HN Explorer

Software engineers expected to make sacrifices to work for this company

23 points by djvv ↗ HN
Found this anonymous post on pastebin. It reflects Silicon Valley's attitude towards software engineers very well. --------------- I'm using Hired to get a pulse on the the market for Software Engineers, my target compensation is 10% more than I'm getting paid in my current position. So far, Hired has delivered quite well by connecting me with companies that value my desire to rationally allocate myself in the market. It's all about return on investment: your salary and other compensation in exchange for your time interviewing and developing software at a company.

Then I see this in a company's pitch:

""" PS: Please note that I'm looking for kickass engineers who want to build the backbone of an industry. But Hired encourages a bidding war. We don’t play along with that. Everyone here at _____ makes sacrifices to be here, because that's what it takes to be a startup, to build a successful company. You should be interested in _____ because of what we do, what you can learn here. We can figure out the salary / equity package once we both agree this is the best next opportunity for you. However, if the minimum salary is what matters to you, _____ is not for you and we’d just be wasting each others time. Please keep that in mind. Thanks! """

Software Engineers: please remember that everyday that you go to work is a market transaction and that transaction is something worth optimizing.

6 comments

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collyw
I hope they get zero applicants. Or someone really shitty.
csmdev
It's not just Silicon Valley. More and more employers see employees as an unnecessary cost. Even though they would crash and burn without them. A lot of people are pretty delusional in the current business world.
brudgers
The pitch is designed to screen out some people who are a poor fit for the company's business model.

A charitable reading allows for the possibility the company pays well. A less charitable one is that their logic is along the lines of why Nigerian scammers say they are from Nigeria.

http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=1677...

djvv
Great perspective. I've never went so far as to think of companies as scammers but it makes sense in some cases.
brogrammer90
They'll find some starry eyed 20 something to exploit. It's a tale as old as time.
cblock811
I've found that hiring people who are willing to make a sacrifice makes them hungrier to succeed. The company gets better workers, and (in my experience) the team is more solid. Not saying that will always be the case.