4 ms·

I feel so lucky I haven't had to apply anywhere in my entire career through postings, the good thing of having a solid network is that you get to know who knows

I feel so lucky I haven't had to apply anywhere in my entire career through postings, the good thing of having a solid network is that you get to know who knows a consultant/freelancer before any position is created. I did post my availability few times on HN "who wants to be hired" but with poor results and lots of wasted time (as again, the person on the other end does not know me or has worked with me everything gets bureaucratic again). Also, all of the people I had hired for my clients came again from my network, there was never a public posting. There's also other benefits, in general, you don't get to do silly technical interviews, as you're bringing former coworkers you can vouch for. Not saying this can scale anywhere, but in smaller companies with good teams and professionals they always know someone from their previous jobs or their online communities (common in open source related githubs/discords/slacks) and I like it.

bearjaws 2y ago
This is really the best career advice. I was fortunately able to leave a terrible job 2 years ago and immediately had contract work, now I run my own business and get constant referrals from my network. I make more than ever, have incredible work-life balance, and for the most part love what I do. If you don't have a network, the moment you quit/lose a job you are dead to the world. Even now I have people approaching me for FTE roles, I haven't even worked with them for 2 years. Am I some god tier programmer? Not really, but I have a good track record and people always want to go to someone they already trusted.
- Caius-Cosades 2y ago
  Yeah if you're not a social butterfly in the modern world you're just effed. Or about as good as dead, unless you happen to be extremely lucky.
  - rwyinuse 2y ago
    In academic / white collar work for sure. But if you're something like a skilled craftsman whose services are in demand, you can probably do fine with less social networking.
    - SoftTalker 2y ago
      Carpenters, electricians, and plumbers will be able to name their price in the Los Angeles area for the next few years.
      - bluGill 2y ago
        Maybe. All of them have cycles of good and bad times. I've known many Electricians and Carpenters who have been laid off for years at a time before things come back.
- netruk44 2y ago
  > If you don't have a network, the moment you quit/lose a job you are dead to the world. As someone without a network and left their FAANG-adjacent (or whatever the current acronym is) job in 2022, this is mostly true. Amazon still hits up my inbox every month or so, though.
- catwhatcat 2y ago
  What sort of business are you running now, if you don't mind elaborating?
  - bearjaws 2y ago
    I have two, one is a dev shop for LMS software, mainly working in custom AI solutions now. The other is a consultancy where I help resolve tech debt and put out fires at SMB's, which I get most of my work from referrals.
- recursive 2y ago
  It's not advice really. If it were advice, it would be something you could do.
  - TheGlav 2y ago
    Building a network is something anyone can do. Join meetups. Find local user groups. Find online groups and get active in them. Give talks. Write and publish your thoughts locally and/or online. Talk with people. Ask (good) questions. Let people get to know you and the way you think. Many more ways exist than just these. Connecting with other professionals in various ways is all there is to building a network and anyone can do it. They just have to do it.
    - hylaride 2y ago
      This. I'm still benefiting from being in a BSD users group that I went to between 2000-2008 because it was filled with passionate/talented tech people, most of whom have gone onto other things. Find places to get into discussions and show your opinions and have discussions. If you are in a group where your mind is never changed, then find something else.
    - recursive 2y ago
      Ok, now that's advice.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
  - epolanski 2y ago
    You definitely can. I always built my network mostly at local meetups and online communities. It helps if, like in my case, are into functional programming, as people into that niche prefer working with other functional programmers.
eulers_secret 2y ago
IME it's not that bad. My entire network failed when I was looking for work: either everyone was still at my old employer whom I didn't want to return to or they were also out of work. I don't have much online presence, because that's my preference. I did ~11 applications (on company websites, tailored resume), of which like 9 were moonshots (NVDA, Valve, etc). I heard back from everyone, and then interviewed and accepted an offer with a smaller international company located locally. This was during the 2023/4 downturn (Dec '23 to be exact). Caveat: I have 15YoE and work in embedded (especially embedded Linux); it seems this specialization has suffered less than others. I also don't have a degree. I had to accept a slight paycut and hybrid - but I was in office before... and hardware generally just requires you to be present sometimes. Don't be afraid if you don't have a network, the advice is good, but it doesn't apply to everyone.
- selimthegrim 2y ago
  I would say the extended parts of my network are still getting the interviews, but I have people I directly literally went to school with, and lived in the same dorm with turn me flat down for work, which was a real slap in the face. I’ve been applying since April 2020 (with about 7 interviews so far and 2-3 upcoming interviews total) and I’m getting kind of discouraged at this point.
  - cruffle_duffle 2y ago
    Honestly in this market there is really only so much your network can do—at least at a “submit my resume for me” level. I’m starting to think I might get a bit more aggressive and bold with my network and have them deliver paper copies to the hiring manager or something. Because even referral submitted applications are black holes at this point. Hang in there and take what you can get. The market is super shitty and you are absolutely not alone. It ain’t you. The market will pick back up again… it always does.
    - selimthegrim 2y ago
      If they won’t pay for traveling for on-site interview or relocation is that a good sign; when they’re demanding three days a week in the office hybrid?
Foobar8568 2y ago
I posted once with a seconds account on who is hiring, the amount of spam and fishing attempts received is crazy, 10-50 DocuSign and the like a day since then.
xeromal 2y ago
I decided I wanted a better job in 2025 after being at my company for 6ish years. I started applying to 2-3 jobs a day starting in december and reaching out to old contacts. Complete ghost silence and bullshit. Managed to get 2 leetcode screens that went nowhere even after doing alright on them. Hit up an old college buddy on linked in, got a referral, went through a ton of interviews (6) and got a job in two weeks. It's nuts how far a referral will get you.

bearjaws 2y ago

This is really the best career advice. I was fortunately able to leave a terrible job 2 years ago and immediately had contract work, now I run my own business and get constant referrals from my network. I make more than ever, have incredible work-life balance, and for the most part love what I do. If you don't have a network, the moment you quit/lose a job you are dead to the world. Even now I have people approaching me for FTE roles, I haven't even worked with them for 2 years. Am I some god tier programmer? Not really, but I have a good track record and people always want to go to someone they already trusted.

Caius-Cosades 2y ago
Yeah if you're not a social butterfly in the modern world you're just effed. Or about as good as dead, unless you happen to be extremely lucky.
- rwyinuse 2y ago
  In academic / white collar work for sure. But if you're something like a skilled craftsman whose services are in demand, you can probably do fine with less social networking.
  - SoftTalker 2y ago
    Carpenters, electricians, and plumbers will be able to name their price in the Los Angeles area for the next few years.
    - bluGill 2y ago
      Maybe. All of them have cycles of good and bad times. I've known many Electricians and Carpenters who have been laid off for years at a time before things come back.
netruk44 2y ago
> If you don't have a network, the moment you quit/lose a job you are dead to the world. As someone without a network and left their FAANG-adjacent (or whatever the current acronym is) job in 2022, this is mostly true. Amazon still hits up my inbox every month or so, though.
catwhatcat 2y ago
What sort of business are you running now, if you don't mind elaborating?
- bearjaws 2y ago
  I have two, one is a dev shop for LMS software, mainly working in custom AI solutions now. The other is a consultancy where I help resolve tech debt and put out fires at SMB's, which I get most of my work from referrals.
recursive 2y ago
It's not advice really. If it were advice, it would be something you could do.
- TheGlav 2y ago
  Building a network is something anyone can do. Join meetups. Find local user groups. Find online groups and get active in them. Give talks. Write and publish your thoughts locally and/or online. Talk with people. Ask (good) questions. Let people get to know you and the way you think. Many more ways exist than just these. Connecting with other professionals in various ways is all there is to building a network and anyone can do it. They just have to do it.
  - hylaride 2y ago
    This. I'm still benefiting from being in a BSD users group that I went to between 2000-2008 because it was filled with passionate/talented tech people, most of whom have gone onto other things. Find places to get into discussions and show your opinions and have discussions. If you are in a group where your mind is never changed, then find something else.
  - recursive 2y ago
    Ok, now that's advice.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- epolanski 2y ago
  You definitely can. I always built my network mostly at local meetups and online communities. It helps if, like in my case, are into functional programming, as people into that niche prefer working with other functional programmers.

eulers_secret 2y ago

IME it's not that bad. My entire network failed when I was looking for work: either everyone was still at my old employer whom I didn't want to return to or they were also out of work. I don't have much online presence, because that's my preference. I did ~11 applications (on company websites, tailored resume), of which like 9 were moonshots (NVDA, Valve, etc). I heard back from everyone, and then interviewed and accepted an offer with a smaller international company located locally. This was during the 2023/4 downturn (Dec '23 to be exact). Caveat: I have 15YoE and work in embedded (especially embedded Linux); it seems this specialization has suffered less than others. I also don't have a degree. I had to accept a slight paycut and hybrid - but I was in office before... and hardware generally just requires you to be present sometimes. Don't be afraid if you don't have a network, the advice is good, but it doesn't apply to everyone.

selimthegrim 2y ago
I would say the extended parts of my network are still getting the interviews, but I have people I directly literally went to school with, and lived in the same dorm with turn me flat down for work, which was a real slap in the face. I’ve been applying since April 2020 (with about 7 interviews so far and 2-3 upcoming interviews total) and I’m getting kind of discouraged at this point.
- cruffle_duffle 2y ago
  Honestly in this market there is really only so much your network can do—at least at a “submit my resume for me” level. I’m starting to think I might get a bit more aggressive and bold with my network and have them deliver paper copies to the hiring manager or something. Because even referral submitted applications are black holes at this point. Hang in there and take what you can get. The market is super shitty and you are absolutely not alone. It ain’t you. The market will pick back up again… it always does.
  - selimthegrim 2y ago
    If they won’t pay for traveling for on-site interview or relocation is that a good sign; when they’re demanding three days a week in the office hybrid?

Foobar8568 2y ago

I posted once with a seconds account on who is hiring, the amount of spam and fishing attempts received is crazy, 10-50 DocuSign and the like a day since then.

xeromal 2y ago

I decided I wanted a better job in 2025 after being at my company for 6ish years. I started applying to 2-3 jobs a day starting in december and reaching out to old contacts. Complete ghost silence and bullshit. Managed to get 2 leetcode screens that went nowhere even after doing alright on them. Hit up an old college buddy on linked in, got a referral, went through a ton of interviews (6) and got a job in two weeks. It's nuts how far a referral will get you.