Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#111

Post by empathygeezer » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 7:23 AM UTC

Everybody else wants to give you hope. There is none. I am on a dozen slacks, and these stories of desparation are far too frequent. This downtown is far, far, far worse than 1993, 2000 and 2008.

The privileged rich libertarian crypto bros who work at FAANG are all suffering from survivorship bias. Don’t let them makw you feel like shit, their hardships will come in a year or two as well.

I am in the same boat. Nearly 25 years of experience, but I got fired a week after Covid lockdowns began and haven’t been able to find anything since.

Covid was really hard on me, I’ve lost both my parents, my best friend and maky others. I caught covid while holding my mother when she died of the same disease, and my body has never recovered, nor has my spirit.

I ran out of short term savings about a month ago and now I’m living in a friend’s broken down sprinter van after having sold everything I owned.

Just sold my laptop, and promised my mother’s ghost I would try until 1 January. Then I will stop taking my medicine and within a day or two I will join her and my dad. This way I wont have to eat into my estranged son’s college fund.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#112

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 10:41 AM UTC

jacknews wrote: post #97

paxys wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1 recruiter call 1-2 phone screens Maybe a take home test 4-5 onsite interviews 1 call with hiring manager This is the standard process in big tech recruiting.

It's exhausting just reading this, let alone doing it with multiple companies. How did it get so crazy, or is this only for the most elite companies, and positions? I can't imagine going to all this trouble for a java programming position at a regional insurance company or something similar.

This is the process for almost every company, not just FAANGS.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#113

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 10:47 AM UTC

drewfis wrote: post #24

>Technical lead with over 10 years experience. I often get praises during interviews, but never an offer. If you have 10 years tech lead experience I assume you are applying for 200k+ base salary positions. The competition for these staff/lead roles is steeper, especially for remote roles during a recession. Take a couple interviews for less senior positions and knock them outta the park, get your confidence back. Pr…

> Probably won't require too much prep

That gave me a chuckle.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#114

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 10:51 AM UTC

lgleason wrote: post #10

Has the market become this tough/bad?

If you are a young recent grad with FAANG experience on your resume, you will be fine.

Otherwise, everyone I know struggles. Interviews are now involving more and more esoteric questions about things that aren't even on my resume, and sometimes questions about tools that can only be answered if you memorized the entire 1000 page handbook of the tool.

I have been asked questions about things that were tangentially mentioned in my undergrad in a lecture 10 years ago, and I never used anything close to it in my job.

Leetcode hazing varies from place to place. If they insist on the most efficient solution, mostly you are fucked unless you live and breathe algos.

The only silver lining is dynamic programming questions have died out, probably because Meta stopped asking them.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#115

Post by patrakov » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 10:53 AM UTC

ipaddr wrote: post #101

I tried to get a new position in June/July. I asked for slightly above top salary bands for language/stack. I also tried to find a place without daily standups. I did many interviews/rounds/tests with a dozen places but never got that final offer either. It was strange the number of interview rounds at different places without even lowball offer. It felt like people were just interviewing to interview but too afraid…

Short daily standups with only your team, that do lead to useful synchronization of understanding within this team, are still infinitely better than bi-weekly 40-minute-long whole-company meetings where most of the time the sales guys announce their new collateral which is absolutely not relevant for me as a tech guy.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#116

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 10:56 AM UTC

empathygeezer wrote: post #111

Everybody else wants to give you hope. There is none. I am on a dozen slacks, and these stories of desparation are far too frequent. This downtown is far, far, far worse than 1993, 2000 and 2008. The privileged rich libertarian crypto bros who work at FAANG are all suffering from survivorship bias. Don’t let them makw you feel like shit, their hardships will come in a year or two as well. I am in the same boat. Nearl…

I'd tell you that your thought process is wrong, but fuck me I'm in the same boat.

What makes it worse is the general perception that money is just raining in tech and I'm somehow deficient for not making millions when "everyone else" is.

At least in many other industries like showbiz, people know it's hard to break in and make it. So expectations are set.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#117

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 10:59 AM UTC

dirtybirdnj wrote: post #98

I'm right there with you. I was a backend web developer for 10 years until COVID hit, and after getting laid off I've been bouncing between menial low-wage jobs. I can be a capable, productive member of a development team but the experience I've had makes me look unhirable? I don't really understand it. Once you get "high up" enough in the job market and fall down, there is something that is perceived as wrong with y…

> Once you get "high up" enough in the job market and fall down, there is something that is perceived as wrong with you.

This seems completely true to me. All the older candidates I knew had a way harder time.

And if you reduce your experience level on your resume, they ask you your graduation year and deduce that you've been "out there" for a while.

> I have reached a point of toxic burnout that I'm having incredible difficulty recovering from. I spend my days at a menial job that causes immense stress and mental anxiety, and then I come home and try to look for jobs, apply to a few before getting discouraged and pass out.

Same here. I get panic attacks whenever anything job search related comes to my attention.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#118

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 11:01 AM UTC

unity1001 wrote: post #100

dirtybirdnj wrote: post #98

I'm right there with you. I was a backend web developer for 10 years until COVID hit, and after getting laid off I've been bouncing between menial low-wage jobs. I can be a capable, productive member of a development team but the experience I've had makes me look unhirable? I don't really understand it. Once you get "high up" enough in the job market and fall down, there is something that is perceived as wrong with y…

Putting up a profile with your experience at Upwork, and start doing contract work is not an option? Things are not the same as they were decades ago. Covid and remote work shattered all traditional practices. People at Upwork do upwards of $60/hour. Ive seen the profile of someone who left Google contracting at $250/hour and someone ex-Twitter contracting at $150/hour.

> someone who left Google contracting at $250/hour and someone ex-Twitter contracting at $150/hour.

You see the issue here right? They are trading on past FAANG brand names. This industry just pretends to not be like others. People drool over FAANG jobs just like finance bros drool over goldman jobs.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#119

Post by sage76 » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 11:02 AM UTC

ilc wrote: post #69

Principal Software Engineer here, 25+ years, been a team lead, and architect. Frankly: You are "on tilt." Every interview you take right now, you are throwing out an opportunity. "It looks like I will be unemployed until the next year and I have no idea how to get a job." - This is a self fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that... stop interviewing and rest, let yourself recover from the burnout and grind of intervi…

> Go back to the leetcode grind, make sure you are RAZOR sharp. Make sure you learn from the stuff people post to brag. Start writing stuff you'd brag about

This could take a LONG time, and where I live, career gaps are a killer.

Re: Ask HN: How to overcome job search exhaustion?

#120

Post by hiyer » Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 11:07 AM UTC

sjducb wrote: post #81

mixmastamyk wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very common to fail interviews these days, you make it sound rare. Employers are looking for any possible reason to say no, and many have unreasonable expectations. Often choosing based on who memorized the most random facts (from an unbounded set) asked today. Your third paragraph is good probably on target however.

40 failed interviews in a row, with 10 years of experience is rare. If he had failed 5 interviews then I would just tell him to keep going. After 40 failures in tech he needs to stop and work out what he's doing wrong.

I don't think they've interviewed at 40 different companies. For someone with 10+ years experience, most companies do at least 5-8 rounds these days. So I'd expect the number of companies they've interviewed at - and unfortunately been rejected at - to be in the single digits. That's not unusual at all.