[the_snooze]

It's the curse of scale. Automation allows there to be plenty of job postings and job applications, but it sidelines the human part of actually talking to someone. Those in the know will end up sidestepping this altogether and using their networks to get a direct line to a real hiring manager or applicant. I've done this myself where I talk to past collaborators and professors I know and ask "Do you have an intern/soon-to-graduate-student you recommend with skills X, Y, and Z?"

This is admittedly unfair to outsiders, but if you talk to someone, there's a high reputational pressure that assures you're dealing with a real person who's likely a decent match for the job/applicant. This is valuable precisely because there's high friction and doesn't scale.

[mead5432]

I generally agree that relying on a network and human referrals is the way to go but building an effective network is much harder than it used to be. Meetup groups and local conferences were a good source to make connections pre-pandemic but that has really withered in the last couple years.

Past collaborators are also a great source but she is junior and doesn’t really have any she can leverage.

My initial advice to her was do some real projects, document her work and insights in a blog and engage with others on social media but that’s mostly screaming into a void.

My approach to hiring is to focus on competencies (what do I need them to accomplish) rather than skills (how many years of JS) but that doesn’t cut down on the number of applicants any, just makes initial eval a little easier. I was pondering the idea of leaning in more on AI to screen on competencies which might incentivize higher information density on resumes but the quality of that eval might not actually be any better and only increase the “black box”-ness of it all.

[nnurmanov]

My suggestion is to focus on a fewer number of companies, instead of sending resume in bulk. When you narrow your choices you can study well and notice bugs or issues that need to be addressed. Fix them, send the results to someone in the company, it will increase your chances substantially.

[fwip]

It's a sad day when the answer is "do unpaid labor for a chance to be noticed."

[parineum]

The people doing the interview are being paid but the company itself isn't making any money from the interview process either and it's dedicating resources that could be more productively used elsewhere for immediate results.

Both parties are making short term sacrifices in hopes of finding a mutually beneficial relationship.

[nnurmanov]

When you have 500 candidates applying to the same job you have to find a way to stand out.

[fakedang]

Tried this before, doesn't work.

I've had more success sharing financial models on printed paper, than on working on code for free, building plugins and the like.

[JumpCrisscross]

> building an effective network is much harder than it used to be

If you’re in an American city, go to cafes and bars. Be the annoying person who asks what someone does and persist. It’s absolutely annoying. But I’ll also always follow up on it, because that skill in itself is differentiating.

[Citizen_Lame]

Absolutely pathetic. Might as well become worm.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Absolutely pathetic

It seems to be a class-based social more. Among the rich and upper-middle class, approaching someone to introduce yourself isn't unfavourable. If anything, it's seen as a right and children are taught to do it. Among the lower classes it's seen as uncouthe.

You see it strikingly at e.g. birthday parties and galas. (Particularly in the U.K., Western and Southern Europe. Though there, unfortunately, such cold introductions usually aren't enough to cross the barrier. Hence my qualification for this only working in American cities. Also Nordic countries. It even extends to the design of social spaces, with private clubs and even elite airline lounges having chairs face each other while tables at fast food places are more isolated.)

[wormius]

You rang?

[Danaemp]

That’s why we’re building Touvlo.co (for hardware engineers) - human engineer interviewers, interviewing humans on real world applicable engineering skills, more fair to outsiders, standardized, scaleable!