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Job Hunting in 2022

mhlakhani.com

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Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#231

Post by ojl »

jacurtis wrote: post #158
the_jends wrote: post #122

I think this write up is a good resource for those who got called into at least an interview. I wonder how does one improve if the rejections come even before a single interview? At that stage companies typically will not give you any reason for the rejection either for legal reasons or simply convenience. This leaves you hesitating whether to apply to other companies for fear they will reject you for the same unknow…

This is almost impossible to answer because there are so many reasons that it could be. But I've been hiring manager and looked through thousands of resumes/CVs and hired about 50-60 engineers. 1. Far under-qualified. People apply for senior positions with literally 18 months of experience ALL THE TIME. Seriously... ALL THE TIME. 2. Too many technologies on your CV. A lot of resumes will just list every language or t…

> If I look at someone who has worked somewhere for 3 years and didn't get a title change or promotion during that time, then I get worried that they aren't providing good quality work.

In a country where people care a lot about titles this might be more important. In most Scandinavian companies I have worked in most developers were just “Developer” or “software developer” or similar, no “junior developer” -> “developer” -> “senior developer” and so on. Some large companies might have some internal level system. It might change though, I have started seeing more junior, senior, principal compared to ten years ago.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#232

Post by comprev »

listenallyall wrote: post #142

> After leaving Meta recently That's all I needed to hear. Back in the day, the college you went to opened (or shut) doors to get interviews. And most people, who did not attend an Ivy League school or similar, rejected the concept as being anti-meritocratic. However, today, it's the same thing -- just replace college with the company(ies) you list on your resume. A shitty programmer with a bad attitude from Meta, Go…

One could argue that being at FAANG provides far more income than 95% of other tech jobs, so OP might have a significantly larger financial cushion before they need to worry about the next paycheque.

This alone excludes most people from quitting first with nothing lined up.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#233

Post by robmobz »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #109

In the job market right now. I have a question about talking to recruiters. I am talking to a couple of them, who are working with companies whose name or location they won't even disclose until the company looks at my CV and decides to move ahead. But the recruiters want me to specify a salary expectation. But my salary expectations depend on whether I am living in the downtown of large city or in a smaller city, or…

I would give that answer, possibly along with some examples of situations and the salary you would require for them.

An answer of if "I need to commute in to $city then I will need $money1 but if I can work from $town then I will only need $money2"

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#234

Post by geraldwhen »

lurking_swe wrote: post #162
listenallyall wrote: post #142

> After leaving Meta recently That's all I needed to hear. Back in the day, the college you went to opened (or shut) doors to get interviews. And most people, who did not attend an Ivy League school or similar, rejected the concept as being anti-meritocratic. However, today, it's the same thing -- just replace college with the company(ies) you list on your resume. A shitty programmer with a bad attitude from Meta, Go…

as someone who started their software career working at 3M of all places (shitty software practices) and slowly worked my way up to a tier-2 software company (just below faang) with a total comp of $200k+, don’t sell yourself short. Oh and i went to a state school, and also applied for these jobs directly online, no referrals. Where you start doesn’t matter if you are motivated and have some luck along the way. Yes t…

I also did not find that my time at BUSINESS hurt my interviews. If anything, I suspect developers at non software businesses would have more room to explore and grow, or stagnate, than at a more tightly controlled tech company.

Perform miracles at BUSINESS and you may not even be recognized for it. You might also not get recognized for doing absolutely nothing.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#235

Post by andsoitis »

gherkinnn wrote: post #223
lr4444lr wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true, but I think you have the reason misconstrued: it isn't that working at a FAANG on your resume provides a signal of greatness, it's that it guarantees a reliable floor competency. The recruiter is concerned with making her quota just as much as finding rock stars, if not more, and ex FAANG candidates probably stand a higher chance of making it through the interview funnel on average.

> it's that it guarantees a reliable floor competency. Meh. Most of the ex-FAANG people I worked with at non-FAANG places continue to apply super duper mega scale practices to human scale products and completely fail at what matters.

How many jobs have you had in the last 5 years?

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#236

Post by andsoitis »

scarface74 wrote: post #211
lr4444lr wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true, but I think you have the reason misconstrued: it isn't that working at a FAANG on your resume provides a signal of greatness, it's that it guarantees a reliable floor competency. The recruiter is concerned with making her quota just as much as finding rock stars, if not more, and ex FAANG candidates probably stand a higher chance of making it through the interview funnel on average.

The recruiters just spray and pray wildly. Since 2020, I’ve had: - A recruiter from Google reach out to me about an Engineering Manager position - I’ve never managed anyone in my life. - A recruiter from Facebook reach out to me about a senior software engineering position even though the last job I had at the time that had an official title of “software engineer” was two years prior and I had no details about what I…

> A recruiter from Google reach out to me about an Engineering Manager position - I’ve never managed anyone in my life

There has to be a first time managing a team, no? Some people view changing roles from IC to leader as career progression.

Maybe the recruiter saw something positive on your resume and thought: hey, this person might make a great leader and maybe they’d be interested in a next step in their career.

However, judging by your reaction, you probably aren’t / weren’t ready so win/win.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#237

Post by scarface74 »

andsoitis wrote: post #236
scarface74 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The recruiters just spray and pray wildly. Since 2020, I’ve had: - A recruiter from Google reach out to me about an Engineering Manager position - I’ve never managed anyone in my life. - A recruiter from Facebook reach out to me about a senior software engineering position even though the last job I had at the time that had an official title of “software engineer” was two years prior and I had no details about what I…

> A recruiter from Google reach out to me about an Engineering Manager position - I’ve never managed anyone in my life There has to be a first time managing a team, no? Some people view changing roles from IC to leader as career progression. Maybe the recruiter saw something positive on your resume and thought: hey, this person might make a great leader and maybe they’d be interested in a next step in their career. H…

I would hope that Google has more sense than to hire someone as an EM with absolutely no management experience and no experience working at any large company. They would have never hired me. It’s more speaking to recruiters than the hiring practices.

Besides my LinkedIn profile where I was reached out at is purposefully sparse.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#238

Post by gabereiser »

lurking_swe wrote: post #197
gabereiser wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With an attitude like that, you are richer than you realize.

100%! I’m blessed to be in the position that I am. But everything is relative. Some of my colleagues have it so much easier than me, because they went to school at Berkeley, etc. Started off their careers directly at a tier 2 company as interns! Got those sweet RSU’s at 22 years old. The goal of my reply was to encourage others and make them believe they can do it too. I endured some hardships on my journey (no conne…

You're right, some of us couldn't afford college and so went into tech because back then it didn't require a degree. Worked their way up from a call center to web and software development. Learn some stuff along the way and release a game for the xbox 360 all while maintaining that career they worked so hard to build, only now they are a Director within the industry teaching others and directing others on how to build planet-scale data lakes and distributed systems. :D It's not about money (though we think it is when we start), it's about fulfillment and doing what you love.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#239

Post by hgsgm »

chucksmash wrote: post #128
shagie wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The classic one I've seen like 5 times is "how would you design a social media feed?" I still do not know the "correct" answer to this question. There is no "correct" answer to it. It is an investigation into how you break the problem down and approach it. When presented with a challenge to it, how do you then look at it and consider how to solve it. The Codeless Code - Case 83 Consequences http://thecodelesscode.c…

There sort of is though, right? At a meta level, making sure you touch on the points they want you to touch on ("is this workload read heavy or write heavy?", "fan out vs fan in", "eventual consistency") is a right answer that you phrase in the form of a series of questions designed to look as if you've never been asked the question before, yeah?

I'd the interviewers are competent (rare), then there are a dozen or more right answers, and getting 2 or 3 of them is passing.

Re: Job Hunting in 2022

#240

Post by hgsgm »

Falkon1313 wrote: post #132
ojbyrne wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's just me, but when I have done that, the first one or two are the hardest, then you get in a groove, and become more aware that its just a numbers game.

I don't understand the numbers game approach. It's like a war of attrition - you're definitely going to suffer if you pick a fight with everyone you see. I prefer the 'choose your battles' approach. Interviewing at 3-5 places (not 35), and being prepared to 'win' before I start, as well as possible. I do find the marathon interviews are difficult, but the difficult parts for me are front-loaded - the initial anxiety,…

What fight? Suffer how?

Interviews are conversations, not fights.

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