5 ms·

I have a decent CV (comp sci degree, awards etc) and over a decade of experience. My strategy is quite simple - when I need a job I search for and apply for jo

I have a decent CV (comp sci degree, awards etc) and over a decade of experience. My strategy is quite simple - when I need a job I search for and apply for jobs I like the look of. I might apply to a handful of companies. I tailor my CV for each one. Then I treat the interviews seriously, researching intensively and preparing as best I can, doing the problems they're known to give, practicing answers to questions etc. It's pretty straightforward but requires a lot of work and means I have a high rate of passing through and getting offers. My last interviewing experience was a few months back and I applied for 4 jobs, and got 2 offers. I didn't get past CV stage with the other 2 companies. I've moved around a lot with at most 2 years at a company so that probably hurts my success rate. It's always me quitting, I've never been fired or layed off. I've gotten work via a friend before (side job), as well as through recruiters. I still get emails every now and then from recruiters that have me on their list. I even got a job via hackernews - Posting in an "Open for work" thread.

gaws 2y ago
> I might apply to a handful of companies. I tailor my CV for each one. Then I treat the interviews seriously, researching intensively and preparing as best I can, doing the problems they're known to give, practicing answers to questions etc. Don't you risk burning yourself out?
- LouisSayers 2y ago
  It's not something that happens very often, so I'm OK with pushing myself a bit before interviews. The way that I see it is that it's a financial investment. Not only can you increase your chances of multiple offers (which can lead to increased salary), but performing well could be the difference of $10k+ salary per year. If you think of raises as a percentage of salary and compound that over the years you might spend at a company, then potentially we're talking multiple 10's of thousands over the lifespan of working at a company - all for a bit of extra effort up front. It is extra strain for sure - the smart thing to do is to start your prep a month or more before applying. Also, don't keep your prep code in the IDE. I did this (had an 'archive' folder), and Intellisense was picking up the name of an existing class I'd used during my practice (not sure if the interviewer noticed that...)!

gaws 2y ago

> I might apply to a handful of companies. I tailor my CV for each one. Then I treat the interviews seriously, researching intensively and preparing as best I can, doing the problems they're known to give, practicing answers to questions etc. Don't you risk burning yourself out?

LouisSayers 2y ago
It's not something that happens very often, so I'm OK with pushing myself a bit before interviews. The way that I see it is that it's a financial investment. Not only can you increase your chances of multiple offers (which can lead to increased salary), but performing well could be the difference of $10k+ salary per year. If you think of raises as a percentage of salary and compound that over the years you might spend at a company, then potentially we're talking multiple 10's of thousands over the lifespan of working at a company - all for a bit of extra effort up front. It is extra strain for sure - the smart thing to do is to start your prep a month or more before applying. Also, don't keep your prep code in the IDE. I did this (had an 'archive' folder), and Intellisense was picking up the name of an existing class I'd used during my practice (not sure if the interviewer noticed that...)!