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Meanwhile Amazon recruiters keep spamming me to join their cult. No one wants to work for you anymore. You don't need to recruit. If someone is desperate eno

Meanwhile Amazon recruiters keep spamming me to join their cult. No one *wants* to work for you anymore. You don't need to recruit. If someone is desperate enough they'll let you know.

f6v 5y ago
You’d be surprised. Do they pay well? Do they have cool products? “I’ve done a lot more for a lot less” - The Office.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Guest42 5y ago
  I think a common approach is “I know this job is garbage but if I can last 18 months, my resume will look much better”.....or.....”maybe my manager will be alright and the bad stories will be less relevant”
  - decafninja 5y ago
    Another factor might be that there are many companies just as bad, but without the prestige of Amazon. At least the Amazon name will pad your resume. The names of many other bad companies won't (or not to the degree of Amazon).
quickthrower2 5y ago
For 500k? Yeah I’d do it even for a year, working on the most dullard shit then have 3 years off.
- yupper32 5y ago
  Other Big-N companies have comparable pay with way less stress.
  - decafninja 5y ago
    What I see being touted is F & N > G > A & A for TC? Obviously there are many factors in play so that might not always be the case. Also per my other comment on this thread, sounds like Netflix really blows away all others because there is no shenanigans around RSUs, cliffs, unexpected appreciation, etc.? Correct me if I'm wrong since I am definitely no expert at this game.
    - rejectedandsad 5y ago
      This is probably true, but socially Apple seems like it gets a better reception/superior people. Folks at Amazon are pretty normal. Disclaimer - I’m very average and work at Amazon
      - quickthrower2 5y ago
        Yes Im probably average and I’d go with whoever takes me, but as I’m outside of the US it’s all hypothetical
      - decafninja 5y ago
        Not sure if this is the reason, but I've heard Apple (and also Netflix) give individual teams much more autonomy on how they select, interview, and hire candidates, so maybe the fit between each person and their team is better? i.e. you may even not get leetcoded depending on the team and hiring manager. Versus Facebook, Amazon, and Google having a more one-size-fits-all approach to hiring.
        rejectedandsad 5y ago
        Amazon, until recently, also hired most SDE2 and up with a team specific approach, with the SDE1's effectively interviewed by an algorithm (via coding interview etc).
- eigen 5y ago
  doesnt Amazon cap base salary around $180k and only 5% of RSUs vest the first year? my understanding is that, barring a massive RSU package, you cant get to $500k in the first year.
  - stornetn 5y ago
    This isn’t the complete picture. It’s true that the vesting schedule gives you only 5% of RSUs in your first year, but employees’ cash signing bonus is increased to offset that. So if the total compensation target for a role is generally $500k (say, a principal engineer or a director, maybe?) and your salary is capped at $160k, you’d be given a signing bonus of $500k-$160k-(total stock vest x 5%) in cash. It’s not as though you’re paid significantly less when you start, it’s just that how you are paid is different.
    - decafninja 5y ago
      I keep hearing all the letters of FAANG have more or less similarly competitive total compensation if you factor in RSUs, appreciation, etc. But then I hear things about "cliffs" and how extremely high TCs are possible only because of stock appreciation. In that sense, is Netflix basically untouchable in terms of compensation, if F/A/A/G (and other companies like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Microsoft, etc.) can only be competitive via unexpected or non-guaranteed stock appreciation? Plus if you reach a "cliff", you end up with just your base salary - which seems like it's not too much better than a non-tech Fortune500 company? Is my understanding wrong?
      - almost_usual 5y ago
        I wouldn’t want to work at a place like Netflix that doesn’t comp with equity, especially after a year like 2020. A 500k TC could easily be 800k+ now, if that’s cash it’s still 500k and worth less due to inflation. If the stock significantly depreciates there will be layoffs anyway.
        ijamj 5y ago
- almost_usual 5y ago
  There are plenty of other employers that pay that and more and aren’t Amazon. Amazon typically lowballs. If anything you only benefit from being in Washington and not paying half of that 500k in income tax:
ctvo 5y ago
> No one wants to work for you anymore. You're in quite the bubble. Lots of folks I know would work at Amazon. Friends have joined the computing groups (Lambda, ECS, EKS) to work on observability, scale, security. It's important work with broad impact.
- sneak 5y ago
  Some of that impact is making the CIA more effective at the things the CIA does, as Amazon runs a special datacenter for them on-prem at Langley. It is quite sad how many in our industry are either sufficiently clueless or sufficiently indifferent that they would eagerly go work at the CIA's sysadmins, especially under the guise of "important" or "impact" (quite literally in the case I mentioned).
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - avalys 5y ago
    I would be proud to go work directly for the CIA, but I’m too selfish to do so, because the pay would be worse than what I’m doing now. Not all Americans loath their country and the institutions that help maintain it - imperfect though they may be.
    - aaomidi 5y ago
      I mean, that's a pretty shitty view considering how many lives the CIA has ruined. How many generations they've burned. How much unnecessary suffering they've caused. But, I mean, if the thought of people suffering brings you calm at night - go for it! You know you're a shitty org when you have a whole wikipedia page dedicated to you being shitty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CIA_controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CIA_controversies
    - sneak 5y ago
      I'm going to assume ignorance here, versus malice.
    - 5y ago
kleinsch 5y ago
HN isn’t the world. Amazon recruiters get tons of positive responses to their reachouts.
chartpath 5y ago
Last time I responded with a polite message that once they treat their non-tech employees better I would consider. Never heard from them again.
tdeck 5y ago
It's amazing because I've told multiple Amazon recruiters "I don't want to work at Amazon, please make a note so that other Amazon recruiters don't contact me" and it never works. They have a central secret list of employees not to rehire, but when it comes to sourcing they can't get their shit together.
- 8note 5y ago
  Accept a job, and get paid to be fired and never reached out to again?
  - BeetleB 5y ago
    You vastly overestimate their competence. I routinely get recruiter calls from companies that have embargoed me for a year due to not succeeding in their interview. They contact me, get a conversation started, then in the middle they apologize and say they didn't realize I'm on the embargo list.

Meanwhile Amazon recruiters keep spamming me to join their cult. No one *wants* to work for you anymore. You don't need to recruit. If someone is desperate eno

Meanwhile Amazon recruiters keep spamming me to join their cult. No one *wants* to work for you anymore. You don't need to recruit. If someone is desperate enough they'll let you know.

f6v 5y ago

You’d be surprised. Do they pay well? Do they have cool products? “I’ve done a lot more for a lot less” - The Office.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Guest42 5y ago
I think a common approach is “I know this job is garbage but if I can last 18 months, my resume will look much better”.....or.....”maybe my manager will be alright and the bad stories will be less relevant”
- decafninja 5y ago
  Another factor might be that there are many companies just as bad, but without the prestige of Amazon. At least the Amazon name will pad your resume. The names of many other bad companies won't (or not to the degree of Amazon).

quickthrower2 5y ago

For 500k? Yeah I’d do it even for a year, working on the most dullard shit then have 3 years off.

yupper32 5y ago
Other Big-N companies have comparable pay with way less stress.
- decafninja 5y ago
  What I see being touted is F & N > G > A & A for TC? Obviously there are many factors in play so that might not always be the case. Also per my other comment on this thread, sounds like Netflix really blows away all others because there is no shenanigans around RSUs, cliffs, unexpected appreciation, etc.? Correct me if I'm wrong since I am definitely no expert at this game.
  - rejectedandsad 5y ago
    This is probably true, but socially Apple seems like it gets a better reception/superior people. Folks at Amazon are pretty normal. Disclaimer - I’m very average and work at Amazon
    - quickthrower2 5y ago
      Yes Im probably average and I’d go with whoever takes me, but as I’m outside of the US it’s all hypothetical
    - decafninja 5y ago
      Not sure if this is the reason, but I've heard Apple (and also Netflix) give individual teams much more autonomy on how they select, interview, and hire candidates, so maybe the fit between each person and their team is better? i.e. you may even not get leetcoded depending on the team and hiring manager. Versus Facebook, Amazon, and Google having a more one-size-fits-all approach to hiring.
      - rejectedandsad 5y ago
        Amazon, until recently, also hired most SDE2 and up with a team specific approach, with the SDE1's effectively interviewed by an algorithm (via coding interview etc).
eigen 5y ago
doesnt Amazon cap base salary around $180k and only 5% of RSUs vest the first year? my understanding is that, barring a massive RSU package, you cant get to $500k in the first year.
- stornetn 5y ago
  This isn’t the complete picture. It’s true that the vesting schedule gives you only 5% of RSUs in your first year, but employees’ cash signing bonus is increased to offset that. So if the total compensation target for a role is generally $500k (say, a principal engineer or a director, maybe?) and your salary is capped at $160k, you’d be given a signing bonus of $500k-$160k-(total stock vest x 5%) in cash. It’s not as though you’re paid significantly less when you start, it’s just that how you are paid is different.
  - decafninja 5y ago
    I keep hearing all the letters of FAANG have more or less similarly competitive total compensation if you factor in RSUs, appreciation, etc. But then I hear things about "cliffs" and how extremely high TCs are possible only because of stock appreciation. In that sense, is Netflix basically untouchable in terms of compensation, if F/A/A/G (and other companies like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Microsoft, etc.) can only be competitive via unexpected or non-guaranteed stock appreciation? Plus if you reach a "cliff", you end up with just your base salary - which seems like it's not too much better than a non-tech Fortune500 company? Is my understanding wrong?
    - almost_usual 5y ago
      I wouldn’t want to work at a place like Netflix that doesn’t comp with equity, especially after a year like 2020. A 500k TC could easily be 800k+ now, if that’s cash it’s still 500k and worth less due to inflation. If the stock significantly depreciates there will be layoffs anyway.
      - ijamj 5y ago
almost_usual 5y ago
There are plenty of other employers that pay that and more and aren’t Amazon. Amazon typically lowballs. If anything you only benefit from being in Washington and not paying half of that 500k in income tax:

ctvo 5y ago

> No one wants to work for you anymore. You're in quite the bubble. Lots of folks I know would work at Amazon. Friends have joined the computing groups (Lambda, ECS, EKS) to work on observability, scale, security. It's important work with broad impact.

sneak 5y ago
Some of that impact is making the CIA more effective at the things the CIA does, as Amazon runs a special datacenter for them on-prem at Langley. It is quite sad how many in our industry are either sufficiently clueless or sufficiently indifferent that they would eagerly go work at the CIA's sysadmins, especially under the guise of "important" or "impact" (quite literally in the case I mentioned).
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- avalys 5y ago
  I would be proud to go work directly for the CIA, but I’m too selfish to do so, because the pay would be worse than what I’m doing now. Not all Americans loath their country and the institutions that help maintain it - imperfect though they may be.
  - aaomidi 5y ago
    I mean, that's a pretty shitty view considering how many lives the CIA has ruined. How many generations they've burned. How much unnecessary suffering they've caused. But, I mean, if the thought of people suffering brings you calm at night - go for it! You know you're a shitty org when you have a whole wikipedia page dedicated to you being shitty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CIA_controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CIA_controversies
  - sneak 5y ago
    I'm going to assume ignorance here, versus malice.
  - 5y ago

kleinsch 5y ago

HN isn’t the world. Amazon recruiters get tons of positive responses to their reachouts.

chartpath 5y ago

Last time I responded with a polite message that once they treat their non-tech employees better I would consider. Never heard from them again.

tdeck 5y ago

It's amazing because I've told multiple Amazon recruiters "I don't want to work at Amazon, please make a note so that other Amazon recruiters don't contact me" and it never works. They have a central secret list of employees not to rehire, but when it comes to sourcing they can't get their shit together.

8note 5y ago
Accept a job, and get paid to be fired and never reached out to again?
- BeetleB 5y ago
  You vastly overestimate their competence. I routinely get recruiter calls from companies that have embargoed me for a year due to not succeeding in their interview. They contact me, get a conversation started, then in the middle they apologize and say they didn't realize I'm on the embargo list.