Tech Career Advice, Tested by People in the Industry

Real-world tech career advice for building a network, acing technical interviews, negotiating salary, managing a team and everything else it takes to find and keep a job in tech, as shared by the Hacker News community.

Latest Discussions

General Discussion4d ago

Compensation and Negotiation Tactics

This thread involves a brief exchange about strategies for disclosing past compensation to potential employers, specifically advising on how to present salary and bonus information, followed by a mention of stock grants. The actionable insight is to be cautious about the details shared, especially distinguishing between salary, bonuses, and stock grants during negotiations.

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🔗 Employers use your personal data to figure out the lowest salary you'll accept

Experience Report5d ago

Using data to negotiate salary

The thread highlights the practical approach of researching company salary data before job negotiations. This actionable insight encourages job seekers to leverage publicly available salary information to negotiate better compensation packages confidently and effectively.

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🔗 Employers use your personal data to figure out the lowest salary you'll accept

General Discussion8d ago

Job search tips on LinkedIn

The conversation revolves around dissatisfaction with a company, followed by a user sharing a practical tip for optimizing job alerts on LinkedIn by using a search query with exclusions. The actionable insight is the use of advanced search filters to refine job alerts, which can improve job search efficiency.

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🔗 Mercor Hit by Cyberattack

Experience Report5d ago

Career advice and job hopping risks

The original poster shares personal advice on not letting others control your life by changing jobs every two years to explore new experiences. A respondent cautions about the potential negative consequences of frequent job changes in certain countries where job hopping could be risky for one's career.

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🔗 Advice to Young People, the Lies I Tell Myself (2024)

Experience Report10d ago

Career Growth and Promotion Strategies

The discussion highlights differing views on career advancement for engineers. One perspective suggests focusing on solving challenging, less popular problems that align with personal interests and considering job changes for better compensation. The counterpoint emphasizes that promotions depend on measurable factors like scope, impact, and visibility within the company, rather than personal interest. Engineers should understand company-specific promotion criteria and strategically gain visibility to advance.

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🔗 Nobody Is Coming to Save Your Career

General Discussion4d ago

Salary History and Privacy in Hiring

The thread discusses the practice of companies asking for past compensation information during hiring and the misconception that this data might be accessible via credit reports. The initial comment reflects on how hiring managers historically used this information asymmetry to their advantage, though legislation now often prohibits such inquiries. The response clarifies that credit reports typically do not contain salary information, suggesting that other data sources might be used instead. This conversation highlights the importance of understanding privacy laws and data sources in salary negotiations and hiring practices.

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🔗 Employers use your personal data to figure out the lowest salary you'll accept