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5 interview rounds sounds about normal, especially with the price tag being so high these days. Compare buying a loaf of bread to buying a house. The bread ju

5 interview rounds sounds about normal, especially with the price tag being so high these days. Compare buying a loaf of bread to buying a house. The bread just gets plopped into your cart. The house involves visiting multiple times, inspections, lawyers, etc. because the amount of money is so high. You cost as much as a house, so the buyers are going to scrutinize a little bit. It's also worth mentioning, you say that you won't follow rules about where you're supposed to work and you think everyone interviewing you is dumber than you. People pick up on that attitude and read it as a red flag. You're going to be doing their code reviews, you're going to be commenting on their designs; if you seem unpleasant in the interviews, they're not going to hire you. Do be aware that this is a common symptom of burnout. If you're burned out, you're not going to be approaching the job hunt in a great state of mind, and it's going to hurt your chances. My recommendation is to heal on your current employer's time; look at new projects, taking a vacation, options for paid leave, ADA/FMLA allowances, etc.

csomar 5y ago
I disagree. If there is a significant gap between you and the company, that's as much as a red flag for you than them. Maybe the OP should focus more on companies where he feels integrated (remote working, leetcode b.s., using his own tools, emails instead of slack, etc...) I'm pretty sure there is something for everyone in this big world. Keeping yourself in a job where you have all these processes is what makes you burn out. The guy is probably responding to elements that might have made him burn out in the past.
- jrockway 5y ago
  Very true. I think that two bad options for dealing with burnout are rage quitting without another job lined up and getting fired for show. They put you in a worse negotiating position and set you up to be burned out again when you're bitter about not getting paid enough.
  - hirako2000 5y ago
    I doubt not getting paid enough is the problem. although a contributing factor. it doesn't necessarily leads to bitterness, unless other factors come into play. Such as the scenario of providing feedback on how certain technical choices made by (supposedly technical) managers, in contradiction with senior architects and most senior developers, are going to cost a lot to reverse down the road, then when that's precisely what happens, and being explained the company isn't in a position to increase your salary, that manager gets promoted anyway, and 3 new hires joins in to help reverse the misguided technical direction, but of course new hires have no clue how anything was put together, so end up asking the long timers some help, help that is pretty much doing 80% of work to meet deadlines, and then of course the newer hires' manager ensures the credit goes to his new reports, so that he can at least give those a rise and retain them. and also control them since they still little exposure to the entire stack. the bitterness is usually not about the money, it's about how a few bad apples know how to play power games and ultimately ruins all the hard work of long ago gone managers who somehow made meritocracy at the core of the company. Those managers weren't very technical either, but they worked more ethically and shined at their role. note: this isn't my own anecdotal story. it's a theme I've started seeing more and more in the last 5y or so, plaguing mid size companies the most, those that reached a level of maturity.
    - troon-lover 5y ago
      “I had proposed a design two years ago for this. I’m happy to share those documents and explain why, this approach should still be viable. Good luck implementing it! I am not available for the project unfortunately.” Don’t be a chump.
  - freeone3000 5y ago
    Not working is a perfectly valid option for dealing with burnout. Finally start that business, do some consulting, put that savings to use as a cushion instead of just a high score. Jobs will be there when you're done.
    - jrockway 5y ago
- hirako2000 5y ago
  Exactly. thanks for reading between the lines.
hirako2000 5y ago
I never called out those interviewers dumber than me. I specifically said they were significantly less technical than I am. And you may think highly technical candidates should play along with that, that it's unreasonable to expect higher expertise from interviewers. I tried, but they come up with the questions, and drill candidates with technical questions that the interviewer can't even grasp the answers given, expecting different ones probably because mine, although more adequate, sounds nothing like what he has on his script. Am I supposed to take a guess on the answer he wants? They aren't dumb. they just don't have enough technical understanding to recognise the gap when facing very experienced coders. If I appeared unpleasant to them, it isn't because I'm disrespectful or condescending, or even burnout. it's simply because they are red flags and being fortunate enough to be hired would probably turn out to become a curse. I however appreciate your advice about being burned out. and that is precisely what I'm doing. I started new projects, mostly artistic, and also a bit of coding to stay up to speed with that kind of mental activity. I think doing that for a few months to heal is desirable to get ready to join a new environment. thank you.
otras 5y ago
> The house involves visiting multiple times, inspections, lawyers, etc. because the amount of money is so high. Ironically, because the market is so hot for houses these days in the Boston area (and many others, I’m sure), there are many house sales with limited visits and waived inspections.
- gdfgjhs 5y ago
  Not only that, here in Dallas many homes are being sold sight unseen these days.

csomar 5y ago

I disagree. If there is a significant gap between you and the company, that's as much as a red flag for you than them. Maybe the OP should focus more on companies where he feels integrated (remote working, leetcode b.s., using his own tools, emails instead of slack, etc...) I'm pretty sure there is something for everyone in this big world. Keeping yourself in a job where you have all these processes is what makes you burn out. The guy is probably responding to elements that might have made him burn out in the past.

jrockway 5y ago
Very true. I think that two bad options for dealing with burnout are rage quitting without another job lined up and getting fired for show. They put you in a worse negotiating position and set you up to be burned out again when you're bitter about not getting paid enough.
- hirako2000 5y ago
  I doubt not getting paid enough is the problem. although a contributing factor. it doesn't necessarily leads to bitterness, unless other factors come into play. Such as the scenario of providing feedback on how certain technical choices made by (supposedly technical) managers, in contradiction with senior architects and most senior developers, are going to cost a lot to reverse down the road, then when that's precisely what happens, and being explained the company isn't in a position to increase your salary, that manager gets promoted anyway, and 3 new hires joins in to help reverse the misguided technical direction, but of course new hires have no clue how anything was put together, so end up asking the long timers some help, help that is pretty much doing 80% of work to meet deadlines, and then of course the newer hires' manager ensures the credit goes to his new reports, so that he can at least give those a rise and retain them. and also control them since they still little exposure to the entire stack. the bitterness is usually not about the money, it's about how a few bad apples know how to play power games and ultimately ruins all the hard work of long ago gone managers who somehow made meritocracy at the core of the company. Those managers weren't very technical either, but they worked more ethically and shined at their role. note: this isn't my own anecdotal story. it's a theme I've started seeing more and more in the last 5y or so, plaguing mid size companies the most, those that reached a level of maturity.
  - troon-lover 5y ago
    “I had proposed a design two years ago for this. I’m happy to share those documents and explain why, this approach should still be viable. Good luck implementing it! I am not available for the project unfortunately.” Don’t be a chump.
- freeone3000 5y ago
  Not working is a perfectly valid option for dealing with burnout. Finally start that business, do some consulting, put that savings to use as a cushion instead of just a high score. Jobs will be there when you're done.
  - jrockway 5y ago
hirako2000 5y ago
Exactly. thanks for reading between the lines.

hirako2000 5y ago

I never called out those interviewers dumber than me. I specifically said they were significantly less technical than I am. And you may think highly technical candidates should play along with that, that it's unreasonable to expect higher expertise from interviewers. I tried, but they come up with the questions, and drill candidates with technical questions that the interviewer can't even grasp the answers given, expecting different ones probably because mine, although more adequate, sounds nothing like what he has on his script. Am I supposed to take a guess on the answer he wants? They aren't dumb. they just don't have enough technical understanding to recognise the gap when facing very experienced coders. If I appeared unpleasant to them, it isn't because I'm disrespectful or condescending, or even burnout. it's simply because they are red flags and being fortunate enough to be hired would probably turn out to become a curse. I however appreciate your advice about being burned out. and that is precisely what I'm doing. I started new projects, mostly artistic, and also a bit of coding to stay up to speed with that kind of mental activity. I think doing that for a few months to heal is desirable to get ready to join a new environment. thank you.

otras 5y ago

> The house involves visiting multiple times, inspections, lawyers, etc. because the amount of money is so high. Ironically, because the market is so hot for houses these days in the Boston area (and many others, I’m sure), there are many house sales with limited visits and waived inspections.

gdfgjhs 5y ago
Not only that, here in Dallas many homes are being sold sight unseen these days.