5 ms·

I'm seeing a lot of "reaching out" in this thread. Is this a new thing, like "passion"?

by swayvil 11y ago

eric-hu 11y ago
No, quite the opposite. It's an old trick for job searching. It doesn't originate in tech. It's one reason why people go to networking events in their industry. My impression of what reaching out means today is a chat over coffee, lunch, or less preferably a phone call.
- lj3 11y ago
  What frequently gets looked over is who you're reaching out to. It doesn't do you any good to reach out to a rank and file developer. You need to reach out to (is seduce a better word?) somebody with hiring authority in order to bypass the ridiculousness.
  - eric-hu 11y ago
    Personally, I don't mind going through an interview process. I actually find it strange if a company makes an offer without much of a technical interview, which has happened before.
mathattack 11y ago
Almost anyone in any company can go to HR and say, "This person is great, we should interview them for position X" and they will go to the top of the pile. If you reach out to someone you know at a company, if they like you, and you are good, usually you can get an interview there. Contacts are also good at helping you find unposted jobs. You have to "Reach out" first. Contacts can also recommend you to a hiring manager. The best hiring managers trust a reference based on a long working relationship over 30-45 minutes in an interview. But you have to "reach out" first.
- vonmoltke 11y ago
  > Almost anyone in any company can go to HR and say, "This person is great, we should interview them for position X" and they will go to the top of the pile. If you reach out to someone you know at a company, if they like you, and you are good, usually you can get an interview there. I see you have never worked in the defense industry before.
  - mathattack 11y ago
    Should I consider that a blessing? :-)
badloginagain 11y ago
A personal connection, with someone who is in a hiring position, has a high likelihood hiring you outside of their interview process. With a vested interest to hire you in the company, it's much more likely that the interview process will be a more collaborative experience- such as coffee with a CTO to discuss the problems they're having. And it doesn't need to be "best friend" level of personal connection, it's someone you often see at that AngularJS meetup or whatever- after three or four pleasant conversations you'd be surprised how invested they can be to hire you- especially because they already know what your skill set is and would only look at you if you fit the problem they're having. This is the value proposition of going to Meetups, Conferences, Talks, etc. You start to see who the "regulars" are, and persons in a hiring position tend to bias very heavily to people they are already familiar with.
xyz19128 11y ago
Very annoying, but not that new: http://apennedpoint.com/dont-reach-out-to-me-please/ http://apennedpoint.com/dont-reach-out-to-me-please/
pklausler 11y ago
It's the latest euphemism for "communicating with a person in some manner whose details are not relevant" to join the already well-populated set { "approach", "contact", "consult", "get in touch", "speak with" }. I hate "reach out" with a passion and draw instant conclusions about those who use it, but I'm sure that most of the above were also hated when they were invented and it does fill a need for a missing verb in English.
- Apocryphon 11y ago
  As buzzwordy as it is, "pinging someone" sounds even worse.
  - pklausler 11y ago
    "Tell" and "ask" can almost always be used to replace "reach out to".

I'm seeing a lot of "reaching out" in this thread. Is this a new thing, like "passion"?

by swayvil 11y ago

I'm seeing a lot of "reaching out" in this thread. Is this a new thing, like "passion"?

No, quite the opposite. It's an old trick for job searching. It doesn't originate in tech. It's one reason why people go to networking events in their industry. My impression of what reaching out means today is a chat over coffee, lunch, or less preferably a phone call.

lj3 11y ago
What frequently gets looked over is who you're reaching out to. It doesn't do you any good to reach out to a rank and file developer. You need to reach out to (is seduce a better word?) somebody with hiring authority in order to bypass the ridiculousness.
- eric-hu 11y ago
  Personally, I don't mind going through an interview process. I actually find it strange if a company makes an offer without much of a technical interview, which has happened before.

mathattack 11y ago

Almost anyone in any company can go to HR and say, "This person is great, we should interview them for position X" and they will go to the top of the pile. If you reach out to someone you know at a company, if they like you, and you are good, usually you can get an interview there. Contacts are also good at helping you find unposted jobs. You have to "Reach out" first. Contacts can also recommend you to a hiring manager. The best hiring managers trust a reference based on a long working relationship over 30-45 minutes in an interview. But you have to "reach out" first.

vonmoltke 11y ago
> Almost anyone in any company can go to HR and say, "This person is great, we should interview them for position X" and they will go to the top of the pile. If you reach out to someone you know at a company, if they like you, and you are good, usually you can get an interview there. I see you have never worked in the defense industry before.
- mathattack 11y ago
  Should I consider that a blessing? :-)

badloginagain 11y ago

A personal connection, with someone who is in a hiring position, has a high likelihood hiring you outside of their interview process. With a vested interest to hire you in the company, it's much more likely that the interview process will be a more collaborative experience- such as coffee with a CTO to discuss the problems they're having. And it doesn't need to be "best friend" level of personal connection, it's someone you often see at that AngularJS meetup or whatever- after three or four pleasant conversations you'd be surprised how invested they can be to hire you- especially because they already know what your skill set is and would only look at you if you fit the problem they're having. This is the value proposition of going to Meetups, Conferences, Talks, etc. You start to see who the "regulars" are, and persons in a hiring position tend to bias very heavily to people they are already familiar with.

xyz19128 11y ago

Very annoying, but not that new: http://apennedpoint.com/dont-reach-out-to-me-please/ http://apennedpoint.com/dont-reach-out-to-me-please/

pklausler 11y ago

It's the latest euphemism for "communicating with a person in some manner whose details are not relevant" to join the already well-populated set { "approach", "contact", "consult", "get in touch", "speak with" }. I hate "reach out" with a passion and draw instant conclusions about those who use it, but I'm sure that most of the above were also hated when they were invented and it does fill a need for a missing verb in English.

Apocryphon 11y ago
As buzzwordy as it is, "pinging someone" sounds even worse.
- pklausler 11y ago
  "Tell" and "ask" can almost always be used to replace "reach out to".