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Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

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Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#31

Post by nitrixion »

UltimateFloofy wrote: post #22
perspective3 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anyone who knew the drill could grind leetcode, study interview guides, apply to enough FAANG companies and get a job eventually. It's ironic that the trackpants set that got into leetcoding over medicine because the lifestyle was better are now getting fucked by the fact that if you're doing useless shit in programming, you truly will get fired and fucked. At least if you grind in medicine, you are helping people.…

but healthtech is doing pretty well!

Very well, but people don't seem to want to apply to jobs in Healthtech. I say this as my company has many active openings that we just don't get many applications for.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#32

Post by rcoder »

> ...how bad is the hiring situation going to be in tech over the next year?

I think it's going to be pretty bad if you're expecting to go through something like the process you described:

1. Cram some coding exercises

2. Breeze through a FAANG panel b/c they're hiring anyone who can balance a binary tree and carry on a conversation at the same time

3. ...

4. Pull an easy $250k base, plus stock and a twice-annual review/raise cycle

I worked through the 2001 downturn and 2008. Both times I maintained a decent amount of flexibility in where I worked and what I worked on, with the consequence that I could no longer simply demand whatever salary I wanted and an extremely senior title on my way in the door.

Given that you have software development _and_ legal qualifications you should have lots of options if you're willing to branch out a bit. Ex.: big co's need folks to own compliance for user data, financials, etc.; being a technical lawyer could be a superpower there. Ditto running audits from a bigger consultancy: anyone trying to gain PCI, SOX, or various ISO certifications -- or even just the record-keeping and reporting needed to be a public company -- needs experts in both tech and legal policy.

So: I wouldn't freak out, but I would suggest actively looking for a more creative/blended use of your skills, vs. simply throwing yourself into a FAANG candidate pipeline and hoping for the best. It'll put you ahead of other candidates, hopefully avoid some of the post-layoff hangover, and honestly probably be more fun and interesting than just slinging code that gets more people to click on ads.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#33

Post by cvhashim »

perspective3 wrote: post #21
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #17

> If this were a year ago, I'd feel good; grind some leetcode, get hired at a big tech company for a good salary. This dynamic is one of the reasons we're seeing such large layoffs right now. Even many of the companies that are rolling in cash simply got too aggressive with hiring in recent years. Anyone who knew the drill could grind leetcode, study interview guides, apply to enough FAANG companies and get a job eve…

> Anyone who knew the drill could grind leetcode, study interview guides, apply to enough FAANG companies and get a job eventually. It's ironic that the trackpants set that got into leetcoding over medicine because the lifestyle was better are now getting fucked by the fact that if you're doing useless shit in programming, you truly will get fired and fucked. At least if you grind in medicine, you are helping people.…

Eh idk, medicine has its own challenges. I was a premed years ago. I’m thankful I made the change to swe. Grinding leetcode is still a great investment in the long run as long as you keep skills up to date and are a competent engineer.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#34

Post by notacoward »

I've lived through a few previous downturns - early 90s, dot com, 2008. Yes, it was tough for a lot of people, especially when the market had a glut of ten-year folks competing directly with five-year folks. (For various reasons the people both above and below that didn't seem to have it quite so bad.) But it wasn't impossible. In both periods I succeeded in changing jobs - voluntarily - myself. It probably helped that people with less experience are generally cheaper in a time when companies were desperate to reduce costs. So yes, the job-hunting process might take more time and/or effort, you will probably collect more rejections along the way, but don't give up hope. The demand is not going away, and in fact it's still increasing overall even if some high-profile companies are having to correct their staffing plans.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#35

Post by cvhashim »

nitrixion wrote: post #31
UltimateFloofy wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but healthtech is doing pretty well!

Very well, but people don't seem to want to apply to jobs in Healthtech. I say this as my company has many active openings that we just don't get many applications for.

Are you paying well enough for the current market?

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#36

Post by outworlder »

jcadam wrote: post #28
thisiswrongggg wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they ever got out of this stage TBH. Workplaces are getting more toxic as years go by IME.

You have a point. Another reason to prefer remote work.

You are not immune to that by any means. If anything, you are more vulnerable. It's more difficult to spot the machinations going on.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#37

Post by sdevonoes »

I think we are exaggerating. I started a new position 5 months ago (with a significant raise of around 20% my previous salary). Within these 5 months the company fired a significant portion of their employees (some techies, but mainly non-techies like HR); it made it to HN (not the front-page I think). Hiring freeze for around 3 months... but since about a month ago they started to hire again. Now on Linkedin you can see the company is posting around 200 job offers... although, sure before the lay-off they had like around 1000 job offers (crazy).

My point is: if you go to Linkedin right now and filter by location=Europe, remote=yes, you get like 160K job offers (tech ones). Sure, you can filter down that number by removing managerial positions and other roles you are not interested in, but the thing is companies are still hiring (not all of them, but the majority).

Maybe it's just Europe? I have no idea about US.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#38

Post by antisthenes »

outworlder wrote: post #36
jcadam wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a point. Another reason to prefer remote work.

You are not immune to that by any means. If anything, you are more vulnerable. It's more difficult to spot the machinations going on.

It's not hard at all. You can spot passive-aggressive language and refusal to collaborate corporate-speak a mile away.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#39

Post by fnordpiglet »

Companies are like swarming fish. They perceive a threat and they all dodge together. Whether there’s a major recession, a minor, or nothing, they will lay off and freeze hiring across the board. I would suggest you find a way to hang in there but start looking immediately, and keep looking. Eventually you’ll find what you want but it’ll be an extended and disheartening search and you might not make as much as you would have a year ago. But over a lifetime career it’ll average out and you’ll be fine. Just remember, as with all things, this too shall pass.

What you do need to do from now on though is always have a plan for what’s next and an exit, even if you’re happy where you are. You never have to exercise your options, but optionality alone has value and it’ll provide a level of continuous confidence and courage. It also provides a focus for your development. Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How bad is hiring going to be within the next year?

#40

Post by shadowdevvv »

honestly the job market have been a bit bad, the number of remote jobs have definitely decreased. all the big tech companies aren't hiring anymore and the ones that are, can just lowball since the competition with other tech companies have definitely softened.

P.S check out spacedleets.com for a free resource using spaced repetition to effectively study leetcode

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