So you got rejected...
Managing motivation in the job hunt
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By far the worst part of my job is rejecting candidates. Often, they will tell me that an interview went so well and that the company seems wonderful, only for me to hear from the company that they were not that great.
It's hard not to get cynical and lose hope. However, I will say that after years of doing this - getting rejected is not a big deal.
The goal is to make rejection feel more like you lost at a slot machine than your significant other just asked for a divorce.
Tinder theory of job hunting
I often see candidates dutifully review a company and a job, promptly fall in love, only to get their heart broken once they never get a response back. They had already imagined themselves wearing the company T-shirt and going to the offsites! It has a bit of a hopeless romantic vibe, and after 3 or 4 cycles I often end up playing the role of therapist over recruiter.
My advice? Be less of a hopeless romantic and more of a Pro-level Tinder user. It's what I call the Tinder Theory of job hunting.
Don’t fall in love with any job or company. Don’t focus on one company at a time. Instead, fall in love with the idea of getting a new job. Fall in love with the idea of becoming an amazing interviewee, of nailing technical interviews with your eyes closed. Have multiple interviews going on at the same time, and don’t focus on just one. It's a pipeline - you will lose opportunities at every step, but in the end you’ll find a job. After all, you only need one.
Swipe right, indiscriminately! You’ll learn as you go along.
Remember “What no means”
Here is what “no” could mean -
You applied at the end of the cycle, and I already have an offer out and so you are a backup candidate.
The business is taking a hit and I need to pause hiring anybody right now
You are a great candidate but I found somebody who fits what I want better
The job is not a priority right now, I have to stop interviewing people for it.
My CFO just cut the budget for the role.
I don’t really know anything about hiring in LatAm, and I don’t want to take any risks that could make me look bad at work.
I actually am not hiring for this position now, but I want to build a pipeline of candidates for when I do.
Here is what “no” doesn’t mean:
I spent hours learning about you, I know you inside and out. And I’ve determined that you have no value and will never get a job, ever.
(shoutout to Seth Godin for the post that inspired this part)
Criticism is feedback, not an attack.
Don’t let your ego get wrapped up in feedback. Nobody likes hearing negative feedback, but it's not personal, I promise. Ask for feedback, especially after having done a large amount of work.
And feedback falls into 3 categories that you can improve. (FYI - the feedback is never “you are a loser”)
English/Communication skills - aka is he a guy/gal who I could work with and understand?
Get to a B2 level of English.
Practice talking about each point in your resume (do it in front of the mirror! In the car! In the shower! To your dog!)
Review classic behavioral questions and rehearse answers to them. Also to your dog.
Resume - aka is your resume easily digestible by a US audience.
Take a look at this doc if you want some tips or inspiration.
Technical Ability - aka did you answer the algo/data structure/design question well.
Review actual technical interviews in English - interviewing.io has a good selection on their Youtube channel.
So tell your ego to get lost, and just practice those again and again. After all, it's just business.
Our friend, Vicente Plata (@xnt) shared this interesting thread about his experience with the option “Open to new opportunities” checked on LinkedIn.
His advice: “Never stop interviewing”. We cannot agree more...
You might want to check how it went and how very experienced developers like him deal with the recruiting pipeline.
Another one company going full remote: Atlassian (should we rename this section “Latest company to go remote”?).
Now, the Australian software giant’s employees can work from wherever they want. This switch will allow them to expand its recruiting efforts outside regions where they have established offices. A parte del cambio horario, podría ser opción interesante para los devs Latinoamericanos.
Want to “gringificar” your resume? I keep doing free resume reviews on Wednesday and Fridays. Pick a time here. Lo podemos hacer en español si te sientes más cómodo.
Nos encantaría saber tus experiencias con el tema de la semana, si tienes otros tips para manejar rejections en tu búsqueda de trabajo share them with us @GringoJobs or @GeorgesJanin on Twitter.
Peace and Jobs,
Georges