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Comment by 5350-uiop-1130 | Hacker News Reader

- If a job has more than 2 rounds, no thanks.

- If they send me a leetcode or test before speaking to me, no thanks.

- If the job ad says anything about "culture", no thanks.

- If my first interview is with an HR person, no thanks.

- If the job ad or email mention anything about making a video of myself, I will delete that mofo with extreme prejudice.

- If the job application requires me to sign up to your website, no thanks.

I have 15 years of commercial experience. When I apply for a job, all I want is to speak to one technical person in the team that has oversight. If that is too much to ask then I'm just not throwing my name in that hat for the inevitable humiliation ritual.

But the reality is that (web-dev) jobs are over-saturated. There are plenty of people willing to go through this. Which is why I'm looking for a way out.

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> If my first interview is with an HR person, no thanks

I always think of these as a sniff-test. They just want to see if you are a real person, who can speak and recite whatever is on your CV/resume. If in-person, that you shower and dress. That's it. If you can pass that stage, you're on to the more expensive interviews.

This is exactly what they are. The HR person just needs to rule out the weirdos and North Korean hackers!

You would be foolish to not have that (very easy) chat with the Hr person just to progress

you have to ask, why are they getting weirdos and north korean hackers. that's the reason i dont want to engage with these kind of companies.

if you're talking to hr at stage 1, it just means the automated system validated your application has all the right keywords. its a red flag for me.

At my old startup I probably interviewed 80-100 people for all roles, from sales to SE. We’d have 3 rounds, the 1st being a quick 20min chat over the phone/call as a sniff test.

HR would do those to filter bullshitters, but also set expectations on culture, salary, work etc. If the person came from a huge bank and is joining a 50-people team, they need to understand the difference in work environments.

So I’d second other comments saying that I wouldn’t rule out a company just because HR is doing triage.

Edit: typo

I must stink, because I get most of my rejections at the HR stage.

But I also have no idea what to ask during them either. They always give their 10 minute spiel about what the company is, ask me to give my own 5-10 minute spiel about my work history, then ask if I have any questions. I give my 5-10 minutes of regurgitating my resume in sentence form, and then generally don't have any questions. what kind of questions would I have for HR during a first round interview that hasn't already been answered in a job posting or basic company research anyway?

Ask about the company culture and work environment, the team you’ll be working on. Compensation if they haven’t said anything yet.

This HR sniff test also serves to check for interest. When I interview, if the person has zero questions for me it means they don’t really care that much or weren’t paying attention. Questions mean you’re curious. A 10-minute speech about what the company is and the team does is not enough for you to understand the job and work, so follow-up questions are important. Also it lets the person know where your mind goes, what questions come up first, etc.

Just don’t brown-nose them and ask fake questions just to ask any :)

I don't ask about culture because even if I did, I wouldn't believe it unless I saw it. There is no incentive for people with bad culture to be truthful. And even then, I'd rather ask the people I'd be working with, not the HR department.

I do ask about the team I'll be working on, but that's basically it.

You're right that the 10 minute speech isn't enough. I'd even say it serves no value. Which is why it goes in one ear and out the other.

While I try to put on my fake HR face to hide it, I don't have interest. I'm a replaceable cog, and the company is a replaceable machine. But we all need money to live.

Tbh, if sounds like HR interviews want brown-nosing. Not in compliments or anything, but in asking the questions they expect you to ask, and faking your responses and enthusiasm to be just right to tickle their fancy.

Now post your compensation so people can see how far this attitude gets you.

I bet you’re making less than someone 2yrs out of school at a great company.

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