[convolvatron]

my first industry job was in 1995. after the interview process the hiring manager came in with an offer. it was 4x what i was currently making. after i accepted I had a half day with the admin.

she showed me the very nice hotel that they would be putting me up at until I found a place. no hurry really. one of my new coworkers was still there after a few months.

we went back to the office for tastings. coffee. wine. beer. whiskey. it was important that they knew my tastes and would have my preferred food and drink on hand.

i know that was the point - but I certainly felt like a rock star.

[euix]

I started my first industry job in 2015 well after this and I was still wined and dined the night before the interview. The cocktails were $12, I had three, my future manager assured me that there was nothing to worry about the next day. In my last job, there was still lunch at a "$$$$" restaurant (at least according to google reviews) after the on-site interview.

I once got flown out to Shanghai from NYC, all expenses paid for 3 nights to interview for the China operations of an European tech company.

I guess everything is now different with remote work but before the pandemic companies, especially your prospective manager, would go out of their way to make you feel good if they really wanted you. Those were the places you wanted to work, even if the salary was higher somewhere else, because you knew you would be privileged and respected before even stepping in the door. That meant getting more resources, having more leeway and freedom to do what you want.

I also get the feeling hackers and "creative programmers" are not as valued as much in today's market. Managers want "I" shaped as opposed to "T" shaped hires.

[Cyph0n]

Man, the dot-com boom must have been wild.

[pjmlp]

It definitely was.

During that time I was earning almost 2000 euros, in a time where earning above 1000 euros was a dream for many Portuguese.

Wasting money on CDs, theatre, going out, travelling, first time I managed to buy a desktop PC without being on credit,....

Then came the dot-com crash.

[js4ever]

It was! I remember my first job in a startup in 1999, I was third employee, arriving in a 2000sqm office... There was so much money wasted, at that time the most important metric was cash burn rate, to be serious player you should be able to burn at least 1M per month, even with 3 employees.

[ryandrake]

Plus, the managers really couldn't tell who knew what they were doing and who didn't, so the money just sloshed around to everyone.

I remember a ridiculous TV commercial where a stereotypical pointy-haired boss guy was talking about hiring programmers, and he said "a candidate told me he dreams in code, and... I hired him on the spot!" And it was unironically framed as if the boss guy was doing an amazingly smart thing!

It was a crazy time.

[twiddling]

Money was just being thrown around. So many office strewn with toys.