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Now Hiring: Not You
- gboudrias 9y agoNot sure what this is but I love it. However, while I do sometimes feel this way, the article went on for a little while. I was sort of expecting an explanation or a twist at the end. Oh well, still good.
- inkuplex 9y agoIt's satire.
- traek 9y agoIt's the New Yorker's humor section.
- curun1r 9y agoI'm assuming it's satire referring to those required job postings that are intended to single out a specific H1-B candidate but need to be posted anyways to satisfy the "we looked for an American and couldn't find one" requirement. They typically have very specific requirements that match the exact skillset of the intended hire to ensure that any American applying will be lacking in some required "qualification," even if it's "only has experience with software w.x.y and we require w.x.z." Note: I'm not saying all or even most H1-Bs are hired this way, just that the scummy companies that abuse the program tend to post these kinds of job ads.
- benjamincburns 9y agoI agree that those who participate in a process like this shouldn't circumvent its rules -- that just makes the whole problem much more difficult to manage. However, I think you could just as easily argue that the process itself is scummy for requiring the job posting when a well-qualified candidate has already been identified. Why is a candidate's country of citizenship the test for whether a role must be posted publicly before it can be filled? Wouldn't it be best for both the economy and the company if this rule were followed (without circumvention) for 100% of job openings? If your answer to that is "no," then why require it in any circumstance?
- blinkingled 9y agoThat's only a part of it - I've plenty of US Citizen/GC only job postings with very similar jackassery.
- tomrod 9y agoHey, I didn't know they wrote an article about me! Fun. /s
- mack1001 9y agoA lot of real people feel this way while looking for jobs. I did for a while.
- ethbro 9y agoGenerally because employers, either through lack of effort or deliberate attempt to shield feelings, are never clear with people about why they weren't hired after an interview. "You flubbed the algorithm question. We're looking for someone with a stronger CS background." Done. Clean and ultimately more kind. ... Unless a large number of candidates actually are getting rejected for sexist / racist / ageist reasons masked behind culture fit concerns, and the company obviously doesn't want to admit to that?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- koolba 9y agoAnd nothing but fodder for a lawsuit. There's zero to gain for the employer and plenty to lose by giving any details to a rejected candidate.
- civilian 9y agoThe main reason that candidates don't get honest feedback is to limit liability-- companies don't want hiring managers to say something horrible or misphrase something and then have them be liable for violating hiring discrimination laws.
- 0xcde4c3db 9y agoHaving been involved a bit with screening candidates, I'm not even convinced that interviewers or hiring managers are routinely clear with themselves about why they do or don't hire somebody. It seems more like a feeling that is rationalized afterward.
- benjamincburns 9y agoI strongly agree that this is true in a lot of cases, and the ahead-of-time rationalization of limiting liability helps to perpetuate the lack of necessity of a clear, defensible reason for rejection. I say this as a hiring manager, by the way, knowing full well that nothing involving the hiring process is as clean and straightforward as anyone involved wants it to be.
- graycat 9y agoGood but old stuff. E.g.: "If Carpenters Were Hired Like Programmers" http://www.jasonbock.net/jb/News/Item/7c334037d1a9437d9fa6506e2f35eaac http://www.jasonbock.net/jb/News/Item/7c334037d1a9437d9fa650... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7819413 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7819413 The first problem is having people doing the interviewing who don't know much of anything about the work. The second problem is from organizations so dysfunctional with everyone so irrational and afraid of nonsense criticism that they spend most of their effort covering their asses. A third problem is an economy that is far too slow with far too many people looking for jobs. A fourth problem is just a generally sick organization. In a sense, these problems are good news because they give an example of an industry where even a sick-o company can still survive and even hold job interviews. Sure, you don't want to work for such a sick organization, but, if you can, maybe you should get into that industry as a competitor! More generally, when you see an organization that sick, and the OP was a joke but not very far from the truth, the flip side may be an opportunity!
- vostok 9y agoWhat about if programmers were paid like carpenters?
- Consultant32452 9y agoHmm, what's the programmer equivalent of a carpenter hanging out outside Home Depot hoping to get picked up to do some work that day? Maybe hanging outside the Apple store?
- brianwawok 9y agoConsulting
- vostok 9y agoMaybe hanging out in the Greylock/Accel-KKR parking lot?
- saagarjha 9y ago
- oliv__ 9y ago"• Being self-motivated, high-energy, and someone else."
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- RobertDeNiro 9y agoI had a recruiter from Intel contact me recently, for a job that I seemingly had all the qualifications for. After a brief phone exchange she told me I was a great candidate and that I was what they were looking for. If the hiring manager agreed, I would be invited for a formal interview. Two weeks later I got an email saying I was not selected, the hiring manager did not agree, for reasons that will forever remain a mystery to me.
- namelezz 9y agoThank you for sharing your story. Happened to me several times too. Once I received a rejection letter with 200 other candidates in CC list. We had a good conversation with each others.
- dogruck 9y agoRude awakening -- you rarely get honest feedback about rejection. Consider breakups. The Seinfeld classic "It's not you, it's me" is hilarious because it touches this truism. Move on.
- bayonetz 9y agoIt's true but it's also an opportunity. Somebody is going to capitalize on this in one of those a recruiting as a service businesses and they are going to get outsized candidate flow because of how hungry people are for some actionable rejection feedback.
- bradknowles 9y agoI've had recruiters call me up and say that my rèsumè looked perfect and they were looking for someone just like me, but five years younger -- and did I know anyone who was looking who fit that bill. What I never figured out is how could someone have my exact skill set and knowledge and yet be five years younger -- they started hacking about with computers in 1982 when they were just ten years old?
- cheriot 9y agoDid they actually say they wanted someone younger? In many countries that's illegal age discrimination.
- WaxProlix 9y agoIn this context, '5 years younger' probably means something like '~five figures fewer'.
- pan69 9y agoI used to work in a digital agency for a few years, they often used to refer to this "mythical" awesome junior; i,e, a very smart and super talented kid just out of uni to stupid to understand his salary expectations. It's usually all about money, not age.
- cgb223 9y agoAs somebody who's currently job searching, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way I've even made it to a final interview where they flew me across the country, only to tell me that there's no funding for the position I wish I could work as a hiring manager for a year just to see all the crazy stuff I've experienced from the other end
- JunkDNA 9y agoThe reality I've learned from hiring a lot of people over the years is that recruiting is just not an objective process, no matter how much candidates and employers want it to be. I've often thought it's a bit analogous to dating. If you've ever had a close friend try to set you up with someone, you've definitely experienced it. Your friend will tell you how this other person meets all your criteria and you will be perfect for each other! You get all excited and then you meet the person and it's just a big letdown. Objectively you should be ready to tie the knot next week. But subjectively it's just not right for reasons you can't even always explain. I've learned that if I'm not excited about getting a candidate an offer letter ASAP, it's likely they're not a good fit. If I have to talk myself into someone and make a list of pro's and con's, they're usually a bad fit.
- bostik 9y ago> If I have to talk myself into someone and make a list of pro's and con's, they're usually a bad fit. That's a pretty good rule, I'd say. There's a more generic and shorter version too, which I tend to use: If there's any doubt, there's no doubt.
- itsdrewmiller 9y agoI think you're right about what hiring typically is, but you transition to accepting it as correct too easily. The evidence for interviewing suggests that IQ testing, work product testing, and structured interviewing are the most effective techniques for identifying high performers. While of course nothing is truly 100% objective, those are certainly more objective than relying on excitement or gut feeling.
- notacoward 9y agoHuh. I guess I'm the only one who saw this as a thinly-veiled reference to how female/minority candidates feel when they're turned down for jobs. Not saying it's right or wrong for anyone to feel that way, or even whether the satire was effective/funny, but that's how I interpreted it.
- Overtonwindow 9y agoWhen this happens I can't help but jump to the conclusion, perhaps erroneously, that it was something personal about me. Especially when you apply for a job that you are a perfect fit for, but never hear another word from the company. Was it my name? My gender? It's so elusive.
- antisthenes 9y agoIs NewYorker trying to be The Onion now? That's my only takeaway from this.
- kureikain 9y agoI feel like hiring is so much like gamble. Lot of time, the hiring manager clearly express I should get an offer or a request for next interview the next days. Only to have radio silent and rejected letter 1-2 week later even me follow up with them. It seems like hiring requires a lot of decisions from multiple people. And they want to be safe, so all have to give a yes.
- chmaynard 9y agoIf you're not sure what this piece is about and suspect the joke is on you, welcome to The New Yorker's brand of humor. I feel this way about most of their cartoons as well.