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Wouldn't dedicated candidates generally hit up someone on LinkedIn to get put into the backchannel? Heck, people on HN have generously offered to put me into th

Wouldn't dedicated candidates generally hit up someone on LinkedIn to get put into the backchannel? Heck, people on HN have generously offered to put me into their company backchannel, so it doesn't seem to hard to get into it if you really want it.

oblak 5y ago
Never done this myself and I find the very notion off putting and dangerous. Sounds like diet nepotism to me.
- wayoutthere 5y ago
  Enjoy missing out on the good opportunities then; most don’t even hit the job sites before they’re filled.
dghlsakjg 5y ago
I think a lot of it is cultural or learned. It doesn’t occur to some people that you can do things like reach out on LinkedIn or do things beyond just checking the careers page. I read about people who fill out hundreds of applications and never get a response. I know it’s a numbers game, but that is absolutely wild the amount of effort people put into a strategy that clearly isn’t working.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  Random applications are working great for me too. I just do the inside track for really interesting roles.
the_only_law 5y ago
What’s the chance that me hitting up some rando on LinkedIn isn’t just gonna result in them ignoring the connection or telling me just to line up at the front door.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  Most people reply to me. I am currently job searching and I have one who didn't reply? Don't target the CTO as he probably gets barraged, but a fellow guy with 2-3 years experience? They reply. Random people off Hacker News? They reply.
- MakersF 5y ago
  Message a recruiter working with the company (internal recruiters for example), they are litteraly searching for people, they'll be excited that a candidate reached out. Of course some don't answer, but it's not a big number
- dghlsakjg 5y ago
  In my experience it’s much better than 50%. The trick is to not just bug them for a job, but to ask questions about the work as well.
munk-a 5y ago
I ended up being hired directly from university for my first position - another student in my algorithms class was a local company's VP. That said, I absolutely loathe back channels as they are a highly effective tool for discrimination. I don't hop jobs all that often but when I do so I do it via a recruiter and isolate myself from potential companies before the interview. I personally find leveraging back channels extremely distasteful. There are some good ways to gain that level of contact though - directly reaching out to current employees is pretty effective with very few downsides as failing to get the job means they aren't going to be your coworkers anyways. However, I think even these approaches make the process overall less fair and equitable.
- bennysomething 5y ago
  hiring someone you know, trust, like and you've seen their ability is no bad thing. Don't think there is any reason to loathe this. Lots of people network at meet ups to find positions this way.
  - munk-a 5y ago
    It is a safe bet for the employer and ends up benefiting the employee chosen - the issue is that it can leave folks stuck "outside". Hiring is a messy process and anyone who says they only hire the best is lying to you - sometimes folks interview poorly due to having a bad day or end up being screened out due to automated software not seeing necessary keywords in resumes by blind chance. However, the more you limit your hiring pool the more you're missing out on good folks and you can end up breeding a culture of nepotism within the company if you're not careful - where those folks that make it in from the outside are outside of the social group you're drawing from and end up leaving because it's cliquish.
    - Jnr 5y ago
      We have hired those "rough diamonds" through "back channels" even though they have had terrible interviews due to lack of communication skills. They probably would not have been hired in most places. And it turns out they are good at their work and also loyal since they are a bit afraid of jobs interviews. If a good employee vouches for someone, there is big chance we will give it a try. :)
foobarian 5y ago
Not only does the backchannel save a company many man hours of senior engineer time (which has the bonus effect of not upsetting said senior engineers), companies often give substantial cash rewards to employees who's referrals get hired and stay for some period of time. I'm talking tens of thousands of dollars, it's pretty insane.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  That might explain the willingness of random people to shove my resume in the referral bin.

oblak 5y ago

Never done this myself and I find the very notion off putting and dangerous. Sounds like diet nepotism to me.

wayoutthere 5y ago
Enjoy missing out on the good opportunities then; most don’t even hit the job sites before they’re filled.

dghlsakjg 5y ago

I think a lot of it is cultural or learned. It doesn’t occur to some people that you can do things like reach out on LinkedIn or do things beyond just checking the careers page. I read about people who fill out hundreds of applications and never get a response. I know it’s a numbers game, but that is absolutely wild the amount of effort people put into a strategy that clearly isn’t working.

MattGaiser 5y ago
Random applications are working great for me too. I just do the inside track for really interesting roles.

the_only_law 5y ago

What’s the chance that me hitting up some rando on LinkedIn isn’t just gonna result in them ignoring the connection or telling me just to line up at the front door.

MattGaiser 5y ago
Most people reply to me. I am currently job searching and I have one who didn't reply? Don't target the CTO as he probably gets barraged, but a fellow guy with 2-3 years experience? They reply. Random people off Hacker News? They reply.
MakersF 5y ago
Message a recruiter working with the company (internal recruiters for example), they are litteraly searching for people, they'll be excited that a candidate reached out. Of course some don't answer, but it's not a big number
dghlsakjg 5y ago
In my experience it’s much better than 50%. The trick is to not just bug them for a job, but to ask questions about the work as well.

munk-a 5y ago

I ended up being hired directly from university for my first position - another student in my algorithms class was a local company's VP. That said, I absolutely loathe back channels as they are a highly effective tool for discrimination. I don't hop jobs all that often but when I do so I do it via a recruiter and isolate myself from potential companies before the interview. I personally find leveraging back channels extremely distasteful. There are some good ways to gain that level of contact though - directly reaching out to current employees is pretty effective with very few downsides as failing to get the job means they aren't going to be your coworkers anyways. However, I think even these approaches make the process overall less fair and equitable.

bennysomething 5y ago
hiring someone you know, trust, like and you've seen their ability is no bad thing. Don't think there is any reason to loathe this. Lots of people network at meet ups to find positions this way.
- munk-a 5y ago
  It is a safe bet for the employer and ends up benefiting the employee chosen - the issue is that it can leave folks stuck "outside". Hiring is a messy process and anyone who says they only hire the best is lying to you - sometimes folks interview poorly due to having a bad day or end up being screened out due to automated software not seeing necessary keywords in resumes by blind chance. However, the more you limit your hiring pool the more you're missing out on good folks and you can end up breeding a culture of nepotism within the company if you're not careful - where those folks that make it in from the outside are outside of the social group you're drawing from and end up leaving because it's cliquish.
  - Jnr 5y ago
    We have hired those "rough diamonds" through "back channels" even though they have had terrible interviews due to lack of communication skills. They probably would not have been hired in most places. And it turns out they are good at their work and also loyal since they are a bit afraid of jobs interviews. If a good employee vouches for someone, there is big chance we will give it a try. :)

foobarian 5y ago

Not only does the backchannel save a company many man hours of senior engineer time (which has the bonus effect of not upsetting said senior engineers), companies often give substantial cash rewards to employees who's referrals get hired and stay for some period of time. I'm talking tens of thousands of dollars, it's pretty insane.

MattGaiser 5y ago
That might explain the willingness of random people to shove my resume in the referral bin.