Ask HN: Am I unhirable?

Ah, so you make it to the "culture fit" round of the interview... It's probably some personal issue. Make sure your hygiene is on point.

Keep applying, this industry is hot!

mosalarynolife indicates it's the cultural fit part of the interview. If that's the case, do some googling on how to improve that part of your interview process. Another thought, is it possible they don't want to pay what you're asking?

I'm sure you're hirable. You probably already know this but keep your head up, don't take these rejections personally, all that stuff. If I were in your position I'd be tempted to believe I'm an imposter, so be on the lookout for signs of imposter syndrome.

It's tempting to believe that it's not your fault and the world is out to get you but the best thing to do is figure out where you're falling short and try to fix it. Most companies will not give honest and specific feedback because doing so can be a liability. Look at your take home projects. What could you have done better? How long did it take you finish? Review whatever you remember from code challenges, technical questions, etc. What might you have missed?

Take a close look at the others in the office when you 'walk through' to the conference room.

"Ripped jeans and Concert T's" vs "Suit & Tie" vs "other"

In my experience, the apparel of the others makes a huge difference on how you are perceived. If this is a 'Silicon Valley Garage hacker' wannabe and you show up wearing a full suit you will be ostracized before you open your mouth.

I've gone as far as hanging out at a bus stop near a potential employer and watch how the staff are dressed as they leave for the day, just to get a feel of what average is. Then make sure you dress _moderately_ better then that average.

This could also be double-speak for "you are too old, old man!"

You just need to Know why you are rejects from the HR and works on that area for the next interiew...I hope it helps...

I am having the same problem. I have two decades of experience, but now I have a large gap in my employement. Most recently I spent 7 weeks interviewing with a company for a position I was super solid on, and then after 7 weeks, 3 in person interviews and being told I was "in background check phase" -- even though we hadnt even signed a single document/filled out any paperwork I was ghosted for two weeks and then told "we are not adding to the team at this time"

I'm basically suicidal at this point. I have no freaking idea what to do.

I apply to many many jobs and get through multiple conversations and then either ghosted, lied to or rejected.

I would like to know if someone can run a background check on me and tell me what others might see?

I spoke to a friend and they said they know others who are experiencing this as well -- and effectively I am experiencing age-ism now that I am in my 40s

Companies are not looking to hire you (nothing personal) but merely to support some existing employee immigration routine which requires hiring company to prove there are no local, appropriately skilled candidates available.

Tons of these job offers are not really job offers but are merely necessary immigration steps for someone who already hired.

Guaranteed rejection for all unaware off-the-street applicants regardless of skills and experience.

That's happened to me a couple of times. Maybe you just need to look in a different city.

You have 4 years experience so obviously you are hireable. Keep at it, you'll find something eventually.

I just posted this in another thread.

I’m Not Great at Technical Interviews. How I Got Hired: https://sendgrid.com/blog/im-great-technical-interviews-got-...

Maybe it is a technique you could leverage. I think the guy who wrote the article is possibly the best hire I've been a part of ever.

Don't fabulate stories in your head that are not useful to you. There is nothing "wrong" with you. The reasons could be manyfold. You could try to figure out why you didn't land a job, or, far more easy and effective, just keep going and focus on what you want, on your strengths, on how to sell yourself. Eventually, it'll work out.

Side note: we developers are a spoiled bunch. 4 rejections and you want to give up on the entire industry?

I'm really surprised that nobody has pointed out that your 4 rounds of rejection have all been in the most competitive city in the world for software developers. I am a software developer of average skill who lives in the midsouth and I swear to god I can't get recruiters to leave me alone. Have you considered expanding your search beyond the SF area? NYC, Chicago, and Atlanta all have world class tech scenes and are not nearly as competitive as the Bay Area. Nashville and Charlotte are rapidly evolving into tech centers as well, with relatively low cost of living.

Giving up on the software industry because you couldn't hack it in SF is like giving up on the NFL because you were a second round draft.

There's way too many factors to be able to say what the common reason is (if there is any).

You've worked for 'various startups', so obviously you're good enough to be hired by someone. You just need to find the right job.

I'd wager that more than 50% of candidates that get rejected have it happen for reasons completely unrelated to them. Last minute hiring plan changes, an interviewer having a bad day, disorganization, and arbitrary HR hoops can all be valid reasons. Also don't forget that hiring processes vary greatly company to company, and it was way more informal/disorganized than you are imagining in your head.

It's not very clear from your post, but are you making it to on-site interviews? If you are passing phone screens and getting the take-home, but not getting invited to on-sites, you could be punching above your weight a little bit. Try applying for more junior positions and see if you are seeing the same results. If you are making it to on-site interviews but not getting offers, it is either your in-person technical interviewing skills, or more likely, your personal skills.

Practicing technical interviewing skills is easy. Being 'likeable'/passing the 'culture fit' is much harder to nail down and really depends on the company / interviewer.

Four rejections is really not that many in the grand scheme of things. Keep applying, keep interviewing. Ask a friend or find someone online and practice interview them. Try to see things from the other perspective, and pretend that you really are going to give someone an offer. Hiring someone isn't as easy as 'we need someone, and this person can code'.

Also, consider expanding your search outside the bay area. I don't live or work there, but it seems like everything tech is exaggerated there. You are competing at the highest level there, so getting an offer will be harder than other cities.

I am looking to hire for this role but i saw bay area, i don't think i can match your expectation. Maybe if u moved somewhere else in low COL, i can help u get remote jobs. As long as features are being implemented, no one cares about the interviews.

Four rounds of interviews is not that many nowadays in 2018. In the past 2 years before I landed in my current role where I'm happy with, I went through about 8~10 rounds of on-sites like that (spread out over 2 years) before getting an offer. I have 13 years of experience in Silicon Valley with a CS degree at a Top 50 university (Top 10 public) and I'm not even seeking leadership positions, just IC, and in some cases just interviewing for mid level.

Anecdotally, trends in recruiting in tech startups have gotten strange. Companies nowadays like to complain about shortage of talent, but interviewers like to be super picky (I've been on that side of the fence the past couple years, to witness the passing of perfectly fine candidates who just didn't get A+ on the interviews by other interviewers). In 2008 I would interview for 2-3 companies and get an offer. In those days I also interviewed candidates for the employer and ended up hiring a lot of great engineers, whose interview performance would not be considered good by standards nowadays (but they did end up being perfectly good devs in the company we ended up hiring them at). Those days are mostly gone. FAANGs have popularized being extremely picky at hiring and smaller startups picked up on this and believe it to be the right way to hire.

It's a messed up situation.