat. It's not just someone they might think is 'brighter' but someone that seems experienced and senior enough to have a good shot at taking over or being promoted over them.

An incompetent hire is far more of a potential threat than a competent one.
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