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I got laid off and realized how broken tech hiring is

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: I got laid off and realized how broken tech hiring is

#12

Post by qup »

nirvanist wrote: post #4
Teknomadix wrote: post #2

It has been going this way for some time in the US. My own story and experience was very similar to yours. Lost my position as a Sr. Engineer, and while going through that gauntlet of algorithms trying to find a new role, I found a pivot instead. Left the software world of abstractions and optimizations, and brought my skills in physical hardware and machine knowledge to the forefront. Now I work in hard technology.…

That’s a great pivot and thank you for your comment at least it s open other point of view I’m mostly focused on software full-stack, backend, automation, and building products. The problem in my case is that I’m too passionate about it. I was so committed to web and software development that I don’t really have easily transferable skills outside of it. I’m currently training for some certifications, but I still feel…

Find places where you're the most technical person, and you will find your skills have easily transferred.

I just landed a consulting gig installing network hardware. I'm a full stack web dev like yourself. I did a web project for them before they asked about this one.

I'm simply the only technical person they know.

Thankfully, the network requirements are simple enough I could confidently agree.

Re: I got laid off and realized how broken tech hiring is

#14

Post by austin-cheney »

EEO rules require that available positions be posted to the public, but in many cases there is no intention to interview outside candidates for these positions. For example let’s say a large company wants to convert a contractor into an employee. That position still has to be posted to the public, but it’s only one of many examples.

In my case I am a government contractor so candidates will not even be considered unless they exceed nearly all points of the job requirements. No exceptions.

Also it used to be all about tech stacks and tool trends. As software employment continues to shrink that is also going away. It’s more about skills and experience on a given platform or family of languages than a tool or framework. The upside to this is that while positions continue to shrink the expectations and salaries appear to be going up proportionally.

Re: I got laid off and realized how broken tech hiring is

#18

Post by kermatt »

I found applying to job postings was effectively a waste of time. The number of replies I received from a person was What was effective was advertising my availability on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Dice, and waiting for recruiters to contact me. In other words in the current environment passive options were far more effective than active searches - the process is definitely upside down.

The only alternative approach was knowing someone at the company and in a similar role, making a referral. Unfortunately that is often a limited opportunity pool for most people.

Re: I got laid off and realized how broken tech hiring is

#19

Post by nirvanist »

kermatt wrote: post #18

I found applying to job postings was effectively a waste of time. The number of replies I received from a person was What was effective was advertising my availability on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Dice, and waiting for recruiters to contact me. In other words in the current environment passive options were far more effective than active searches - the process is definitely upside down. The only alternative approach was k…

thanks for the comment begging for job I hate doing that, but I think it s not a choice anymore
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