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Looking for a Job Is Tough

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Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#161

Post by svilen_dobrev »

trentnix wrote: post #50
realityfactchex wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weirded how, if you don't mind elaborating slightly? For example, does it mean: the actual skill level (e.g., smartness) people actually look for and hire hasn't changed, but the activities that hiring teams require candidates to have experience with are (seemingly weirdly) not a great thing to need anyway and therefore lots of great candidates end up twiddling their thumbs? In that way, the "height" of the bar is th…

Many companies are filtering candidates in favor of mercenaries while pretending they are looking for dependable, committed professionals. If you don’t have specific experience with some CTOs favorite esoteric API or don’t have experience in the same, specific corner of some insurance or usury industry, your ability to actually engineer solutions is considered irrelevant. It’s as if the industry has forgotten that bu…

> It’s as if the industry has forgotten that building software is about the application of algorithms to data structures to accomplish some user need

My 3 months experience searching - and getting only ~3-4 initial interviews - is the New-AI-Kids-on-Da-Block think software-engineering is just another plumbing for their Artificially Great Intelligence. One CEO even used the exact word.

waw. Plumbers make real good $$$..

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#162

Post by shnkr »

bberenberg wrote: post #42
thw09j9m wrote: post #18

This is the toughest market I've ever seen. I easily made it to on-sites at FAANG a few years ago and now I'm getting resume rejected by no-name startups (and FAANG). The bar has also been raised significantly. I had an interview recently where I solved the algorithm question very quickly, but didn't refactor/clean up my code perfectly and was rejected.

I can’t solve everyone’s problems but I can say that I have 1-2 (depending if an outstanding offer is accepted) open principal engineering roles directly working for me. The process will be talking to the recruiter, then two tech interviews, then an interview with me. This will take you a couple weeks to go through because of our team is tiny and we’re fairly busy. Team is 100% remote and async. All the stuff in the…

God's work. Simple process but didn't find a matching profile to apply - boring backend principal engineer with 10+ yoe.. will keep an eye though.

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#163

Post by Teever »

thrw42A8N wrote: post #99
bluefirebrand wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's kind of the point, the "typical" experience is actually pretty bad for job hunters

Try to get a job in finance, accounting, marketing, law, or other kinds of engineering. 7+ rounds of interviews, weird pop-psych questions, even getting a reply/meeting is a problem ...

The solution to this problem is regulations.

If employers were obligated to pay prospective employees for their time then they wouldn't waste time

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#164

Post by bberenberg »

shnkr wrote: post #162
bberenberg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t solve everyone’s problems but I can say that I have 1-2 (depending if an outstanding offer is accepted) open principal engineering roles directly working for me. The process will be talking to the recruiter, then two tech interviews, then an interview with me. This will take you a couple weeks to go through because of our team is tiny and we’re fairly busy. Team is 100% remote and async. All the stuff in the…

God's work. Simple process but didn't find a matching profile to apply - boring backend principal engineer with 10+ yoe.. will keep an eye though.

Not sure what you mean by matching profile? The link above should be a direct link to the role I am hiring for.

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#165

Post by bubbleRefuge »

nrjames wrote: post #129
noobermin wrote: post #85

Sometimes I feel like you guys live in alternative universe. Nothing about the "bad" interview sounded too atypical. Sure it's annoying, but not uncommon enough to be exceptional. I don't mean to discount anyone's unpleasantness but you'd be surprised how much worse the rest of the world is.

Applying to and taking a new job requires bidirectional approval and sense of fit. The way a company conducts its interview process is a reflection of the corporate culture and sometimes is enough to erode the sense of fit on the applicant's side. If the interview process is a disorganized mess, why should the applicant believe the rest of the company is any different?

Agree but sometimes smaller organizations have allot going on and not enough people to stay on top of it all. These can be the best opportunities.

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#166

Post by ericmcer »

noobermin wrote: post #85

Sometimes I feel like you guys live in alternative universe. Nothing about the "bad" interview sounded too atypical. Sure it's annoying, but not uncommon enough to be exceptional. I don't mean to discount anyone's unpleasantness but you'd be surprised how much worse the rest of the world is.

I was talking to someone who is applying in another industry and they were bemoaning having to list a bunch of references on their resume, and having to call all their references to talk about the businesses that might contact them, what to say, etc.

Leetcode stuff sucks, but it is kind of nice being an industry where I can have no college degree and no references, but over the course of a few 1 hour interviews demonstrate competence.

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#167

Post by yibbix »

purple-leafy wrote: post #59

It’s insanely tough. I’m currently searching. For context - I’ve made 4 personal projects that currently have over 1000+ daily active users (numbers are ~1500, ~6000, ~14,000, and ~430,000) all created within the span of the last year. I’ve also sold software. On top of all that, I have an Engineering degree, 4 years experience, no breaks in employment, study on my afternoons and weekends (C, Go, C#) and take extra u…

This is why I’ve given up on software. I loved it, made side projects in college, got my computer science degree, worked for a couple years and then got laid off early in 2023. It’s been a year and a half and I still can not find a new job. I have not coded in god knows how long, I don’t find it enjoyable anymore. In fact I almost despise it. I’ve decided to join the military instead.

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#168

Post by greenie_beans »

randomdata wrote: post #160
greenie_beans wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

dang, i guess i'll die never knowing the truth

I assumed you were already dead by the time I got to reading your response. One does not normally tell you that they are dying if they expect to still be around for a long time. Shame on me for assuming. What is the expected lifespan for someone diagnosed with your condition?

i'm posting from the grave!!

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#169

Post by ericmcer »

thw09j9m wrote: post #18

This is the toughest market I've ever seen. I easily made it to on-sites at FAANG a few years ago and now I'm getting resume rejected by no-name startups (and FAANG). The bar has also been raised significantly. I had an interview recently where I solved the algorithm question very quickly, but didn't refactor/clean up my code perfectly and was rejected.

Anecdotal but I felt it was worst during the mass layoffs in late 2022/early 2023. It has been very slowly recovering since then.

The late 2020 period was the absolute best time though. I got multiple offers almost instantly, and after I signed on it felt like the org was bloated with engineers just fiddling away on meaningless projects.

Re: Looking for a Job Is Tough

#170

Post by bubbleRefuge »

thw09j9m wrote: post #18

This is the toughest market I've ever seen. I easily made it to on-sites at FAANG a few years ago and now I'm getting resume rejected by no-name startups (and FAANG). The bar has also been raised significantly. I had an interview recently where I solved the algorithm question very quickly, but didn't refactor/clean up my code perfectly and was rejected.

My observation as well. Going remote makes it harder to switch jobs because of loosing the personal connections and networks that get developed working on site. Going through the front door when applying for opportunities is usually more difficult than the back door. Back door as in getting introduced via your network. As a result, I've learned that a good recruiter is now a necessity because they have those relationships with hiring managers which can put you to the front of the line and also prep you better for the process.
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