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

Experience Report17m ago

Job hunting insights from a seasoned developer

A developer with 20 years experience shares practical advice from a six-month unemployment period, emphasizing avoiding employer career portals, the importance of a precise, human-readable resume with quantifiable achievements, leveraging popular job platforms, and obtaining external credentials like PMP or CISSP to enhance employability. These actionable insights can help others streamline their job search and increase their chances for better opportunities.

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🔗 Ask HN: Anyone else finding it impossible to land a job?

Experience Report1d ago

Career advice for tech job seekers

The thread provides practical career advice for those seeking tech roles, especially when direct entry is challenging. Suggestions include targeting tech positions within non-tech companies, increasing geographic flexibility, and considering tech-adjacent roles. One contributor shares personal experience starting as the sole IT person in a non-tech environment, illustrating how diverse entry points can lead to valuable opportunities. Leveraging educational credentials and strengthening fundamentals are also recommended to improve prospects.

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🔗 Unemployed almost a year after graduating MIT – a rant

Experience Report12d ago

Job search struggles and career pivot

The thread presents a detailed personal account of a seasoned professional facing significant challenges in the tech job market despite extensive effort, including job applications, cover letters, demo projects, and interviews. The user expresses emotional fatigue and contemplates leaving the tech industry for a different career path, with a potential business idea in hospitality and fitness. An actionable insight includes considering alternative career ventures that align with one's interests and market gaps, as well as the importance of maintaining projects that bring personal satisfaction during challenging job hunts.

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🔗 I'm having the worst career winter of my life

Experience Report10d ago

Navigating Career Transitions at Google

The original poster reflects on their challenging experience at Google, highlighting personal circumstances and career transitions that impacted their tenure. They emphasize the value of internalizing certain lessons for long-term success at Google or similar environments. The insights suggest maintaining resilience and adaptability when facing career and personal challenges in large tech companies.

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🔗 Lessons from 14 Years at Google

General Discussion10d ago

Networking Strategies on LinkedIn

The thread features a brief discussion on effective networking approaches. One perspective suggests focusing efforts on a few meaningful connections rather than broad outreach. Another proposes using LinkedIn's "Open To Work" status to signal availability efficiently to the existing professional network. Actionable insight: prioritize quality relationships and leverage platform features like status indicators to optimize job search visibility.

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🔗 LinkedIn Prevents You from Deplatforming

General Discussion1d ago

Hiring and Compensation Strategies

The discussion emphasizes the importance of hiring skilled individuals and trusting them to build quality products for users. Additionally, it highlights that adequately compensating employees is crucial to motivate them to deliver exceptional results rather than just market-average performance.

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🔗 No management needed: anti-patterns in early-stage engineering teams