by rrmdp on 10/1/23, 12:06 AM with 33 comments
by sandreas on 10/1/23, 1:10 AM
Usually I don't look for "jobs" but for companies I would like to work for. If there is not a job offer, you can still apply spontaneously. I also keep a list of these companies after applying successfully, because after a few years, this list might get interesting again.
Some possibilities to find interesting companies are:
- Look through job offering sites and the according company profiles (even if the offered job is not that interesting, the company can still be)
- Look through the job history of my contacts in social media (linkedin, etc.)
- Company rating sites (by employees, like glassdoor.com)
- Using google maps to look for interesting tech companies in your area
- Keeping an eye on local advertising boards
- Talking to people
The problem with recruiters is, that the company often has to pay an extra fee to THEM, if YOU get the job. These fees are extra expensive and offer no guarantees which often leads to a denial whereas you may have gotten the job if there had been no extra fee.
An example: We had an interesting candidate provided by a recruiter. He seemed promising, was a perfect match for the team and showed potential, but we were not quite sure about his skills in detail and how he would develop. Paying a fee of > 10000 bucks (!) for the recruiter was too risky for our company, where otherwise hey would have gotten the job. We took someone else, who had way less potential but applied manually...
by 4death4 on 10/1/23, 3:50 AM
by austin-cheney on 10/1/23, 9:17 AM
* Third party recruiters are expensive for everyone. Yet, they can bypass the stupidity of the prior bullet point.
* Developers, in most cases, are a commodity. A meaningless replaceable gear in a larger machine. Talent and skills are largely irrelevant in many areas of software now, but years of experience still appear to be tie breakers. You resume should account for these considerations if you want to achieve employment.
* I am noticing lately hiring is walking back from that prior bullet point because commoditization of candidate selection does not work for more senior positions. For example you cannot substitute competence for a framework and cheaply achieve security, accessibility, test automation, architecture, and so forth. Eventually making decisions becomes more important than putting text on screen. In this case your only goal is to land an interview by any means possible so that your experience can do the talking.
by mtnGoat on 10/1/23, 2:50 AM
by mancerayder on 10/1/23, 7:58 PM
"Network! Go to coffee with people you worked with, offer to help people for free with their projects, and go to many founder and social events! I never used a recruiter in my life and I'm a bazillionaire founder over in the Bay Area!"
In contrast, never in my 20 yr career have I ever found a job like that. As charming as I am, it seems I'm always going to use recruiters (and today I'm a senior manager).
Recruiters and the interview process blow, but they're unavoidable in my experience. No books or startups to my name, however.
by wodenokoto on 10/1/23, 5:29 AM
by silisili on 10/1/23, 2:11 AM
Any time I've 'applied', it feels like just sending information into the void, and never hearing anything back.
by dharmab on 10/1/23, 1:23 AM
Second is to find growing companies I find interesting and contact then directly.
by joshstrange on 10/2/23, 1:14 AM
I’ve worked with multiple and they always strike me as uninformed, minimum wage, right-out-of-school, and flakey as fuck. I’ve been ghosted by recruiters, had them miss meetings then come up with absurd excuses, and generally fail to do the bare minimum. At one point I contacted a company directly after the recruiter made multiple mistakes and/or just lied (I think they lied at least) as the go between and I ended up getting the job.
I’m not saying I wouldn’t attempt to leverage one if I needed a job but they will never be my first pick.
I got my last job from a “who wants to be hired” thread here on HN and I couldn’t have asked for a better fit. I don’t know if that’s rare since I only did it once but I think I’d try it again if I was looking. That and looking through the “who’s hiring” thread. I’ve also been approached a few times about interviewing due to comments I’ve made on this site (about certain technologies or frameworks) so overall I see HN as a great resource on this front.
Ironically I love the _idea_ of recruiters and every time I go job hunting (and inevitable see if they have gotten any better) I think about how maybe my next job should be as a competent job recruiter since they are in such short, or non-existent, supply.
by Mountain_Skies on 10/1/23, 5:25 AM
by muzani on 10/2/23, 8:50 AM
Cons: All things equal, companies will favor the candidate who isn't tied to the recruiter.
I'll take one if I don't know the company, but if I know someone working there (and by now, I've met most people), I'd rather opt for someone on the inside. Most of the bigger companies also offer referral bonuses and highly advantage those with an internal recommendation.
by crazy_marksman on 10/1/23, 12:45 AM
by AnimalMuppet on 10/2/23, 12:33 PM
Really, why limit yourself? Last time I was looking (January-February), I went on Indeed, Monster, and maybe one or two others. I also reached out to a few recruiters. I don't remember which one led to the new job.
Note, however, that I already had a list of recruiters that I respected. I had slowly built that list over a couple of decades. When I needed a recruiter, I wasn't just randomly calling them.
by tstrimple on 10/1/23, 3:30 AM
by quickthrower2 on 10/1/23, 12:17 AM
by joegahona on 10/1/23, 5:26 PM
by b20000 on 10/1/23, 1:53 AM
by ugh123 on 10/1/23, 5:06 AM