State of the Market

[SussexSeagull]

This is a potential contract and there is no career in the client's company so to speak, so there is no need to answer in a way that will make lead think they are under a threat. You are there to do the project and leave.
Talk friendly, answer enough to pass and make sure to ask the lead questions that will put them in a good light. They should see you as a business that provides a service they can use and not a replacement.

Problem is you have a brief window to sell yourself in what can be a competitive field. I think you are crediting some middle managers as having a strategic overview of the businesses requirements when in fact they are prioritising what will make their life easier in the next six months.

Some people can't handle what they see as a threat.

[SueEllen]

Or for all we know, he may have been very happy working in the team and may have taken pride and pleasure in gently guiding our team towards better coding practices. In the end, I have no idea what he would have done or not done, because the main hiring managers didn't speak to him. I was very keen on hiring him, but I was outnumbered by people that judged him solely on his seniority and experience and made up stories in their heads for the rest.

And he wanted the role because he could spend his time concentrating on something else like writing a book on screwed up companies or bringing up his children/caring for his parent with dementia.

[TheDogsNads]

I wouldn't claim for a minute to have a CV that impressive but I have had interviews for Test roles when you can tell in two minutes the Test Lead/Manager sees you as a threat.

Totally agree. I went for an interview once with Abramovic's gas company. The interviewer was late 20's, I put him at 28, 29? The agent had told me he'd interviewed 10 people before but didnt find the 3 people he needed.

Interview questions were pretty basic stuff but he rejected me and the next 9 candidates the agent submitted. The agent was pretty frustrated over the number of cv's they'd submitted and roughly 20 interviewed that had all been rejected.

They asked me why did I think he was rejecting so many people. I said first, he doesnt know what he's looking for, second, he must feel insecure about his position coming under threat from the other candidates. Third, he simply wasnt managerial material himself and couldnt make a decision.

[SussexSeagull]

Totally agree. I went for an interview once with Abramovic's gas company. The interviewer was late 20's, I put him at 28, 29? The agent had told me he'd interviewed 10 people before but didnt find the 3 people he needed.

Interview questions were pretty basic stuff but he rejected me and the next 9 candidates the agent submitted. The agent was pretty frustrated over the number of cv's they'd submitted and roughly 20 interviewed that had all been rejected.

They asked me why did I think he was rejecting so many people. I said first, he doesnt know what he's looking for, second, he must feel insecure about his position coming under threat from the other candidates. Third, he simply wasnt managerial material himself and couldnt make a decision.

As you say the other sign is plenty of other candidates getting turned down. My personal favourite was the time I was asked a logical question and they got the answer wrong! No matter how many times I explained it they wouldn't admit their mistake.

[KentDogWalker]

Sometimes you find when lead devs are on the interview and asking you questions sometimes you a good technical knowledge and experience can go against you, I have seen that a few times hence why I never try and judge interviews until I get a concrete answer

They see you as a threat, especially if they are not the best in terms of technical skills and are wary of what they actually do and how they work being made public to the management

I've been there, one guy we hired went out of the way to highlight every small complaint he had with my code on github (always avoiding dm's), after I was the one that got him up to speed in the project and he asked me a ton of qu's. Eventually, a few weeks later I was out of the job.

Moral is, no one is your friend in tech land.

[cwah]

I had a recruiter contacting me on Linkedin for a potential contract.

I asked first if to confirm that it's a contract and potential day rate. (I always do that to save time). Then he offered to have a chat and asked my number.

Soon after, he called me and I answered him but said I had a meeting in 2min and asked to call in 15 min, which he agreed.

What happened after, is that he never called back. I tried to call and it went to just a bip and no voicemail.

I messaged him again on linked to say I'm free. No more answer. Then I called again few more times that day and nothing.

He didn't accept my connection request on linkedin either. I realised he blocked me.

First time it happened to me, are there that many candidate that now if they don't get through directly they just block the candidate to save time?

[ladymuck]

I had a recruiter contacting me on Linkedin for a potential contract.

I asked first if to confirm that it's a contract and potential day rate. (I always do that to save time). Then he offered to have a chat and asked my number.

Soon after, he called me and I answered him but said I had a meeting in 2min and asked to call in 15 min, which he agreed.

What happened after, is that he never called back. I tried to call and it went to just a bip and no voicemail.

I messaged him again on linked to say I'm free. No more answer. Then I called again few more times that day and nothing.

He didn't accept my connection request on linkedin either. I realised he blocked me.

First time it happened to me, are there that many candidate that now if they don't get through directly they just block the candidate to save time?

That agent sounds like an arse. To block a potential candidate is foolish - you may not be in the right place at the right time one day but another day you could be earning him a lot of commission. Don't waste your time and energy trying to work out why they're such an idiot.

[Bluenose]

First proper day of looking - found 5 things to apply for and have had zero calls. Usually I get call within 5 mins of submitting an application pre-covid

Pretty much 90% of market in same boat.

Old hands know we have been here before and it will pass.

[simes]

Even calling them is an issue. I normally follow up with a call after the CV has been sent if the match is more than ordinarily spot on. But of course now, phones are either unmanned or messages have to be taken for homeworkers.

Can I have their mobile number? Of course not, that would be contrary to a hundred privacy rules.

And so, the words 'black' and 'hole' come to mind when dispatching CVs.

[GhostofTarbera]

Even calling them is an issue. I normally follow up with a call after the CV has been sent if the match is more than ordinarily spot on. But of course now, phones are either unmanned or messages have to be taken for homeworkers.

Can I have their mobile number? Of course not, that would be contrary to a hundred privacy rules.

And so, the words 'black' and 'hole' come to mind when dispatching CVs.

Pm them on linkin


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