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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?

#131

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

alexpotato wrote: post #21
itsoktocry wrote: post #3

Once you've moved beyond a junior-level of experience, I'm not sure if there's a better way than working your network for opportunities. In my experience there is never, and will never be, a shortage of business people looking for technical problems solvers.

Joel Spolksy has an interesting quote about this: "Third, and trust me on this, there’s still an incredible shortage of the really good programmers, here and in India. Yes, there are a bunch of out of work IT people making a lot of noise about how long they’ve been out of work, but you know what? At the risk of pissing them off, really good programmers do have jobs" From: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2005/01/02/adv…

> At the risk of pissing them off, really good programmers do have jobs

Which doesn't at-all reflect the reality implied by abysmal hiring practices - recited on this page again and again and again.

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

#132

Post by supertofu »

farmeroy wrote: post #123

Reading about all you engineers with years of experience struggling to get a job is incredibly painful, but in some ways it's relieving to hear that even experience engineers are finding this market difficult. I managed to land my first job during the pandemic on a combination of self-education and a bootcamp. That job is over due to lack of funding and I have been applying non-stop for 6 months, 300-400 applications…

I'm also pursuing a BSc. My original degree is a BA and employers/recruiters see me as an "alternative" self-taught engineer, despite a decade of experience. I think a lack of STEM degree can really hurt a resume.

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

#133

Post by teirce »

iknowSFR wrote: post #113
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.…

How is this possible? Surely at this point you would have a network to lean on that wouldn’t leave you applying for jobs online? I’m hesitant to believe you don’t have a network and more willing to believe you don’t realize you have that network and maybe even not sure how to use it. I truly don’t mean this to be critical and instead curious: Why would you spend that much time applying for jobs with that type of succ…

> How is this possible? Surely at this point you would have a network to lean on that wouldn’t leave you applying for jobs online? I’m hesitant to believe you don’t have a network and more willing to believe you don’t realize you have that network and maybe even not sure how to use it.

It's possible because of a couple reasons. The market is cold right now, and most of my network is _still at google_. There are a few folks I've worked with that have left for other places - but those places are either in hiring freezes or actively laying people off for the last few months.

You're partially right, though. Maybe I don't know how to utilize this network efficiently. Friend of friend etc, is probably something I need to work on more.

> Why would you spend that much time applying for jobs with that type of success rate?

Because I need a job?

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

#134

Post by darksofa »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #57
its_a_random_ac wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I always though the 9-5 style was because a lot of work is easier when it's light outside and people are awake.

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

#135

Post by lowbloodsugar »

alexpotato wrote: post #21
itsoktocry wrote: post #3

Once you've moved beyond a junior-level of experience, I'm not sure if there's a better way than working your network for opportunities. In my experience there is never, and will never be, a shortage of business people looking for technical problems solvers.

Joel Spolksy has an interesting quote about this: "Third, and trust me on this, there’s still an incredible shortage of the really good programmers, here and in India. Yes, there are a bunch of out of work IT people making a lot of noise about how long they’ve been out of work, but you know what? At the risk of pissing them off, really good programmers do have jobs" From: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2005/01/02/adv…

That’s from 2005.

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

#136

Post by flappyeagle »

The first step in looking for a job is not “apply for a position online”

If you are experienced, you’re much better off with: reach out to anyone you’ve ever worked with who is now at a company you might want to work at.

Google for them, guess their new company email, contact them on LinkedIn, DM them on Instagram.

Once you have a warm intro your chances of landing a job go up by 2-20x depending on the company and their funnel.

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

#137

Post by corethree »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #65
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…

My experience was an absolute TON of jobs that had no idea what I do as a Staff+ engineer, or what it costs to get someone with my experience and skills. I'm talking many many recruiters fishing with 75% off my total comp. My take is there are lots of open roles, but companies are being slow to hire because they know they have the upper hand and want to wait out the market and get a great hire at a lower price. And r…

That's dumb then the great hires have no loyalty they will quit.

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

#138

Post by teirce »

oldtownroad wrote: post #97
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.…

We hired a former Googler recently, great hire. Your resume couldn’t be more different from his: yours is so generic that my only takeaway is “oh he worked at Google”. I fear you’ve taken resume advice along the lines of “…explain the value of what you did…” (which is great advice) but should be used to augment technology experience, not replace it. I have no idea what you’re good at. Find some former Google colleagu…

> but should be used to augment technology experience, not replace it.

Do you have some specific feedback or bullets that stand out to you? Most of Google tech is all in-house stuff that nobody would recognize, outside of a few open-source counterparts (Blaze -> Bazel). I'm confused how my resume could better convey what I'm good at. I can say I worked with Java, Angular, Typescript, etc. But that's all exceedingly generic.

If I say something like "automated X thing in WombatLand using BlogSplort tool, saving 20% of engineering time" I don't see how that is more useful than saying "Automated the creation of full stack internal web-apps to launch in a production environment [...] saved hundreds of ENG-hours for teams launching internal applications"

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

#139

Post by corethree »

mdekkers wrote: post #19
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…

I’m 53, and I doubt I’ll ever find a job in tech again. I only started getting responses when I removed the earliest 15 year’s experience from my CV, and as soon as I hit the screening stage and my age is known they lose interest. Ageism can get fucked.

I believe it's illegal to talk about age or even consider it in the US. You need to make it to the technicals. Say webcam is broken for the screen.

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

#140

Post by joshuamcginnis »

blamazon wrote: post #122
joshuamcginnis wrote: post #106

UPS is paying $100-200K for drivers and I can't find a decent plumber, electrician, roofer or concrete installer without paying insane costs and/or waiting for months. Something to consider!

UPS is only paying experienced drivers (with experience at UPS) those rates, at the entry level it's more in the neighborhood of part time work 20 dollars an hour, which is a common entry level rate in warehousing and logistics these days. Similarly, it's a long road to being a skilled laborer that can pull those large contracts, and even then the margins can be utterly ruthless to small operators. Just seeking to be…

UPS is paying $170K on average per driver this year per renegotiated contracts. True, like any job, you start off on the lower side, but unlike other companies, UPS pay begins going way up after just a year and that doesn't include the incredible amount of overtime available to even new drivers.

You don't need to pull in large contracts or even be the business owner of a skilled-trade to do well. Literally every tradesman I speak with is telling me the same thing: we're desperate for bodies; we're willing to hire kids out of high school, train them and pay them > $100K and we still can't fill the seats.

My overall (unpopular point) is that a lot of people are complaining that their high-paid cushy remote job isn't available anymore, while ignoring that there is a huge need for skilled labor in other areas of the economy. This strikes me as a huge opportunity for lots of people, and I don't see it changing anytime soon.

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