Last week, I wrote about a few recruiter interviews I have had across three companies. I am scheduled for more, and I alluded to having already acquired some hiring manager rounds. Of the three companies I referred to last week, two of them have moved me forward to have discussions with the respective hiring manager for the team in question. The two experiences certainly have similarities, but also clear differences. Rather than discuss them separately, I’ll tease out a few aphoristic themes.
- The Early Birds Explode Eating All The Worms. When job hunting in a field that is rapidly growing (such as cloud computing), and after languishing in one under existential threat (academia), you’ll notice it’s a lot like buying a house in a seller’s vs. buyer’s market. I am in a classic economic position of advantage and leverage. When European plagues upset the balance of the ruling class to laborers, ancient ties to the land quickly eroded in favor of better wages and working conditions down the lane. In other words, I have never felt more valued as a worker despite having not worked in the industry yet, the need is that great. Even though some postings seem urgent, the pacing of the interview process could potentially belie other, competing factors for your take-away experience. You may have vibed with the recruiter, only to get no vibe at all from the hiring manager. It is no secret that good feelings throughout are usually good and rarely end in ghosting. The recruiter’s position is to ease the hiring manager’s interview load, as they are either looking for the right fit technically, culturally, or hopefully, both.
- No “Bucket” Hiring Reinforces Early Bird Success. In most academic settings, part-time success is not a guarantee for full-time conversion. The simple economics of it all have far too many applicants for the few and far between opportunities nationwide; moreover, there’s no remote option as the positions are tied to the institutions physical locations. In my cloud computing job-hunt, I was told by multiple recruiters that the process is unlike the bucket-search I experienced in academia. Applications are taken in the order they are received, and processed as far as the applicant goes until an offer is made and the position is filled, they’ll move you along accordingly. Have you ever applied and been rejected so fast, you almost felt like effect came before the cause? The most likely reason is–outside of failing to have the right triggers to get to the recruiter–their process is almost done and the posting is effectively closed (even though it is not). If the need for filling the position is urgent, this reinforces why you should apply right away. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for some likely disappointment. Of course, this is a limited anecdotal experienced limited to cloud computing – a field notably on the explosive side of growth – however, if you’re reading this, some of this may help for as long as bucket hiring practices are not in place.
- Unicorns and Rock Stars. Ok, if a unicorn-hire is finding someone who is super talented, then a rock star-hire is discovering someone with potential, cultivating, and curating their drive towards world tour success. Here I will compare the experiences a bit more directly to convey the experience:
- Company A – This was the first company to initiate a hiring process with me. As I wrote in my recruiter post, while they may have been first to start, they have been slow to process me through. While the initial call went well enough, the vibe from the hiring manager was neutral. When I asked about timeline, he didn’t exactly hide his reticence that is was “summer,” and so it’s slow getting folks together because of vacations. That is understandable. But it’s also possible someone has leap frogged me, and I’m being held in reserve. All I know is I gave availability for a team meeting request earlier this week and still haven’t heard back, but it would be surprising to see things move more quickly with this company all of a sudden.
- Company Z – I graduated from Code Fellows June 11th 2021, and immediately started applying to jobs. Unlike my first example, this process has been swift. I applied two weeks ago and I am looking at a team meeting soon. So, because of no standard process for hiring across the industry, it shows that a bombardment of LinkedIn applications can help you find your people – I am looking for a community of rock stars, and have no interest in being stabled as someone’s unicorn. So the power of culture-fit for me here is readily apparent.
- Cyber Operations Require Individual Elasticity. Alvin Toffler’s literacy for the 21st century amounted to a readiness to unlearn skills that become automated and prepare to learn new skills from the new work created as a consequence. Everyday the future comes to us a bit more quickly, networking between us hardens, and we are going to experience a lot more changes from technological change. Be flexible as the future continually arrives faster and faster each day, as flexibility and pliability help keep the brain from stagnating.
- Elastic Learners Are Life-Long Learners. So long as you are committed to developing your curiosity and find like-minded individuals with whom to work, there will always be better situations for life-long learners. While my teaching experiences alone were not enough to change my job prospects, the addition of skills that are enough definitely have strong support from the wealth of experience I can port over. But before you worry about my anecdote as privileged (and I acknowledge it is), please note that my favorite mentors in my new field came from much harder industries. They prove better than I that we are not what we do, but what we do what we are.
The numbers: I started applying before I graduated, sometime in April. Via LinkedIn only, I applied to 40 jobs via EasyApply. I also applied to at least 15 jobs through their LinkedIn posting that then took me to their site. Both companies in this case are NOT EasyApply (despite what I said in the previous post). However, I did earn a recruiter call via an EasyApply I did a few days ago. So, out of about 60 applications, I ended up with 4 recruiter calls, two of which have become extended processes, and one of which heads into a final round soon. Otherwise, the only other method not really discussed here is via network, or “who you know,” and I have one prospect developing from that connection, so there is definitely an imbalance between the two methods as I probably only have maybe a second person who could possibly help in that way. Still, that’s a 50% success rate compared to 6.7%. If I am fortunate enough to receive an offer and accept it with no further effort, I think I’d still count my efforts a success considering the method. Otherwise, the hunt continues…