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Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#251

Post by caffeine »

alecbz wrote: post #231
caffeine wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s fun to sit in the same room/office and brainstorm and actually build something together. Gives that sense of camaraderie, we’re-in-this-together feeling, if it’s with the right people. I also think it’s about 20x more productive if in a high-stakes, high-uncertainty regime. But the median remote work is probably better than the median in person work, even if the very best work is in person. Try to imagine starti…

> the median remote work is probably better than the median in person work What makes you say that?

I guess a lot of office environments kinda suck (noisy, lots of Slack and Jira and Zoom even though you are sitting right there, distractions, lukewarm small talk, etc), so if you are remote you can set up a good environment that is better.

But the best offices/teams are awesome, and you can’t replicate that remotely. I worked on a team like this once, you get that platoon-in-a-foxhole, us-vs-world vibe, people are pushing hard to make the team and mission succeed, there are always interesting debates going on, the team is going out together as a crew after work, or on trips etc.

It’s awesome but it doesn’t last forever, and it’s hard to find. But I think on a team like that you accomplish 10x, and you also grow as a person and become much smarter.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#252

Post by jen20 »

spookthesunset wrote: post #205

For what it’s worth, you aren’t alone. Not every role in software is amenable to WFH. In fact most roles aren’t. Developers have it easy. They can do remote all day long… or at least they think they can but they still have to have high bandwidth interfaces with the rest of their team. It’s very very hard to replace sitting with all your teammates and rapidly working through a problem. When everybody is remote everyth…

> When everybody is remote everything has to be scheduled and calendared.

This is simply bullshit.

I work on a remote team of ~6-7 across all 4 continental US timezones, where most (not all) work from home most of the time. There is almost always a video bridge open for pairing, chatting, “rubber-ducking” and so forth - especially across the common hours. It’s the most productive environment I’ve ever seen by a very long way (and have run the gamut from in-person-on-trading-floor to remote-first).

If I were to go to the office, it would be the same since the team itself is distributed (the SMEs live where the SMEs live), but with more ambient noise and an hour each way for the 7 miles to the office. Nothing would make me quit faster.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#253

Post by antoinealb »

j4hdufd8 wrote: post #17
antoinealb wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I visited Paris a few months ago, I found a coffee shop that was specifically targeting people who wanted a place to work, and turned the business model upside down: instead of selling you drinks, and you getting the place for free, they would bill you by the hour, and the drinks were free (and good!). Of course, that means you get to stay as long as you want, no questions asked. The prices were 5€/h or 24€/day,…

What's the name of the coffee shop? :)

It was Unicorners, on Rue Beaubourg.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#254

Post by midjji »

rsynnott wrote: post #148
midjji wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it the lack of communication or the lack of spontaneous socializing with coworkers? Dont get me wrong, I think the latter is probably underrated, but I dont know if thats what you are missing?

I think there’s also another aspect that gets missed; the lack of being around other humans, which is subtly different to socialising. Pre-covid, most people were around multiple other people for most of their waking life. I don’t think it’s at all surprising that a mode of working where you spend every working day without seeing another human is causing some people difficulty.

Thats a good point! It is difficult to explain what is missing when the less social half of the office is missing, especially as it seems like even the absence of people you dont speak to, is felt.

It is hardly fair to expect people, especially who dont want it themselves people or aren't even friends with to not work from home for such reasons. Though it may well be that many introverts need on this more than extroverts, despite often wanting remote. My point is that leadership is primarily ensuring a social environment where people work well, and the ones who figure this out will benefit greatly.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#255

Post by bunnyfoofoo »

pysxul wrote: post #44

Come to France, companies hate remote work. You have to negotiate pretty hard to work remotely 2/5 days a week

Hi, I had questions about finding a company in France, would you be able to answer any? I’ve my email in my account if you are.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#256

Post by Capt_Oblivious »

You'll likely have to adapt. Personally, I'd withdraw from a position search that required in-office work with no option for working remotely. I find co-worker distractions detrimental. The water cooler is grossly overrated. And I certainly don't want to spend my lunch hour talking about work or trying to make small talk when I really just need a few minutes to recharge for getting through the rest of the day.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#257

Post by ipaddr »

tehjoker wrote: post #244
ipaddr wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus you have a % the vaccinated population COVID with similiar symptoms or in other cases different issues. So many unrelated things seem to be failing right after the vaccine from failed root canals to general aggressiveness to people forgetting things. It seems to be hitting the above 60+ population the hardest. Things aren't going back anytime soon.

I haven't read anything credible indicating the vaccine causes problems like that. Can you cite a source?

The first long term studies are due in 2024. You didn't expect them to be ready yet? The trials are ongoing now with large groups testing 3 doses. Some leading edge countries have moved to 4 doses. The data will be available/peered reviewed.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#258

Post by burlesona »

freddref wrote: post #241
burlesona wrote: post #120

You’re not alone. My startup is specifically going against the trend and trying to hire in just two locations (Austin and SF), because our founding group feels the same as you. So far when we’ve been recruiting people we lead with “we have two offices and strongly prefer candidates work in one of them.” It either ends the conversation or is our #1 selling point. I think over time the market will discover what percent…

What percentages are you seeing?

So far about 1/3 of candidates aren’t interested in any on-site, while 2/3 are saying either that’s fine or that’s a positive. Of the 2/3 who are interested, the ones who really pursued the job and we ended up hiring all we’re excited about us prioritizing in-person work. Small sample size though, so I don’t think our experience is enough to extrapolate to the preference ratio among all workers.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#259

Post by hindsightbias »

alecbz wrote: post #232
hindsightbias wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone once said, I hate people, but I don’t mind working with other people who hate people.

I mean I also wouldn't say I hate people though. Just because something requires energy from me doesn't mean I hate it.

/s ;)

Re: Ask HN: How to find a job in 2021 if I dislike remote?

#260

Post by tehjoker »

ipaddr wrote: post #257
tehjoker wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't read anything credible indicating the vaccine causes problems like that. Can you cite a source?

The first long term studies are due in 2024. You didn't expect them to be ready yet? The trials are ongoing now with large groups testing 3 doses. Some leading edge countries have moved to 4 doses. The data will be available/peered reviewed.

So no.
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