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Comment by maxk42 | Hacker News Reader

> I really underestimate the amount of stress that can be felt when you're alone facing 6 people for a job that you want.

Practice. Go on interviews even when you don't need a job. Get that practice in and get comfortable with it. I went on 18 - 30 interviews a year for many years when I was a contractor and got very good at interviewing over time. I still get a bit tense when the job is particularly appealing, but with practice it gets to the point where they'll rarely throw a question at you that you don't know how to handle.

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> "Practice. Go on interviews even when you don't need a job."

I'm ambivalent about this kind of advice. On the surface it seems right, and I've never been more comfortable in interviews than when I was thinking "I don't need this job", at the same time interviews are incredibly stressful time wasters. For a lot of people, interviewing is one of the most stressful situations they are going to be in, barring life or death situations.

Just the thought of 18 to 30 interviews a year makes me anxious and I don't even need to interview now.

I'm not a young person anymore, and interviewing more is not going to help me either. It's like pulling my teeth: not something I want to practice.

I think it can be good to see what’s out there, and interviews allow you to ask questions to the employer too. I’ve found it can be a good temperature check of how much I like my current job and organization, are my skills competitive, what’s my monetary worth, etc.

I love the feeling of “I don’t need this job” during interviews but I feel a lot of stress when I want the job/need it for some reason. I feel for people who NEED to interview often.

> Just the thought of 18 to 30 interviews a year makes me anxious and I don't even need to interview now.

That was their life as a contractor. I think the advice was just to do more than zero, not necessarily go to such an extreme. You can't really hold a full-time job and do that much interviewing unless it's just tiny screening interviews.

Isn't that the point? Stressful experiences become less stressful as you practice and get used to them.

I used to be stressed out speaking in front of 20 colleagues or landing a small plane. Not anymore.

Ah, yes, purposefully waste people's time. Fuck them, right?

I've seen this kind of attitude before, and it's usually justified with something about how the companies don't respect your time so why should you respect theirs. The thing is... the kind of people at these companies who don't care about your time are the kind of people who would do something like this.

Whiteboarding will continue until morale improves.

Sorry if I misunderstand you, but are you saying that it's wrong to interview for practice because it's wasting the company's time?

Interesting, never thought about this. I think I disagree though; these are the people who (usually) play games with you and put you through some very stressful situation during the interview. I think candidates should be able to practice in a low stakes environment, i.e. one where they can't lose because they didn't really want the job. It's only fair.

I'm not a great interviewer, but I always ask why the candidate is looking for a job, and more than once they've admitted they weren't actively looking but just testing the waters, and I didn't hold it against them...

Even if you are just practicing, it's still an opportunity for the company to convince you to change your mind.

> ...these are the people who (usually) play games with you...

I don't think this even matters, to be honest. Not only is interviewing good for you personally (as you said), but also lets the company gauge the talent pool in the job market a bit better.

Furthermore, if you have a positive experience with the company, there is precisely nothing stopping you from recommending it to your friends, should they be looking for work.

However, for the most part i agree with you in response to the previous commenter's post - interviewing is good in general, even when you don't need a job at that exact time. There's also the possibility of just reaching out afterwards, if the situation changes.

> Ah, yes, purposefully waste people's time. Fuck them, right?

as an interviewer, i'm far more concerned about the time spent sorting through piles of resumes from people who are just rolling the dice, and didn't read the job posting / aren't qualified.

maybe upper management cares about the time spent, but i'd be happy to talk for 45-60 minutes to somebody who was an even remotely passable candidate who didn't actually want a job.

Yeah, getting a company to schedule a full onsite interview panel is a big time investment, and lame if there's zero chance of it going anywhere. If some random person emails me asking for advice on how to practice relevant skills or prepare for an interview, though, I'll schedule a video chat right away and talk for hours if they want. I'll also hop on a call a few days after rejecting someone and give them detailed feedback if they want.

> maybe upper management cares about the time spent, but i'd be happy to talk for 45-60 minutes to somebody who was an even remotely passable candidate who didn't actually want a job.

Yup. If the job I've got for them is any good, if the company is good, and if I am good, they might turn into a hire anyway. That a qualified person doesn't need the job does not rule them out. It raises the bar and reminds us that interviewing goes both ways.

I fail to understand how you equate "Go on interviews even when you don't need a job." with "waste people's time." The idea is to interview when you don't need a job so that you can easily negotiate for the best possible offer. If they won't beat your current compensation or benefits you can say "thanks but no thanks" and if they can you can say "I'd be delighted!" Nobody's time is wasted - the hiring company just has a higher bar to meet to entice you to join their team. If anyone's time is wasted it's yours when they can neither make a competitive offer nor help you to improve your skills in the interview.

If you've only ever interviewed when you were desperate to take the first job that comes along then you're almost certainly under-compensated. Anyone who's not taking a better job when they get the chance is leaving money on the table.

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