I apologise in advance my potatoes. I’m writing this fueled with anger. I’m frustrated and disappointed at the job market for the tech sector of today. I knew it was bad but i didn’t realise it was would be THIS bad. I personally have never struggled to land a role. I work HARD i do my prep, i network and i make sure i give it my 110%.
It does not seem to be enough anymore. Now you are expected to have a 20 years experience at the age of 30 and be an influencer in your field (I’m in product and LinkedIn is disgusting for it).
Recruiters.
you wonderful being i admire you but GOD DAMN IT STOP BEING SO RUDE. I know it can’t be easy for you to have 100s of CVs for a single job, but each and every person on the other side of the CV has got their hopes attached to the role.
If you’re going to tell me you’ll get back to me – DO get back to me. Consistency.
If we have an interview, DO NOT turn up 15 minutes late with no notice. And for those who did show up eventually, do your homework? Side story: On a second-stage interview for a company I’d spent 5 days preparing for my son of Satan, the interviewer decided, “Nah.” He wanted to REDO my first-stage interview and tell me I was not qualified for the role. At this point he’d wasted my recruiter, his counter, mine and HIS time.
And for the love of god, don’t bother coming back to after 3 weeks of radio silence only to say “we regret to inform you” with some generic level bullshit. I get it. There are loads of us, but I would rather forget and move on than feel like a complete afterthought.
Remember the wise saying, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Let’s adapt that to: If you do not have anything constructive to say, maybe just skip the feedback and save us both some time.
I recently received real feedback: “Your CV didn’t compare to the candidates we’ve interviewed. I’d take a look at that.”
Tech.
I have always been a lover of new tech. I like how it’s evolving and for the most part advocate for it. Yet I loathe Applicant Tracking Systems now. They have yet to make my life easy, i don’t know how well its serving the employers themselves. If there is anyone from workday or greenhouse reading this – PLEASE REACH OUT I HAVE A FEW IDEAS FOR YOU.
The agony of waiting WEEKS in between interviews has become demoralising. The job market is now getting to a point where I am questioning my choice of leaving. Mind you, I never made that decision lightly, but it was a matter of mental health. The current market is making me reconsider a choice I made to better my mental health. – how F**** is that?
I get it’s a hard time and for the most part I’m empathetic to both sides, employers don’t have it easy with all everything becoming more expensive and having to constantly cut costs. I also understand the need to hire someone that has direct experience but Sirs and Madams I have said it time and time again – HIRE non-direct people. They will bring fresh perspectives and change up the mundane energy.
Never have I felt more pressure, I have responsibilities – like most of you. I have bills to pay for people to look after. It’s a terrifying time to not know when I could land something let alone it being a role or an industry I’d love to be in.
What I would love to see is the gap between higher manager and on the ground works to be minimised. I have never supported the idea of “hierarchy” but given the current market and how a lot of jobs are being held by very incompetent middle managers, I’d love to see them disappear to free up budget for the competent workers. I would love to see business hiring for efficiencies. Not silly strategies such as asking 1 person to do three peoples work and then when they quit paying someone new 2 peoples salary.
Sorry my loves, Vent over.
Until I finish doing my portfolio pages,
CP x
The adventures of a charming potato. 
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