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Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#51

Post by teirce »

jitl wrote: post #44
teirce wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Been looking since about February. I've probably sent out at least a hundred apps for positions I was interested in and met qualifications for. I think I've made it to a recruiter screen around ~10 times, and I've had less than 5 actual interviews follow. I have 6+ years in industry, 4 and some change of which were FAANG (which everyone believes is a golden ticket into any company). And I can't even get an interview.…

At this point I’m more hesitant to hire FAANG employees who are used to really strict guardrails both culturally and technically to keep them “on track”. Most startups don’t have the guardrails and need people who make good choices without the bumpers. Hiring a bunch of FB and Google people did not improve Airbnb’s average engineering skill, rather it sank because a substantial part of our population only cared about…

I agree with that assessment, but with the caveat that I think this mostly applies to new-grad hires. In my experience, people who brought outside experience into FAANG weren't nearly as affected by these guard-rails outside of things I think most firms would approve of (mandatory code reviews, unit/integration tests, don't write inscrutable wizard code golf changes, don't be an ass).

I've spoken with recruiting firms before that literally told me companies asked them to stop sending people who were hired as a newgrad to FAANG.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#52

Post by codq »

shadowfoxx wrote: post #28

Its rough out here. I've got 8+ years of experience and I've worked a breadth of experience as well. I'm scouring the posts here on "Who's Hiring", I work applications on LinkedIn, Speak with some recruiters, and I utilize Remote Rocketship. My network of connections is a bit smaller than could be useful (this is my own fault.) but I have also reached out to people I personally know who could vouch for me. A number o…

I'm in a similar boat.

I'm a marketing guy, and have started to regret my career path. I've made it to several final rounds in the past year, but only wound up with rejection at the end—at the final stages, it can be real subtle things that lead them to make that final choice of one candidate vs. another.

On top of that, I'm taking care of a toddler full time, since we can't afford a nanny since I got laid off, so I have even less time to dedicate to the job hunt / skill advancement, and honestly I'm so exhausted by the end of the day that I'm too drained to work on projects that require real brainpower. It's been a slog, but I'm hanging in there and not giving up.

Otta.com has been a great, easy resource for job hunting.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#53

Post by bennyg »

jitl wrote: post #44
teirce wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Been looking since about February. I've probably sent out at least a hundred apps for positions I was interested in and met qualifications for. I think I've made it to a recruiter screen around ~10 times, and I've had less than 5 actual interviews follow. I have 6+ years in industry, 4 and some change of which were FAANG (which everyone believes is a golden ticket into any company). And I can't even get an interview.…

At this point I’m more hesitant to hire FAANG employees who are used to really strict guardrails both culturally and technically to keep them “on track”. Most startups don’t have the guardrails and need people who make good choices without the bumpers. Hiring a bunch of FB and Google people did not improve Airbnb’s average engineering skill, rather it sank because a substantial part of our population only cared about…

Are you filtering before the interview?

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#54

Post by its_a_random_ac »

ctoth wrote: post #41
vouaobrasil wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right about that. And this is something I've been thinking about for quite some time. My rejoinder is that most people have a set of compromises they can make that might make them a lot wealthier than they think. For example, a friend of mine was complaining that he had to work hard to afford a house. However, he was dead-set on a set of ideals and a location he wanted to settle at. Maybe part of that was pref…

> there are plenty of nice places where the houses are 60K. Citation super needed. Where in the US can I buy a house for $60,000? Does it have a roof?

Spoiler alert: be prepared to spend a ton of money of gas, and hours for driving to any kind of doctor's office beyond a GP. A friend of a friend commuted for 4 hours each day to go to school as a kid because her family lived so far out.

I still agree with the general sentiment though. I'm happy with living in a 1br condo and taking public transport, but I had coworkers that "needed" a detached house with a back yard and a moderately expensive car.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#55

Post by vouaobrasil »

rhyme-boss wrote: post #47
vouaobrasil wrote: post #5

The truth is, most jobs these days are rather bloated themselves. I do wish you luck in finding a job, but I would also give you this following piece of advice: at the same time while trying to find a job, think about strategies where you can work less and contribute more to society in your local community. I truly believe that the real opportunities out there are those which are mostly divorced away from the typical…

I was offered a job coaching under-12 soccer for the top local club where parents pay thousands a year. The offer was $700 a month to run (by myself) 3 practices a week plus a game on the weekend. So less than $20 an hour, which doesn't even cover transportation costs. Similar story applying to work at a bakery down the street, and same for working for animal control. I agree doing work in your local community is rew…

Yes, it is true, sometimes it is hard to find alternatives right away. It is not easy because the price of everything is so high. Our high-growth economy has given us two things: a high paycheck, but in exchange for selling our soul and becoming drones. I left full-time work a while ago, but I admit, it can be VERY scary, especially after being exposed to so much capitalistic propaganda.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#56

Post by the_only_law »

frfl wrote: post #8

Bit of a tangent, but what has been everyone's experience so far in 2023 trying to find a new job? I got really interested in this and have been passively researching it (HN, reddit posts). My conclusion, so far, is unless you've got strong connections it's hard right now to find a job. Most job posting, as OP mentions get hundreds if not thousands of applications. Other times, I've personally also notice, candidates…

> but what has been everyone's experience so far in 2023 trying to find a new job?

I’m done. Not even trying anymore. After a year of bullshit I’m convinced the only reason I ever made it into this field is because that stupid guilder age in the 2010s driven by cheap money, cargo culting, and naive idiocy. Even the non tech companies aren’t hiring much anymore.

Seriously I had an easier time finding a job when I was 18, had no formal education, and no real work experience.

I used to console myself with that fact that if I didn’t have anything else, I at least had a decent career and now I don’t even have that.

Recruiters disappeared over night. I occasionally get a few every once in a blue moon, but they always end up with nothing. I did my last interview a couple weeks ago, only for the recruiter to call me back as confused as I was whether the answer was yes or no. Cold applications are worse. I did managed a couple interviews out of those, but was rejected within a few days. Not sure why, those were some of the best interviews I’ve had recently. And the worst are the companies who send me an email months after I’ve applied just to say “we cancelled this position, lol”. I’ve also had family friends and others reach out and ask me if I’d like to consult for them, only for them to ghost me as well.

Now to be fair, some of this was my fault as well. I didn’t recognize how fucked the market was quick enough. I was desperately focusing on remote jobs, primarily because I really didn’t want to incur that costs and work that come with a move. I did a few interviews that were for in site positions, mostly for practice, and usually progressed further in those than for the remote roles, but ultimately didn’t seriously pursue them for the reason I just stated.

Meanwhile I’m in one of the worst real estate markets in the country, with my savings having been battered by all sorts of unexpected emergency expenses. I’m honestly half convinced that 2023 is trying to kill me. At the very least, I suppose I won’t have much left to lose sooner rather than later.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#57

Post by vouaobrasil »

its_a_random_ac wrote: post #54
ctoth wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there are plenty of nice places where the houses are 60K. Citation super needed. Where in the US can I buy a house for $60,000? Does it have a roof?

Spoiler alert: be prepared to spend a ton of money of gas, and hours for driving to any kind of doctor's office beyond a GP. A friend of a friend commuted for 4 hours each day to go to school as a kid because her family lived so far out. I still agree with the general sentiment though. I'm happy with living in a 1br condo and taking public transport, but I had coworkers that "needed" a detached house with a back yard…

Yes, you are very right and point out some valid criticisms. Because the typical 9-5 style has been so effective (it out-competes other life-styles because it is the most useful for our capitalistic, consumerist society), our entire infrastructure is designed around it, which further eliminates alternative options or at least makes them more scary.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#58

Post by endemic »

mronetwo wrote: post #12
wskinner wrote: post #4

1. Make friends with people at work 2. Eventually, some of those people will get new jobs, and they can refer you to their new employer (and vice versa). 3. Repeat for a few cycles and you have a network full of potential job opportunities without ever going through a job board.

Make friends with Talent Acquisition. Nothing like having a TA that moves to another company.

Hah, I went this route a few jobs ago. The TA loved the place, but unfortunately their engineering culture turned out to be complete trash.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#59

Post by nineplay »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #35
mronetwo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally, this. Realistically, not sure about this. It might be a bit of a crapshoot. It might yield very rewarding "jobs" but it's difficult to put your mind into it, when you just want to make a living. It just feels like you have to cross certain wealth threshold to do this. It might not reflect reality but this feeling of "I need a 9 to 5 to just keep myself afloat" is real.

You're right about that. And this is something I've been thinking about for quite some time. My rejoinder is that most people have a set of compromises they can make that might make them a lot wealthier than they think. For example, a friend of mine was complaining that he had to work hard to afford a house. However, he was dead-set on a set of ideals and a location he wanted to settle at. Maybe part of that was pref…

Most single child-free people perhaps. "Move somewhere cheaper" is about as helpful as "stop buying Starbucks" for an out of work breadwinner. Moving my kids away from their friends and school is an absolute last resort.

Re: Ask HN: How do you look for jobs in 2023?

#60

Post by PartiallyTyped »

teirce wrote: post #30
4kimov wrote: post #25

Besides all the already mentioned, solid responses about looking for new opportunities (personal network, consistent daily applications, etc), it's worth noting this one too: Become a regular contributor to specific open-source projects (esp if it's a growing and/or funded startup). This approach might work better for those that are already comfortable w/ OSS and don't yet have connections. When applying to that comp…

Thank you for this suggestion. I think it's infinitely more interesting than the meme-y, parroted 'grind leetcode' response to improve job prospects. And it can give you more direction than trying to think of hobby projects to put on github.

I know people who have joined AWS because their OSS contributions opened doors for them.

It is a great suggestion imho.

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