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How (not) to apply for a software job

benhoyt.com

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Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#61

Post by VonGallifrey »

GoToRO wrote: post #36
tsak wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once applied for a job at Canonical. This was their process (roughly two years ago)... Thank you for applying for Software Engineer. The application process has several stages: - Initial screening (done) - Personal essay (this stage) - Culture interview - Standardised aptitude and personality tests - General interviews - Recruitment screen - Technical assessment - Role-specific interviews - Hiring manager interview…

From what you wrote, sounds like one of the best. At least it sounds better than most other interviews I had that were basically random.

10 Steps are about 7 too many.

Writing a Personal Essay after, what sounds like, an automated email is not something I would consider as a good interview process.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#62

Post by olliej »

Something that I really need to emphasize is tailor your CV to every job.

If you're apply to a job that's targeting C/C++/rust/low-level take any python (or similar) and either don't include them or, if what you were using them for was relevant to the job itself coalesce them.

If you're applying to a job that involves creative work, make sure to include creative projects, but if you're not then just have a sentence in your "about me" synopsis at most.

Your CV/resume should fit on a single page. Priority should be to things that are directly relevant to the job you're applying for.

If it's not your first job your uni grades don't matter, just the qualifications, and the more real experience you have the less relevant those are - unless you're an international hire and a work visa will be needed, in that case more or less all countries just have hard "you must have this degree or equivalent" requirements.

Include information about what you actual did, not what project/product you worked on.

I've read many CVs that make it actively hard to determine whether interviewing is worthwhile: lots of pages isn't impressive, all it means I'm more likely to miss info that would make you compelling. Similarly buzzwords aren't impressive they should only be present in significant amounts if you're think you're dealing with recruiter BS.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#63

Post by dkdbejwi383 »

silvestrov wrote: post #33

When do employers get to "how to properly write a job advertisement"? All these articles are only about what workers should do, not how companies fail again and again at writing a good description of the job. E.g. "Describe your experience with software operations and running services in production" is a really bad question as it is too open ended and leads to name dropping. Asking for "engaging answers" judges the p…

"Don't be generic" applies to the employer with regards to renumeration. "Competitive" means nothing, give me a numerical range. This avoids a waste of time on both parties' behalf.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#64

Post by dcminter »

What objective methods do you use to determine that you're keeping the right people and rejecting the right people?

I'd love one of these companies to actually hire a control group some time instead of just assuming "well, I like the people I hired so they must be good" and then pontificating about it.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#65

Post by verve_rat »

sdflhasjd wrote: post #48
emerongi wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that they would write me a short answer about what piqued their interest Honest question: do people actually apply to jobs because it piques their interest? I pretty much just... need a job. I'll assess whether I want to join based almost purely on the team - if the team doesn't feel right, I'll skip. I don't apply for any jobs that require a cover letter. There's already enough information asymmetry and the effort…

People who already have a job and are wanting to move will have reasons for wanting a shift (frequently besides just salary).

But that is about leaving the last place, not why I want to work at the next one.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#66

Post by emerongi »

rawbert wrote: post #42

Am I the only one who is not maintaining some kind of private Github repo? I am doing this job for the money and not the "coding fun". If I had the urge to code more, I would just do more hours in my regular job and get paid for that.

I think none of my coworkers in different jobs have had Github profiles with public code.

I have a Github profile with multiple public repos, but I don't think it helps with anything. I once had an interviewer say "it seems like you don't have much on your Github profile".

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#67

Post by GoToRO »

benhoyt wrote: post #26
daniel-s wrote: post #6

Isn't Canonical famous for having one of the worst candidate selection processes? Also, there's a lot of superstition and nonsense about how to succeed at interviews and job applications.

They have been derided for their interview process (though not, as far as I know, for their candidate selection), but that's not the point of the article. I'd love if it we stuck to discussing the content of the article: how to write when applying at any company. If you could describe what superstition and nonsense you see in the article, that might be helpful.

Nitpick, not any company, only this company. If you have a company that writes fluffy job ads and you have a CV written like the article recomends, they are likely to pass you. That hiring manager doesn't want to know you, they want to be in awe with you. It's about matching with the company more than beeing direct, organized, smart and so on. Unfortunately.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#68

Post by [deleted] »

GoToRO wrote: post #36
tsak wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once applied for a job at Canonical. This was their process (roughly two years ago)... Thank you for applying for Software Engineer. The application process has several stages: - Initial screening (done) - Personal essay (this stage) - Culture interview - Standardised aptitude and personality tests - General interviews - Recruitment screen - Technical assessment - Role-specific interviews - Hiring manager interview…

From what you wrote, sounds like one of the best. At least it sounds better than most other interviews I had that were basically random.

[deleted]

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#69

Post by anacrolix »

daniel-s wrote: post #6

Isn't Canonical famous for having one of the worst candidate selection processes? Also, there's a lot of superstition and nonsense about how to succeed at interviews and job applications.

I've applied several times, it's incredibly long. Each time I get railroaded into projects that I don't want to do and lose confidence that the process will deliver what I want.

Re: How (not) to apply for a software job

#70

Post by zeroCalories »

noobermin wrote: post #39

It's funny because I've read that details scare people, so you should avoid them. May be include something the employer likes (saved the employer 200K per year using xyz solution) but technical details? I guess it depends on who's reading.

There is definitely a balance. When reviewing applications if I see that you used a bunch of technologies that I'm not familiar with, in my mind that counts for nothing. On the other hand, being too sparse also gives me few signals on whether you're a good candidate. IMO as a rule of thumb, adding details related to the job description is good. Otherwise, keep it broad enough that anyone in your field will know what you're talking about.
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