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Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

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11–20 of 142 posts

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#11
In the past, I have applied to many YC startups, and have a pretty high response rate. Being that the job board is pretty prominent in the tech world, and engineering jobs are highly competitive, it is likely that a smaller startup does not have the resources to reply to every applicant.

This being said, I've been self employed for several years, so this may have changed since ~ 2021, but I don't think it's likely.

Also, the landscape has changed, and some job posting may have been made during more optimistic moments, and they may just be stale, rather than fake.

I have referred many people to "WorkAtAStartup" in recent years who have had quite a bit of success. While it's unfortunate that you are not having the best of luck, definitely be optimistic and continue to try! There are many great companies that recruit through the YC boards, and I recommend using WorkAtAStartup to have the best chances of response, even more so than their direct job listings.

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#12

It’s likely they know someone they’ve effectively already offered the job to, but equal opportunity laws require a job posting to be made. So while they are technically “hiring”, the job posting is fairly meaningless.

There are easier ways to address equal opportunity requirements (really just immigration stuff)

More often you just want a way for extremely strong tactical inbound candidates to find you. Even if you're not desperate to fill the role, you want strong candidates to find you, reach out, and then work with them to find a role to fit the candidate.

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#13
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, why do you say that - given that many job board cost money to post on.

I never thought about this, but maybe it's way cheaper than other methods of personal data capturing.

Plus, the personal data on a resume is likely high-quality and accurate because the job seeker is incentivized to be contact-able. High value PII and it's just being handed over...

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#14
post #3

[flagged]

Just curious, why do you say that - given that many job board cost money to post on.

One of my friends almost got scammed by a fake job posting just yesterday. The job was for a real company with a real site and headquarters in the US, and the fake recruiter was impersonating the identity of a real recruiter on LinkedIn. They realized it was a scam when the "recruiter" told them that the job interview would be over Telegram. Often these fake jobs will string applicants along, then start asking them for money to pay for "onboarding fees".

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#16
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, why do you say that - given that many job board cost money to post on.

Many do, but not all. Also the cost to post a job is trivial compared to the cost of filling the role. I don't know what the OP was thinking but it is very common for companies to say they are hiring when they don't have a specific position to fill at the time. First, because it is a sign of health, particularly if you want to position yourself as growing. Second, a lot of HR people want to have a pool of people to c…

> Second, a lot of HR people want to have a pool of people to contact when a position opens.

I wonder, is that even legal in California given the CCPA? If they're not actually actively hiring, what "business purpose" do they have for retaining that data?

I feel like anyone in California who gets a call back from HR thanks to this data mining should report the privacy violation.

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#17

I would like to assume that I am a good candidate I usually get calls back from even LinkedIn posts or even indeed, but after well applying to more than two hundred offerings on the who is hiring posts in this place, and only having had been called twice. I can assure you that the ones here usually are not hiring and at best just want a rooster of possible replacements for their current employees. Most notable offend…

Some companies are just very selective, i.e: they're hiring the right people not the best candidate. Most of us get jobs because companies need to fill a role and we're the best candidate of a bad bunch... most of us (whether we have 22 years and a fancy title or not) would not get a job at a company that hires carefully because we're probably not a good fit for their very niche view of what a good hire is.

Re: Ask HN: Are YC startups *actually* hiring?

#20
Here is the truth: They really are not.

Why? They don't have the money nor will they risk it on people who they do not know.

The best way to get "hired" by them is to fiercely compete against them to the point where they wave the white flag and buy you out.

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