Ask HN: What should I do to land a position soon?
6 comments
Do you get a sense there’s more IC jobs out there than leadership since you’re actively looking? I’ve been curious.
Leadership is being cut and the competition is fiercer and the bar is higher relative to IC roles.
There are definitely a lot more IC roles, but they’re flooded with applications and you need an in to get your resume reviewed at all.
I’d recommend joining networking communities, building a presence there, and asking for intros based off that presence.
There are definitely a lot more IC roles, but they’re flooded with applications and you need an in to get your resume reviewed at all.
I’d recommend joining networking communities, building a presence there, and asking for intros based off that presence.
Thanks. I can try these things.
Hello! Thank you for your comment. Yes, there are quite a lot of IC positions compared to management, but almost every company on the west coast goes for LC. I have tried leetcode before and I definitely struggle with those. Besides, it's been 8 years in management so no hands on coding on day-to-day basis. I still do design reviews and I can code with assistance of LLMs but brain puzzles like LC get me. I see many IC positions requiring ML and AI. I have strong backend experience and little knowledge of model training or inference. I am learning ML/AI in the night after I put kids in the bed, but I doubt that's my strong suite to pass interviews.
I’m wishing you the best. From everything I hear, it’s one of the more challenging job markets in technology fields. If it comes to it, I’m sure you’d be able to refresh on LC quickly.
I am applying for EM roles but I am not seeing much response let alone phone screen or onsites. Most of my network and prior managers are not hiring or are laid off and some have even retired.
I am hesitant to go to IC roles as I am a bit rusty with code and not really good at leetcode. Can you share what worked for you in the current market? I would appreciate any practical guidance.