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Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

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Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#21

Post by jbs789 »

I understand that the market in the UK is particularly tough now, across many sectors.

Is there a particular specialisation you have, and then how does someone who needs that specialisation find you?

Particularly if the job is 100pct remote, you’re participating in a global market.

Or if there’s a local company that needs you… even if the work isn’t the most challenging… Can at least leverage the real-world relationships? Anyone at prior jobs who can help with connections? (Never hurts to ask).

I hope you are able to find something that provides at least an emotional boost while the broader search continues!

Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#22

Post by paxys »

Remember that for remote roles you are competing against the best talent in the world, and most of them can afford to work for a tiny fraction of what you are asking for.

There are still plenty of jobs at local software shops, banks, consulting firms, hospitals, government agencies and more, and you are at the front of the line for all of those. A lot of them enforce as little as 2-3 days in the office. Apply there instead.

Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#23

Post by c0balt »

okokwhatever wrote: post #9
colesantiago wrote: post #6

Are you able to move / relocate away from the UK? Unless the company is a FAANG company or hedge fund, the UK tech scene is dead. I don’t see any good UK startups worth joining in the UK. All the good ones are in SF / NY, etc.

Extend the statement to mostly all Europe. Tech ecosystem is dead in EU.

That seems pretty overzealous, companies like SAP or Heinlein are doing well-ish and the recent push for digital sovereignty has induced some money. There also is a bunch of mixed shops (doing he and software or integration work).

The primary difference is that many expect on-site and they pay is generally not US-startup scale.

Many companies also expect you to at least have some knowledge of their local language (e. G., German, Spanish or Polnish) and not just English. One has to adapt to be competitive here.

Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#24

Post by apothegm »

mariogintili wrote: post #5
condensedcrab wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d try applying to in office roles too - I suspect that most places have a soft hiring freeze regardless of work status. At least, that way you know it’s not the remote work portion that’s keeping you from a job. I’m in the US and everyone I’ve talked to who wants to move have been discussing the challenges of getting a foot in the door anywhere.

My commute is not in a realistic location for commutes. > I’m in the US and everyone I’ve talked to who wants to move have been discussing the challenges of getting a foot in the door anywhere. Really? I thought the US was doing extremely well

The massive rounds of layoffs in the US over the past 3 years mean there are a ridiculous number of software engineers looking for jobs. AI has compounded this by automating applications such that a single opening might get multiple thousands of submissions.

Your best bet to find a job in this market is to have some connection to the hiring manager. It might be a friend of a friend of a former colleague. Or both having membership in the same semi-open community. But you need a way to say “hey, I’m a real human being and especially interested in this job; please at least take a look at my resume!”

Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#25

Post by AREO_Marius »

@Mario - I looked for contact details in your profile but did not find any. We are currently hiring senior Rails engineers, fully remote in Europe (see an older job ad here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42923191 EDIT and a current one here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46466732).

Please feel free to reach out, and then we can see if there is a good match.

Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#27

Post by mariogintili »

jbs789 wrote: post #21

I understand that the market in the UK is particularly tough now, across many sectors. Is there a particular specialisation you have, and then how does someone who needs that specialisation find you? Particularly if the job is 100pct remote, you’re participating in a global market. Or if there’s a local company that needs you… even if the work isn’t the most challenging… Can at least leverage the real-world relations…

> Is there a particular specialisation you have, and then how does someone who needs that specialisation find you?

Being a generalist and having experience delivering products all the way its what makes me stand out. That being said, I've done some cool pieces with backoffices and dev tooling and developer experience

> Or if there’s a local company that needs you… even if the work isn’t the most challenging… Can at least leverage the real-world relationships? Anyone at prior jobs who can help with connections? (Never hurts to ask).

I've done my best and decided to take any job even if it doesn't pay as much. I have exhausted all of my prior connections

Thanks for the good wishes

Re: Tell HN: I'm having the worst career winter of my life

#28

Post by mariogintili »

paxys wrote: post #22

Remember that for remote roles you are competing against the best talent in the world, and most of them can afford to work for a tiny fraction of what you are asking for. There are still plenty of jobs at local software shops, banks, consulting firms, hospitals, government agencies and more, and you are at the front of the line for all of those. A lot of them enforce as little as 2-3 days in the office. Apply there i…

I applied for those(hybrid), still the same reach :(
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