4 ms·

The cost of finding good engineers is too high, I used to run a recruiting agency, it takes months to find a candidate who fits the company both from hard and s

The cost of finding good engineers is too high, I used to run a recruiting agency, it takes months to find a candidate who fits the company both from hard and soft skills perspective. So I really don’t understand why companies fire engineers. They should optimize managerial positions instead

rl1987 4y ago
Shortage of devs is (was?) a very popular talking point, but is it really true? If each developer was so unique, special and valuable, would companies be laying them off now? If the developers were so hard to find, wouldn't companies adjust their expectations and work with who they can find, instead of having them play Leetcode and other crazy games that have very little to do with day to day realities of work at the company? When there's a famine, people don't complain that their T-bone steak is medium well done, they eat what little food they can find.
- d4mi3n 4y ago
  I don’t disagree with your line of thought, but found it interesting the the OP specifically mentioned cost but not scarcity. Or rather scarcity of candidates that meet an employers criteria—criteria that may be unrealistic or out of touch.
- greatpostman 4y ago
  I’m a well paid engineer and agree, I don’t believe the shortage. I think companies are just cheap
- pm90 4y ago
  > Shortage of devs is (was?) a very popular talking point, but is it really true? If each developer was so unique, special and valuable, would companies be laying them off now? When companies were executing on projects that required workers and couldn’t find them, yes there was a shortage. When companies cancelled several projects and had extra headcount, they let workers go. I suspect in the not so distance future the very same companies laying off workers now will need more of them, and that will be even more difficult than today.
  - rl1987 4y ago
    The supposed inability to find them is the very thing I question.
jacknews 4y ago
It seems to take months for hire devs, because there are now months of screens, tests, interview rounds, panels, etc. I suspect plenty of devs just can't be bothered with it; they either stay where they are, jump to somewhere they already have an 'in' by personal recommendation, go full time time on a side project or freelance, and maybe just play the interviews for practice.
caskstrength 4y ago
> it takes months to find a candidate who fits the company both from hard and soft skills perspective. Is it really that bad or companies just mindlessly parroting FAANG interview process? No, you don't really need 5-stage leetcode-style interview to hire your Billy-the-junior-React-guy.
- nnurmanov 4y ago
  Hiring junior devs is not a problem, everybody understands that they can deliver some serious stuff in 2-3 years. My experience was with senior/lead developers. There are so many things should match to hire such people. Some examples. A one guy refused the offer because he did not want to relocate, another guy was turned down because of his political views (due to war), most people could not pass technical interview. The # of candidates topped 100+ for this position.

rl1987 4y ago

Shortage of devs is (was?) a very popular talking point, but is it really true? If each developer was so unique, special and valuable, would companies be laying them off now? If the developers were so hard to find, wouldn't companies adjust their expectations and work with who they can find, instead of having them play Leetcode and other crazy games that have very little to do with day to day realities of work at the company? When there's a famine, people don't complain that their T-bone steak is medium well done, they eat what little food they can find.

d4mi3n 4y ago
I don’t disagree with your line of thought, but found it interesting the the OP specifically mentioned cost but not scarcity. Or rather scarcity of candidates that meet an employers criteria—criteria that may be unrealistic or out of touch.
greatpostman 4y ago
I’m a well paid engineer and agree, I don’t believe the shortage. I think companies are just cheap
pm90 4y ago
> Shortage of devs is (was?) a very popular talking point, but is it really true? If each developer was so unique, special and valuable, would companies be laying them off now? When companies were executing on projects that required workers and couldn’t find them, yes there was a shortage. When companies cancelled several projects and had extra headcount, they let workers go. I suspect in the not so distance future the very same companies laying off workers now will need more of them, and that will be even more difficult than today.
- rl1987 4y ago
  The supposed inability to find them is the very thing I question.

jacknews 4y ago

It seems to take months for hire devs, because there are now months of screens, tests, interview rounds, panels, etc. I suspect plenty of devs just can't be bothered with it; they either stay where they are, jump to somewhere they already have an 'in' by personal recommendation, go full time time on a side project or freelance, and maybe just play the interviews for practice.

caskstrength 4y ago

> it takes months to find a candidate who fits the company both from hard and soft skills perspective. Is it really that bad or companies just mindlessly parroting FAANG interview process? No, you don't really need 5-stage leetcode-style interview to hire your Billy-the-junior-React-guy.

nnurmanov 4y ago
Hiring junior devs is not a problem, everybody understands that they can deliver some serious stuff in 2-3 years. My experience was with senior/lead developers. There are so many things should match to hire such people. Some examples. A one guy refused the offer because he did not want to relocate, another guy was turned down because of his political views (due to war), most people could not pass technical interview. The # of candidates topped 100+ for this position.