How do people find jobs nowadays?

CptHamilton

I'm currently a Senior Software Engineer, looking for a new position either with the same title or moving up/across to Staff or Lead Engineer. But I haven't looked for a job in 6 years and I'm godawful terrible at networking. I've messaged a few contacts but the last time I went job-hunting I just hit up Glassdoor for places in the area that had a better satisfaction rating than where I worked at the time and looked at their careers pages. Nowadays I work remotely so, theoretically, I could work remotely for anybody anywhere. Glassdoor has made its search functionality godawful. Where do people look for jobs?

Burtletoy

You just click the easy apply button on LinkedIn and then try to figure out which ones are real and which ones are scams, but both the real ones and the scam ones will ask for your mother's maiden name and your social security number, etc.

Good luck!

see317

Burtletoy wrote: »

You just click the easy apply button on LinkedIn and then try to figure out which ones are real and which ones are scams, but both the real ones and the scam ones will ask for your mother's maiden name and your social security number, etc.

Good luck!

No, what you gotta do is print up a bunch of resumes, (make sure you use nice paper), then go door to door downtown and hand them to the manager. Don't just leave them with the receptionist, she won't know what to do with a resume.
And make sure you have a good firm hand shake and stand up straight. Make eye contact. Wear a tie.

Skeith

I look for civil work so ymmv, but Indeed sends me relevant stuff. LinkedIn has never been any kind of useful for me.

Cambiata

I last job searched in 2020. What I used then was mostly LinkedIn and Indeed. I did search on Glassdoor and some other places but didn't find them super helpful. One thing I've heard recently that seems like it might be true, though I have no independent verification so take it with a grain of salt, but after you apply for a job, see if you can message the hiring manager or a recruiter from the company on LinkedIn to let them know you applied - this helps cut through the automation that that might accidentally dump your resume for no reason. Also, put your resume on your LinkedIn profile so said HM can see your qualifications.

One thing I do for sure knows is true, and that is that if a listing is over 2 weeks old it's a waste of time to apply, usually. Job listings stay up longer than the company is looking for candidates because it's a housekeeping task to get them taken down and it gets forgotten in the shuffle. If you really want to apply for an old listing then go for it, just don't expect too much.

That stuff aside, the company I work for is pretty good, so I would recommend you apply with them. Added bonus is I should be able to find out who the HM is, so if you want to apply you can DM me for that info:

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/careers/jobs/senior-software-engineer-cloud-28081.html

I sadly don't know how long this listing has been up, but I can find out, if you're interested.

Magic Pink

i kill a chicken and bury it and a dollar bill with a sad face drawn on it atop the grave of the richest white man in the local cemetery

fingers crossed!

shadowane

Cambiata wrote: »

I last job searched in 2020. What I used then was mostly LinkedIn and Indeed. I did search on Glassdoor and some other places but didn't find them super helpful. One thing I've heard recently that seems like it might be true, though I have no independent verification so take it with a grain of salt, but after you apply for a job, see if you can message the hiring manager or a recruiter from the company on LinkedIn to let them know you applied - this helps cut through the automation that that might accidentally dump your resume for no reason. Also, put your resume on your LinkedIn profile so said HM can see your qualifications.

One thing I do for sure knows is true, and that is that if a listing is over 2 weeks old it's a waste of time to apply, usually. Job listings stay up longer than the company is looking for candidates because it's a housekeeping task to get them taken down and it gets forgotten in the shuffle. If you really want to apply for an old listing then go for it, just don't expect too much.

That stuff aside, the company I work for is pretty good, so I would recommend you apply with them. Added bonus is I should be able to find out who the HM is, so if you want to apply you can DM me for that info:

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/careers/jobs/senior-software-engineer-cloud-28081.html

I sadly don't know how long this listing has been up, but I can find out, if you're interested.

Splunk was really great when we used it.

Cambiata

Here's one more I didn't notice earlier because it didn't show up under the "remote" checkmark - though it is remote per the listing!

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/careers/jobs/principal-software-engineer-c-27313.html

There is also a SE role with no "senior" or "principal" in front of it, but just in case I'll include it also:

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/careers/jobs/software-engineer-27976.html

Satsumomo

The best results I've had have always been either through the company having an application form on their own site, or by getting a recommendation from someone who already works at said company, and having them submit my application for an available position.

I also once got a job through Reddit.

BlindZenDriver

This may look like something from a recruiter

If you mean the "anybody anywhere" bit, then you have the chance for an adventure. Take a look here: https://jobindex.dk/?lang=en

The job market here in Denmark is red hot, unemployment rate is around 2.8% and it has been like that for two years now. So there is lots of great jobs to choose from. And worth noticing is that a job in Denmark means a work-life balance is different from the US, a normal work week is 37 hours, the minimum is 5 weeks paid vacation per year and most place its 6 weeks and in some it is 7 weeks, sick days doesn't detract from those vacation days (actually if you do get sick while on vacation you will get those days replaced)...

Pretty much anyone here speaks English, in some Danish companies they even use English as the corporate language so don't think of language as a obstacle.

https://denmark.dk/working-in-denmark
https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world/

Paladin

I don't know if this works for software engineers but society conferences have job fairs built in

Though on second thought if you're computer science then your field probably isn't so old fashioned

A duck!

Magic Pink wrote: »

i kill a chicken and bury it and a dollar bill with a sad face drawn on it atop the grave of the richest white man in the local cemetery

fingers crossed!

This isn't SE, post help and or advice.

Space Pickle

Good luck!

zepherin

LinkedIn is where most employers post jobs these days.

Also having a LinkedIn profile that is active with a link on your resume increases interviews.

On the flip side having a not active LinkedIn profile, reduces interviews.

Zip recruiter and career builder are fine. But most of their posts are also on LinkedIn.

I’ve never been interviewed from applying on a company website.

For federal jobs usajobs.gov state and county jobs apply from the careers sections on their respective sites. However state and county hiring sites are often shit shows.

scherbchen

BlindZenDriver wrote: »

This may look like something from a recruiter

If you mean the "anybody anywhere" bit, then you have the chance for an adventure. Take a look here: https://jobindex.dk/?lang=en

The job market here in Denmark is red hot, unemployment rate is around 2.8% and it has been like that for two years now. So there is lots of great jobs to choose from. And worth noticing is that a job in Denmark means a work-life balance is different from the US, a normal work week is 37 hours, the minimum is 5 weeks paid vacation per year and most place its 6 weeks and in some it is 7 weeks, sick days doesn't detract from those vacation days (actually if you do get sick while on vacation you will get those days replaced)...

Pretty much anyone here speaks English, in some Danish companies they even use English as the corporate language so don't think of language as a obstacle.

https://denmark.dk/working-in-denmark
https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world/

Same goes for Germany, although life might not be as nice as in Denmark arguably.

https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working-in-germany/job/looking-for-job for some starting info, also linked there the much better EU-centric portal https://eures.ec.europa.eu/index_en

Mind you the vast majority of these will be for people willing to relocate, nowadays a quite common (if lengthy) process most employers would cover for you. If this is not a deal-breaker for you, heck, it is an upside for some people, then this might be an approach. Anything IT related is quite sought after.

BlindZenDriver

scherbchen wrote: »

Same goes for Germany, although life might not be as nice as in Denmark arguably.

Germany is totally nice also. Granted, you don't have our Little Mermaid or Danish, however you have Reinheitsgebot and Oktoberfest.

Aldo

BlindZenDriver wrote: »

scherbchen wrote: »

Same goes for Germany, although life might not be as nice as in Denmark arguably.

Germany is totally nice also. Granted, you don't have our Little Mermaid or Danish, however you have Reinheitsgebot and Oktoberfest.

Depending on your state there are some iffy issues with minimum wage and labor protections, and the influence of religion on daily life and the way they are embedded into social policies can be off-putting if you're not Christian. Vice versa Denmark skews rather anti-immigration/conservative and loves to wave their flag around wherever they are, so if you don't look Danish you probably will run into some of those sentiments.

Edit: which is to say: do your research, don't expect literal heaven on earth and there's a lot of great opportunities if you want to migrate.

CptHamilton

I'm 43, own a home, and have 5 cats and a wife who's a lawyer, so moving to another country is probably possible but pretty unlikely.

Thanks for the advice, all.

daveNYC

I know the networking thing isn't something you're good at, but perhaps there's someone or some group in your locality that does networking events? Getting past the automated gatekeeping systems (or just general indifference about doing their job) at HR is usually the toughest hurdle.

honovere

BlindZenDriver wrote: »

scherbchen wrote: »

Same goes for Germany, although life might not be as nice as in Denmark arguably.

Germany is totally nice also. Granted, you don't have our Little Mermaid or Danish, however you have Reinheitsgebot and Oktoberfest.

Currently one of the ongoing narratives in the media here is that expats kinda hate it in Germany and are leaving faster than new ones coming in. Unfriendly colleagues (including alot of everyday low level racism), shitty beaurocracy with no digitalisation and unfriendly employees that only speak german, high rents, etc.

https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/german-expat-news/germany-ranked-hardest-country-to-start-a-new-life-as-an-expat#:~:text=Of the 52 countries assessed,10 in the international ranking.

tynic

I don't think the rents are too bad by US standards (mind you I haven't been there in 10 years), but the rest is unfortunately true. It also sounds like country-level relocation isn't on the cards for the OP.

My work area is fairly niche, so I don't know how applicable this is to software engineering, but a lot of jobs in my field are posted on ye olde email mailing lists. If you're an expert in a specialty topic like computer vision or similar, there are usually university-run mailing lists you can sign up to that a lot of companies will post jobs to.

Cello

Sorta surprised no one suggested Indeed yet. That was where I primarily did my job searches up until the last year or so when I resolved to keep my roles internal to my org. My field doesn't tend to post much on LinkedIn as a mechanical engineer - Indeed comparatively has a lot more generalized roles and can scrape websites that aren't posted to it afaik.

I'd set up a few keyword searches and when browsing back to the site later it can tell you how many new relevant postings there are to each. Helps if you're doing a brief check daily because you can skim through relevant postings and then call it quits for the day.

zepherin

Cello wrote: »

Sorta surprised no one suggested Indeed yet. That was where I primarily did my job searches up until the last year or so when I resolved to keep my roles internal to my org. My field doesn't tend to post much on LinkedIn as a mechanical engineer - Indeed comparatively has a lot more generalized roles and can scrape websites that aren't posted to it afaik.

I'd set up a few keyword searches and when browsing back to the site later it can tell you how many new relevant postings there are to each. Helps if you're doing a brief check daily because you can skim through relevant postings and then call it quits for the day.

Oh yeah methodology. It’s easy to forget the method and process might be the ticket and not the site.

For me when I have been unemployed my method was to treat job hunting as a job.

I got up same time had a cup of coffee and started with zip recruiter and linked in and I checked back 3 days, honestly don’t bother applying for jobs older than a week unless you are in a super niche field, then I would tab open all the jobs that were related to my skill set, then I’d open the other sites and do the same if they had unique jobs.

I would then bounce every job that I didn’t like, was a repost/duplicate, I already applied for, where the employer was low quality, where I was unqualified, or the pay wasn’t good (if listed).

The goal was to have 7-10 jobs each day to apply to. Tuesday had the most jobs Friday the least

I had 5 versions of my resume I used depending on the industry.

This is the numbers game. 40-50 positions per week is the pipeline. I would generate 4-5 calls per week and an interview every other week. And I’d get an offer after about a month or 2. Sometimes more than one offer, but in those cases one company is coming in way low. Then I negotiate with the high offer and usually accept that position.