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I've noticed this when applying to FAANG. The online resume site doesn't cut it. You need to know people to get past the resume screening, even if you have a ba

I've noticed this when applying to FAANG. The online resume site doesn't cut it. You need to know people to get past the resume screening, even if you have a bachelor + master in CS, TA experience and some work experience. Someone did reach out via HN recently, which I am really grateful of [0]. I'm curious to see how that works out. It's only FAANG, I've also seen this everywhere in The Netherlands. I've been looking for a job for 18 months -- I've been picky as I was very ambitious during my uni (yep, my mistake, ambition can be very detrimental to one's career as it can make someone quite picky, aka only big corporations). The irony is that a couple of months ago, I walked into my old university, met an old colleague that had a startup and wanted to hire me straight away after the most relaxed interview I've ever seen. They wanted me to read some code and explain what was happening, it was about some caching system. So yea, it's all about people. From my perspective, there is little meritocracy to be found in the tech world [1]. Maybe past the resume screening? Definitely not before it. [0] Next to my own gratefulness, what I always find amazing to see is how some people in really dire situations get completely picked up by HN and sorted out, in some cases. I really feel for the homeless people in the tech industry, because it's a relatively rare issue, but it does exist! And those people tend to be able to find help here. [1] Maybe there's a lot of it by comparison to other industries, but if a house has been burned to the ground and other houses are starting to catch fire, while in other cases entire city blocks are on fire, then I wouldn't call it a good situation in both cases.

o10449366 6y ago
FWIW, this wasn't my experience at all, but also there may be differences between the US and Europe. I went to a unremarkable top 50 state school in the US, graduated with a 3.0 GPA BS in CS, had a single internship at a no-name local company, no research experience, no referral, no significant personal projects, no TAing experience, and I got interviews at Amazon, Facebook, and Google by cold applying online. It was at the smaller companies and startups where I couldn't get past the resume screen, likely because unlike FAANG they can't afford to interview literally tens of thousands of candidates every year.
- mettamage 6y ago
  The reality hurts so much, and it's upsetting to me I can't be more grateful (some people that I know are homeless and hungry, relatively rare in The Netherlands but it's there). I should've done my own research when I was young, but I was young. I didn't know that going to the US would be so tough, no one tells you. 18 months of not even being looked at in most cases, especially US companies (some Dutch companies did). I am constantly borderlining a mild depression now that I think of it. It just feels so fucked up to not have one phone screen at my 1st pick companies but coding grads do (e.g. Full Stack Academy in New York). My CS master grade was an A [1, EU grading system explained]. I'm sorry for writing all of this, the GPA 3.0 got me triggered. I think it's because I'm from Amsterdam and not from the US. I've also noticed by watching YouTube that US people had an easier time applying to Google as a grad, a way easier time in fact. I have found no videos of Europeans doing something similar. Not that I have looked, I simply come across them. It feels that my predicted future was a complete lie. I failed in my goal, spectacularly. Everything I gave up for it was in vain. Getting to FAANG later won't be the same, it's not the career trajectory/velocity I want. I should've partied a lot more. That would've been fun. I do appreciate the education though. Perhaps I should find a career coach. [1] European GPA: 8.1 out of 10, European grades are much harsher, a 10 means a god-like level in many cases, I don't think anyone has gotten a 10 as a GPA, 9.1 or 9.2 means you're the best or one of the best in the country/
  - akiselev 6y ago
    That almost certainly has nothing to do with you - hiring a fresh graduate through the H1B program is practically impossible in my experience. H1B applicants have to show "significant work experience" in a relevant field and unless you have a PhD (and often times even then), any work experience gained during your education will not count towards that requirement. Most companies won't even bother with the interview; 18 months sounds like the bare minimum to even have a chance at meeting the requirements.
  - mettamage 6y ago
    @akiselev: I haven't only been applying to US locations of US companies (e.g. Google Switzerland). But a SWE from Google gave me a referral link to which I'm grateful. I wonder to what extent it will help though since it went through HN and we just met. I want a phone screen and be told that I am or am not good enough. I can have peace with this if one FAANG company shoots me down on my D&A skills. For my own sanity, I've resigned to the idea that I'm not going to get a phone screen as I have little faith in the Google referral to help me past the resume check, but we'll see.
unishark 6y ago
I'd say the overwhelmingly most important thing in getting past the first screening rung is your "fit" with the job as determined by HR. They can be downright stupid about putting the fit above technical ability and experience.

o10449366 6y ago

FWIW, this wasn't my experience at all, but also there may be differences between the US and Europe. I went to a unremarkable top 50 state school in the US, graduated with a 3.0 GPA BS in CS, had a single internship at a no-name local company, no research experience, no referral, no significant personal projects, no TAing experience, and I got interviews at Amazon, Facebook, and Google by cold applying online. It was at the smaller companies and startups where I couldn't get past the resume screen, likely because unlike FAANG they can't afford to interview literally tens of thousands of candidates every year.

mettamage 6y ago
The reality hurts so much, and it's upsetting to me I can't be more grateful (some people that I know are homeless and hungry, relatively rare in The Netherlands but it's there). I should've done my own research when I was young, but I was young. I didn't know that going to the US would be so tough, no one tells you. 18 months of not even being looked at in most cases, especially US companies (some Dutch companies did). I am constantly borderlining a mild depression now that I think of it. It just feels so fucked up to not have one phone screen at my 1st pick companies but coding grads do (e.g. Full Stack Academy in New York). My CS master grade was an A [1, EU grading system explained]. I'm sorry for writing all of this, the GPA 3.0 got me triggered. I think it's because I'm from Amsterdam and not from the US. I've also noticed by watching YouTube that US people had an easier time applying to Google as a grad, a way easier time in fact. I have found no videos of Europeans doing something similar. Not that I have looked, I simply come across them. It feels that my predicted future was a complete lie. I failed in my goal, spectacularly. Everything I gave up for it was in vain. Getting to FAANG later won't be the same, it's not the career trajectory/velocity I want. I should've partied a lot more. That would've been fun. I do appreciate the education though. Perhaps I should find a career coach. [1] European GPA: 8.1 out of 10, European grades are much harsher, a 10 means a god-like level in many cases, I don't think anyone has gotten a 10 as a GPA, 9.1 or 9.2 means you're the best or one of the best in the country/
- akiselev 6y ago
  That almost certainly has nothing to do with you - hiring a fresh graduate through the H1B program is practically impossible in my experience. H1B applicants have to show "significant work experience" in a relevant field and unless you have a PhD (and often times even then), any work experience gained during your education will not count towards that requirement. Most companies won't even bother with the interview; 18 months sounds like the bare minimum to even have a chance at meeting the requirements.
- mettamage 6y ago
  @akiselev: I haven't only been applying to US locations of US companies (e.g. Google Switzerland). But a SWE from Google gave me a referral link to which I'm grateful. I wonder to what extent it will help though since it went through HN and we just met. I want a phone screen and be told that I am or am not good enough. I can have peace with this if one FAANG company shoots me down on my D&A skills. For my own sanity, I've resigned to the idea that I'm not going to get a phone screen as I have little faith in the Google referral to help me past the resume check, but we'll see.

unishark 6y ago

I'd say the overwhelmingly most important thing in getting past the first screening rung is your "fit" with the job as determined by HR. They can be downright stupid about putting the fit above technical ability and experience.