Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94 • Hacker News Board

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#51

Post by ed_balls » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 3:57 PM UTC

ed_balls wrote: post #36

madcaptenor wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine, I'll start. These threads are easily found in Google. January 2020: 244 wants to be hired / 697 hiring = 35% February 2020: 227 / 677 = 34% March 2020: 349 / 776 = 45% April 2020: 521 / 601 = 87% May 2020: 329 / 686 = 48% June 2020: 305 / 659 = 46% July 2020: 280 / 680 = 41% August 2020: 410 / 828 = 50% September 2020: 346 / 698 = 50% October 2020: 295 / 810 = 36% November 2020: 259 / 807 = 32% December 2020: 2…

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... Date | Who is hiring? | Who wants to be hired | ratio Jan 2015,334,98,0.29 Feb 2015,643,169,0.26 Mar 2015,680,177,0.26 Apr 2015,952,194,0.20 May 2015,891,199,0.22 Jun 2015,759,276,0.36 Jul 2015,1094,142,0.12 Aug 2015,974,176,0.18 Sep 2015,872,188,0.21 Oct 2015,1136,99,0.08 Nov 2015,896,99,0.…

Date | Who is hiring? | Who wants to be hired | ratio

Jan 2016,471,110,0.23

Feb 2016,781,127,0.15

Mar 2016,825,202,0.24

Apr 2016,719,280,0.38

May 2016,983,166,0.16

Jun 2016,1007,248,0.24

Jul 2016,898,209,0.23

Aug 2016,945,118,0.12

Sep 2016,911,162,0.17

Oct 2016,989,261,0.26

Nov 2016,1121,249,0.22

Dec 2016,840,120,0.14

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#52

Post by ghaff » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 3:57 PM UTC

Herval_freire wrote: post #28

muzani wrote: post #9

I'd like to see data go all the way back to 2020, which was when some people said had the worst job market, because of the global lockdowns. But thanks for the data anyway. It does amuse me that we're still at more people hiring than looking for jobs. It's a stark contrast to other industries, where the power is normally in the hands of employers. Another thing to consider is that we've had layoffs recently, i.e. peo…

>It does amuse me that we're still at more people hiring than looking for jobs. It's a stark contrast to other industries, where the power is normally in the hands of employers. No 0.94 is a sample that comes with a huge margin or error. It very well could be that the actual ratio is that there are more programmers then jobs.

Jobs and salaries are also not interchangeable. One can believe (rightly or wrongly) that many developers who have mainstream skills/experience, a good resume & network, aren't too old, etc. can land a new job in a reasonable length of time--while acknowledging that it may be at a total compensation dip if they were with a high-paying company.

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#53

Post by jstx1 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 3:57 PM UTC

setgree wrote: post #45

The true ratio of would-be-hired to is-hired on HN is lower than 0.94. Many (most?) posts in the who's hiring thread mention multiple positions, e.g. the word "engineers", plural, occurs 91 times on the first page.

Sure but the same consideration applies to previous months too and the point of the post was about the trend (being so much higher than usual), not about the actual value of the ratio (which on its own seems irrelevant and hard to interpret).

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#54

Post by Kranar » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 3:59 PM UTC

setgree wrote: post #45

The true ratio of would-be-hired to is-hired on HN is lower than 0.94. Many (most?) posts in the who's hiring thread mention multiple positions, e.g. the word "engineers", plural, occurs 91 times on the first page.

Much like looking at an exchange rate between two currencies, what matters isn't the exact ratio at any one moment but how that ratio changes over time.

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#55

Post by ed_balls » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 4:03 PM UTC

ed_balls wrote: post #36

madcaptenor wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine, I'll start. These threads are easily found in Google. January 2020: 244 wants to be hired / 697 hiring = 35% February 2020: 227 / 677 = 34% March 2020: 349 / 776 = 45% April 2020: 521 / 601 = 87% May 2020: 329 / 686 = 48% June 2020: 305 / 659 = 46% July 2020: 280 / 680 = 41% August 2020: 410 / 828 = 50% September 2020: 346 / 698 = 50% October 2020: 295 / 810 = 36% November 2020: 259 / 807 = 32% December 2020: 2…

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... Date | Who is hiring? | Who wants to be hired | ratio Jan 2015,334,98,0.29 Feb 2015,643,169,0.26 Mar 2015,680,177,0.26 Apr 2015,952,194,0.20 May 2015,891,199,0.22 Jun 2015,759,276,0.36 Jul 2015,1094,142,0.12 Aug 2015,974,176,0.18 Sep 2015,872,188,0.21 Oct 2015,1136,99,0.08 Nov 2015,896,99,0.…

Date | Who is hiring? | Who wants to be hired | ratio

Jan 2017,939,275,0.29

Feb 2017,1236,106,0.08

Mar 2017,1069,114,0.10

Apr 2017,956,163,0.17

May 2017,1096,236,0.21

Jun 2017,994,101,0.10

Jul 2017,982,105,0.10

Aug 2017,955,224,0.23

Sep 2017,957,113,0.11

Oct 2017,1136,126,0.11

Nov 2017,1199,145,0.12

Dec 2017,1000,69,0.06

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#56

Post by Atlas22 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 4:04 PM UTC

muzani wrote: post #48

peruvian wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people don't post on who wants to be hired and instead just browse who's hiring.

I did both but had much better responses on WWTBH. A lot of the companies that approached were really good, paid well, respectful, etc. Funny enough, I had actually applied for one of those companies elsewhere and they didn't process the application until they realized I was on HN.

Thanks for sharing this, I always figured the contacts in WWTBH would be mostly low quality (similar to recruiter spam) so never bothered before. But now that I actually think about it some of the best jobs I've ever had were companies that approached me.

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#57

Post by zeven7 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 4:05 PM UTC

muzani wrote: post #48

peruvian wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people don't post on who wants to be hired and instead just browse who's hiring.

I did both but had much better responses on WWTBH. A lot of the companies that approached were really good, paid well, respectful, etc. Funny enough, I had actually applied for one of those companies elsewhere and they didn't process the application until they realized I was on HN.

> they didn't process the application until they realized I was on HN

I have been on the other side of that. I hired guy I found on HN (one of the best guys I've ever worked with) and later discovered he had applied earlier through another source but I overlooked it (some sources for candidates can be an absolute fire hose).

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#58

Post by ChuckNorris89 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 4:06 PM UTC

throwawaysleep wrote: post #25

muzani wrote: post #9

I'd like to see data go all the way back to 2020, which was when some people said had the worst job market, because of the global lockdowns. But thanks for the data anyway. It does amuse me that we're still at more people hiring than looking for jobs. It's a stark contrast to other industries, where the power is normally in the hands of employers. Another thing to consider is that we've had layoffs recently, i.e. peo…

> It does amuse me that we're still at more people hiring than looking for jobs. It's a stark contrast to other industries, where the power is normally in the hands of employers. Is it? Unemployment is still incredibly low and labour shortages continue to be reported.

Incredibly low unemployment doesn't necessarily mean all good news for all workers. You can cut or reduce unemployment benefits, and with the massive increase in CoL, energy and food in the last couple of years, people will desperate enough to accept any job or even several jobs in parallel, no matter how bad they are, and boom, you have almost no unemployment.

Sure, there isn't a shortage of jobs, but they also don't pay terribly great either considering the CoL increases.

So, IMHO, some unemployment is good. It means people have options and are not desperate enough to quickly jump to places with bad pay or poor working conditions, as those will always exit, even when the economy is doing good.

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#59

Post by 23B1 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 4:10 PM UTC

I'm a CRO/CGO – a suit. My biggest struggle with HN wants-to-be-hired threads is that I desperately want to work with small and midsize startups who are serious about growth – but most of the JDs are for technical jobs.

Besides the usual job boards, is anyone aware of a good place to connect with founders who want a healthy hockey stick and holistic, healthy growth?

Re: Tell HN: The ratio of wants-to-be-hired to is-hiring is at a record high 0.94

#60

Post by the_af » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 4:11 PM UTC

As an aside, I'm not currently looking for a job (knock on wood) but people close to me are and... the interview process seems harder than ever.

Now you get recorded, told you cannot alt-tab, take home assignments are very strict for companies that aren't even close to a FAANG (I mean, if you're applying to Google it comes with the territory, but why is your random startup so strict?), you are automatically graded on your command of English, etc.

There are still the garbage job offers where they'll hire anyone with a pulse, but unless your situation is dire you don't want those.

It all feels vaguely dystopic and depressing. The only consolation is that only now we realize what it felt for people outside our industry. We had it easy!