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Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

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Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#11

Post by senordevnyc »

leeny wrote: post #9
senordevnyc wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm planning on doing TripleByte, Hired, and possibly some more mock interviews with Interviewing.io in the next couple weeks. I think my main concern is whether I can even get to the phone screen step with companies that don't work with something like TripleByte. Will they glance at my resume and think I'm not remotely qualified because I've never had a "real" software engineering job?

Hey, founder of interviewing.io here. We're not just for practice. If you do well in your mock interviews, you can book interviews with companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Coinbase, and a bunch of others with 2 clicks. Literally no one sees your resume, and you get guaranteed interviews at companies. I can't promise you we have all the companies you want, but unlike Triplebyte, you can choose which companies you want…

Sounds pretty good :)

Curious: any issues with using more than one of these kinds of platforms, or do you guys have exclusivity arrangements? How does it work if I've already applied for a role at a company that I then connect with on your platform?

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#13

Post by senordevnyc »

pythonbase wrote: post #12

How are you going to deal with the psychological impact of the transition from your own boss to working for someone, on-site, following full office hours?

That's actually kind of the goal :)

I've almost never worked from home, I've always worked out of my own office, shared an office with another freelancer, or worked from coworking space. And I've also always kept a pretty typical ~9 to ~6 schedule Mon-Fri. So I'm not sure those things will be a huge adjustment?

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#14

Post by pythonbase »

senordevnyc wrote: post #13
pythonbase wrote: post #12

How are you going to deal with the psychological impact of the transition from your own boss to working for someone, on-site, following full office hours?

That's actually kind of the goal :) I've almost never worked from home, I've always worked out of my own office, shared an office with another freelancer, or worked from coworking space. And I've also always kept a pretty typical ~9 to ~6 schedule Mon-Fri. So I'm not sure those things will be a huge adjustment?

In that case all you have to watch out for is office politics ;)

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#15

Post by leeny »

senordevnyc wrote: post #11
leeny wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, founder of interviewing.io here. We're not just for practice. If you do well in your mock interviews, you can book interviews with companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Coinbase, and a bunch of others with 2 clicks. Literally no one sees your resume, and you get guaranteed interviews at companies. I can't promise you we have all the companies you want, but unlike Triplebyte, you can choose which companies you want…

Sounds pretty good :) Curious: any issues with using more than one of these kinds of platforms, or do you guys have exclusivity arrangements? How does it work if I've already applied for a role at a company that I then connect with on your platform?

No exclusivity! You should do whatever you can to maximize your chances.

If you've already applied at a company and were rejected based on your resume (ie you never talked to a human), you're free to reapply through us. One of the most recent hires we made at a top tier big co was rejected 3 times based on resume before he got in through us!

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#16

Post by GoToRO »

theli0nheart wrote: post #6
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #4

You've been making 300K+ for years as a consultant, for more than a decade? Yes, you have a very good shot, because you have a demonstrated track record of being able to do the work. I don't know if you have a shot at a job that pays 300K+, though. I don't know the NYC market.

I’m in a similar boat as OP, and I can tell you that folks are VERY skeptical of success when you haven’t been a part of the corporate rat race. My success has a consultant has (so far) apparently little relevance to passing interviews at FAANG and the like. People like talking to me though, so I guess there’s that!

Companies want loyalty. Beeing good at what you do has almost no importance above a very basic level. Loyalty is important because they have all kind of internal crap that is not documented, not organized and which you will accumulate if you stay with them 10+ years.

Also, beeing a consultant shows that you are independent, but what they want is conformism, people with no ideas of their own and so, not independent. 99% of companies fit this profile.

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#17

Post by theli0nheart »

GoToRO wrote: post #16
theli0nheart wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m in a similar boat as OP, and I can tell you that folks are VERY skeptical of success when you haven’t been a part of the corporate rat race. My success has a consultant has (so far) apparently little relevance to passing interviews at FAANG and the like. People like talking to me though, so I guess there’s that!

Companies want loyalty. Beeing good at what you do has almost no importance above a very basic level. Loyalty is important because they have all kind of internal crap that is not documented, not organized and which you will accumulate if you stay with them 10+ years. Also, beeing a consultant shows that you are independent, but what they want is conformism, people with no ideas of their own and so, not independent. 9…

What you say is true, however, I think it's less about loyalty and more about risk mitigation. Companies don't want to take chances that the super-star programmer they just hired is a renegade cowboy. I get that. But no about of LeetCode prep will dissolve that preconception.

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#18

Post by codingslave »

GoToRO wrote: post #16
theli0nheart wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m in a similar boat as OP, and I can tell you that folks are VERY skeptical of success when you haven’t been a part of the corporate rat race. My success has a consultant has (so far) apparently little relevance to passing interviews at FAANG and the like. People like talking to me though, so I guess there’s that!

Companies want loyalty. Beeing good at what you do has almost no importance above a very basic level. Loyalty is important because they have all kind of internal crap that is not documented, not organized and which you will accumulate if you stay with them 10+ years. Also, beeing a consultant shows that you are independent, but what they want is conformism, people with no ideas of their own and so, not independent. 9…

Companies want leetcode, not loyalty

Re: Ask HN: Going from 12 years of self-employment to tech job?

#20

Post by segmondy »

You have a shot, but why? Dealing with the politics of corporate is bad. Don't care which of the FANMAG you work for. Let alone for smaller companies. You'll be wanting out very fast.

I don't know that your resume will even get you a call back. There's nothing that jumps out. Things like C/C++, Python, Go, Distributed Systems, etc. The first thing you need is to get seen, then pass the phone screen, then get onsite. For an IC, if you can whiteboard it then you might have a chance.

Best of luck tho.

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