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You're right. Here's how I see the remote landscape: * Well-run 100% remote companies - Extremely high application rate, not only because the pool of candidat
by jawns 7y ago
You're right. Here's how I see the remote landscape:
* Well-run 100% remote companies - Extremely high application rate, not only because the pool of candidates is much wider (people all over the country and in some cases all over the world) but also because it's a dream job for many of them. In order to deal with that extremely high application rate, the companies need to figure out a way to turn away the vast majority of them as quickly as possible. In many cases, that involves up-front hurdles, like passing tests before you even get a preliminary call with an actual person. But because there is no coordination between companies, you have to jump through the same hurdles for every single application, which makes these opportunities infeasible for a lot of people who just need a job right now. There are a few services, such as Triplebyte, that are seeking to reduce the friction by letting you apply once and qualify for multiple companies, but their support for remote positions is still in its infancy.
* Well-run companies with some remote positions - These positions tend to be those that can't be filled locally because they are too highly specialized. It is uncommon for traditional companies with mostly in-office workers to be looking for remote generalists unless they're growing so rapidly that they can't even find them in their own market. Instead, for these remote positions, you need to have a rare set of hyper-specific skills. Chances are that at any given time, a job seeker will only match those skills for a handful of companies, so it's better if you're just passively looking for new opportunities, rather than actively looking for a new job.
* Poorly run companies or those paying below-market salaries - These constitute the vast majority of remote positions I've seen advertised. They're hoping that the pool of potential candidates is large enough that at least a few will be dumb enough or desperate enough to apply.
- tmpz22 7y ago* Moderately well-run companies who care about retention
- jawns 7y agoFrom what I've seen, many of those companies tend to hire locally but allow employees to then transition to remote, as opposed to hiring a remote role initially. That allows someone who's already proven their worth to have more geographic mobility, but also gives a preference to local hires.
- clarry 7y agoDepending on where in the world they are, local hires just might not be available.
- camwoodsum 7y agoA fair number of the companies on the list are 100% remote and don't have an office or any sort of local setup.
- camwoodsum 7y agoThis is a damn good breakdown. The one thing I'll add about 100% remote companies is that because they operate with much more written collaboration than a traditional company, the application and interview process frequently reflect that. This is a big part of why you'll very robust application processes upfront. They want to see if you can effectively communicate your thoughts in writing.
- cosmodisk 7y agoAnd that is a very fair point.This morning I got to work just to find an email from a colleague,who is in a very important position, asking to review an email he is about to send out to a supplier. One page email was literally bleeding with track changes in word after I reviewed it. I can't see in no shape or form that person maintain any reasonable job in the next company he'd join. With remote, I'd absolutely give writing tests to every single candidate to make sure I wouldn't end up with people who can't write emails.
- HRJ7 7y ago> Poorly run companies or those paying below-market salaries I've been interviewing for remote senior engineering positions for the past 6 months and all of them pay significantly below market (market in my case is third-tier 100-person startup in NYC). These were all well funded, well known "remote ok" companies. Now, it could be I'm overvalued, but afaict nobody is paying SV salaries, certainly not FANG salaries, probably not east coast startup salaries, and in some cases they're not even competitive with boring local companies in small midwestern cities.
- DoofusOfDeath 7y agoWhat would you consider a typical East Coast startup salary? IIRC from the last Who's Hiring, tiledb.io is all remote and paid in that range.
- nikanj 7y agoTriplebyte lets you jump through all the hurdles, for the exciting opportunity to jump through the exact same hurdles as a cold-calling applicant would. Easy to see their value to the employer side (good stream of pre-vetted candidates), but they bring very little value to the employee.
- travisjungroth 7y agoThe employers aren't supposed to do that, but they do. I think TripleByte is high value for a candidate from a no-name company who wants an edge.
- goatherders 7y agoI hire remote for a number of reasons but one of the key drivers is cost savings. Between location and the fact that some people will work for less so they can work from anywhere I'm able to hire exceptional talent for well-below in-office market rates. Yes there are many poorly run companies paying below-market salaries. THere are also some that are well run and paying below-market salaries.
- jawns 7y agoI meant well-run as in non-exploitative, not well-run as in finding workers who are "willing" to be underpaid in order to boost profits.