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      in Talent Acquisition

      Interviewing After a Layoff? How to Be Confident & Become a Top Candidate

      by

      The third article in our series to help jobseekers bounce back better than ever…

      Once you’ve absorbed the news of a layoff, organized your financials, and taken the next steps to kick off your job search, you’re ready. It’s time to begin interviewing after your layoff. Employed but concerned about the stability of your role or company? Use this article series to get organized and feel more prepared for changes.

      Win at Interviewing after a Layoff

      Securing interviews starts with job applications. Prioritize your job applications at a high volume, but what’s the best way to end with success? According to Pathrise Growth Marketing Associate Alex Macpherson and Career Strategist Mentor Ash Ayvar, it’s best to diversify your application sources by using multiple job boards and sending personalized cold emails to recruiters.

      Cold Email Tips and Tricks for Communicating with Hiring Teams from Pathrise

      Before you start sending out cold emails, there are a few things you need to know:

      Make sure to submit your application alongside or before you send a cold email.Focus your cold emailing efforts toward roles you feel passionate about and companies you would be excited to join. Narrow your focus to organizations with less than 500 people. This increases the likelihood someone will read and take action on your message.Stick to the weekends or early in the week when sending cold emails – if you send them on a Thursday or Friday, they’re less likely to be read. If you must, use ‘schedule send’ features, like in Gmail.It’s ok to send your cold email to multiple people within an organization, but keep the number of contacts to three or four at max. Choose contacts from different teams and divisions, too, or else you risk your email coming off as spammy. Don’t CC – send a separate email to each contact, even if your copy is the same.

      Pro Tip:

      These emails don’t have to be totally “cold.” Follow the guidance in Chapter 2 of this series, to grow your network through social media and informational interviews. That work may pay off in some “warm” leads on jobs or referrals. Proactive actions like this often reveal roles that haven’t been posted yet. In fact, this work cuts down on the outreach talent acquisition and sourcers need to do – you’re helping them!

      It’s worth noting, for technologists and sales or customer experience professionals who join the Hired platform, this type of outreach becomes unnecessary. Hired turns the job search dynamic upside down and once your profile is complete, we promote you to matching employers and roles. Employers search for you, requesting interviews with compensation information upfront. You decide which interviews you wish to accept – you can even pause your profile if you get too many interview requests at once. See how Hired works here.

      When Interviewing After a Layoff, Be Authentic and Upfront

      Many candidates suffer some anxiety and nervousness about discussing their layoffs in subsequent interviews. Fortunately, you really don’t need to worry so much about it. Be upfront and authentic in how you talk about the situation. Keep your answers focused – there’s no need to go into lots of information about the layoff and waste valuable interview time. 

      Do acknowledge the layoff and explain it with relevant context. It may be helpful to give specific details. For example, is there a factual number or percentage of how many employees on your team or overall were laid off? Weave it in. Doing so helps your interviewer better understand your situation and illustrates you were one of many. 

      Was the reduction in force (RIF) part of a merger or acquisition? If the employer is a publicly-traded company, they may have disclosed multiple reasons in shareholder communications or in published articles you could reference. Layoffs happen for a variety of causes and the point is not to dwell on it, especially when such workforce decisions are beyond your control. 

      In general, employers know layoffs are painful to talk about and will respect the information you choose to provide. Find a positive from the experience and lean into it. It might be how proud you were of your team while there, because XYZ. Or, how the time off allowed you to pursue a certification you didn’t have time for before. Maybe the change inspired you to do something you wouldn’t have done otherwise, like train for a marathon or pivot careers. Perhaps it allowed you time to spend with loved ones when they needed you. 

      Pro Tip:

      As part of your pre-interview research, study any “core values” or mission statements the company has. Do not parrot these, but think about how your experiences, while working and while laid off, align with these ideals and echo them in your answers. 

      For example, JPMorgan Chase & Co., says on their site, “In a fast-moving and increasingly complex global economy, our success depends on how faithfully we adhere to our core principles: delivering exceptional client service; acting with integrity and responsibility; and supporting the growth of our employees.” 

      When discussing your career or time during a layoff, could you share examples where you: 

      delivered exceptional service, or went above and beyond expectations? acted with integrity and responsibility, or did the right thing, even when it may have been difficult? supported the growth of employees, or facilitated the development of others, as a volunteer, a coach, or a parent? 

      Related: How to Answer “Tell Me About Yourself” Interview Question for Tech Talent, Video Interviews 101: How to Impress in the Digital Age

      Highlight Your Growth During Employment Gaps

      Resume or employment gaps are another area of concern for job seekers following a layoff, no matter how much time has passed. How will you explain that time? 

      Focus on how you’ve grown during this period and turn this gap into an asset. Highlight what you’ve done to enhance your skills instead of allowing them to fade during this period.

      Tell your interviewer about the things you’ve done to improve your skills and build new ones during the layoff period. Whether you took an online course or worked a temporary contract job, it shows you have been proactive. Maybe you volunteered your skills to a local nonprofit. 

      Employers know layoffs put individuals in less-than-ideal circumstances, so they appreciate an interviewee who has demonstrated commitment to professional growth and development in spite of them. 

      Related: Flip the Script: How to Handle an Employment Gap on Your Resume

      Spotlight Your Past Performance & Growth

      Share the value you’ve provided through your work, even on your last team. When you offer achievements and results, this information becomes more impactful to your candidacy than your layoff. Detail the metrics of your work and share highlights of your past projects establishing you as a valuable asset to your team or organization.

      Keep Your Head Up – You Can Do This

      The layoff period is often a humbling time for many. During these days, weeks, or months, you’ve likely done your fair share of reflection on your experience and your career. Share insights about what you learned during this period while highlighting your resilience and unwavering confidence. 

      No matter what you’ve been through during your layoff, it’s crucial to remain optimistic about the interview process. No matter what role you are interviewing for, character matters. Your positivity in spite of an unfortunate situation reflects best on your character. Resist any urges to speak bitterly about your past employers and focus on the new opportunities ahead of you.

      Interviewing After a Layoff is for You, Too

      Post-layoff job seeking can be tricky. While you want to secure a new job as soon as possible, don’t rush yourself too much. Balance this time between searching for new roles and making sure the urge to get hired right away doesn’t lead you to compromise your career goals.

      The interview can teach you a lot about your potential new work environment so you can decide if it’s the right fit – both culture-wise and in terms of job security. Here are some example questions to help you elicit this information when interviewing after a layoff:

      Why are you proud to work here?Do you feel supported in your career growth and professional development by this organization? How does the organization make you feel that way?What’s the process like for providing feedback to a team member?Is collaboration encouraged here? If so, how?Tell me about a time when you saw the company’s main values in action.Has this company ever gone through layoffs in the past? If so, how were they handled?Can you tell me about the company’s financial situation? Is it profitable? Are future investments secured? The company’s solvency is a legitimate question, especially if you’ve experienced layoffs due to cost-cutting measures. Be respectful, and read the room, but don’t feel like you can’t politely inquire at all. Also, do your homework. Don’t ask questions with answers available to you via Google. 

      Related: Ace Your Interview & Get Your Questions Answered

      Cheers to Your New Role!

      The discomfort of interviewing after a layoff doesn’t have to derail your future job search. Take the time to process the situation and decide what you want moving forward. Set yourself up for success during your job search by honing your network beforehand. When it’s time for interviews, be confident and highlight the positives you’ve achieved over this time.

      Related: Chapter 1: Part of a Layoff? Steps Jobseekers in Tech & Sales Need to Take First

      Chapter 2: Laid Off? Next Steps to Find Your Dream Job in Tech or Sales More

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      in Talent Acquisition

      What are the Best Programming Languages to Get a Software Developer Job?

      by

      Hired & Exponent partner for engineering career advice video series

      Hired, along with our partner Exponent, recently completed a video series exploring such as what the best programming languages for software developers to get a job. The series featured three of our talented engineers: Nico Thiebaut, Prakash Patel, and Dan Baker, discussing subjects such as:

      How to Become a Machine Learning EngineerTop Programming Languages to Land a Job (in 2022).Engineering Manager vs. Individual Contributor (IC) Path

      Dan Baker is a former boot camper, now an Engineering Manager at Hired, a tech marketplace that matches talent with employers for roles around the world. He’s currently leading the work on the Hired Assessments product, helping candidates show their skills and find their dream jobs. 

      Based on the Hired State of Software Engineers report, these “top” skills or languages are taken from data on more than 360,000 interactions between companies and candidates on the platform. 

      Here’s a quick summary of the conversation Dan Baker had with Lucas from Exponent. To watch the full interview, scroll down to the bottom of the article.

      First, what are the top programming languages for individual contributors (IC) in software development? 

      Based on the report data: Go, Ruby on Rails, Scala, Ruby, and React Native. 

      What are the most in-demand programming skills for managers?

      Ruby on Rails, Scala, AWS, Google Cloud, and Ruby. 

      What are engineers’ favorite programming languages and skills?

      According to survey data of tech talent on the Hired platform, it’s Python, Javascript, Java, Typescript, C-Sharp, and Go.

      What did you find the most interesting about the top programming languages among developers this year?

      Well-established technologies valuable to new programmers due to their staying power

      When I got started, Ruby was the main language that was normal. It was easy for people to understand. It was the first language for a lot of people. It’s no surprise to me that Ruby on Rails, as the first usable framework, has so much popularity. 

      Today there are probably not that many projects getting started in Ruby but there are many being maintained in it. That really speaks to the legacy nature of coding. 

      Trendy or not, programming languages on the rise help employability

      What stands out to me are languages like Go and Scala because they seem to be newer languages on the rise. People aren’t learning Go and getting Go engineers because they have to. It’s because they want to build new things with Go. 

      To an extent, that’s the truth with React Native but it’s more so the nature of React dominating the front-end framework landscape.

      Do you encourage your team to regularly learn new technical skills? What skills specifically? 

      I frame my advice to my direct reports around:

      How we can position the story for the resume for their next job? What’s the best way to sell this for you to get a promotion internally? How can you sell this for yourself for your next role? 

      Usually, it’s less about the technology and more about solving a business case. That’s what will matter to the hiring manager in the future. The technology is usually secondary. 

      One of my engineers is deep in Terraform right now, another knows more about React than anybody it seems, and then another knows the ins and outs of Django in a way that probably very few people know. When I’m suggesting people learn new skills it’s really catered to the use case, 100%.

      What programming language is best for someone just learning to code?

      If I was speaking to somebody who is just starting to code, I would recommend learning Rust. It’s exciting because it’s a new language approaching programming from a very type-centric point of view and is very low-level control while having high-level usability. 

      Insight from Exponent 

      There are often technologies probably best suited to solve a particular business case and are extremely important to learn for that reason. There are also technologies probably always very popular amongst engineers, maybe because they scratch an itch and they’re kind of technically interesting but maybe they are the wrong puzzle piece or are a bit too new for whatever you’re trying to solve on the job. 

      What’s a programming language mistake?

      Many times I’ve seen companies make the wrong decision by supporting engineers to do things they’re curious about that don’t align with the business case. Then, the current business case they need to move forward is not addressed so they have to pivot to something that does make sense. The engineer maybe gets a skillset but it isn’t even that sellable – why? It never was usable at the business.

      What about jobseekers who don’t know these ‘best programming languages?’ How do you recommend they stay competitive in their job search?

      The top five skills are interesting because you get an idea of the heavy hitters and what languages people for the most. It depends on where you are in your career and how much you understand about where you want your career to go. 

      For an engineer who has a little bit of experience but has a good idea of what they want to do, I would say, look in that subset and maybe it doesn’t matter which is the top language.

      Maybe it’s more so, which programming language do you have some experience in – and will it be viable to enough potential employers? Looking at this list, I guarantee the people who are best at Scala don’t know much about React Native. 

      Tip from Exponent

      Most engineers won’t become an expert in all of these. You definitely want to assess where your own experience is and take it based on that. 

      Can you describe how Hired Technical Assessments are designed to assess a candidate’s technical ability? How can jobseekers do well in technical assessments?

      Benefits of Hired Assessments

      My advice to any potential client using the product is to understand what an online technical assessment can do and what it can’t. The biggest value add is not that you’re going to get an automated answer to whether this candidate is right for the role. 

      You’re going to have an asynchronous interaction. A candidate’s going to do the assessment when it makes sense for them. The employer is going to review their work when it makes sense for them, that’s first and foremost. 

      Employers can review their work, and playback how they completed it. They can see if the candidate is within an acceptable range of performance, and how they executed problems. See what kind of approaches they took and if it makes sense to you (the employer). See if they are using coding patterns successfully demonstrating a level of expertise. 

      Benefits to jobseekers

      Candidates have the opportunity to show their thinking more than simply trying to solve the problem. In some cases, employers are looking, getting so many good candidates that they’re only able to look at the top one percent of them. 

      However, in these cases, no one really enjoys or does well in a game where only the top 1% are winning. You want to find a smaller pond where you can actually show a connection to the employer and show that you thought out your work. 

      For candidates, unfortunately, with the state of the industry and in online assessments, LeetCode reigns supreme. I recommend brushing up on that because that’s what most of these products are geared towards. 

      I do see a trend slowly moving away from purely LeetCode questions to framework-based questions that include a file system to find the bug, fix the bug, create a new file, and add a new pattern. 

      That’s where we see candidates thinking creatively and how they actually interact within an existing structure. That’s going to be more valuable – showing employers how you’re going to actually perform in the role. rather than you can do Fizz-buzz or bubble sort.

      Insight from Exponent

      In my own experience, I have seen more interviews where the company crafted a test case that more closely mirrored a real-world coding situation in which you had to diagnose a bug in a code base that probably looked like their actual code base.

      With that comes the impression that they care about your time and like to test skills that closely match what you’re going to do on the job. This is a bit different than the more esoteric LeetCode tests that you may be doing. I think it feels more valuable from a candidate’s perspective.

      Interviewing advice for software developers

      I think that’s something candidates need to be aware of as they choose which companies they engage with. As somebody interviewing a candidate I know I am selling as much as I am evaluating. Candidates should get a sense of how well the company they are interviewing with is selling them. 

      If they’re not selling you at all, what does that tell you about the company and the culture you’d enter? On the other hand, if they’re selling you 100%, they’re not really evaluating. What does that tell you about the mess you’d enter? 

      There’s a healthy balance where employers care about you and the experience you’re having, while also asking meaningful questions relevant to the role.

      Candidates should know who they want to interact with but it’s also really important for employers to ensure they’re creating an experience that makes a candidate feel safe in the context of their whole life cycle, from candidate to employee, to ex-employee. 

      Tip from Exponent

      The technical interview experience you go through is, to some degree, a proxy of the engineering culture you may enter. It can be the best signal you have before you sign the paper.

      Ask, where is the demand?

      One takeaway from looking at this is to understand where the demand is and how important it is to find the right demand/supply ratio. That could be one. If there’s one person that needs one engineer of one type, then there you go. You can get that role and you can be happily ever after at that company. 

      If you just choose the one most in demand, it also might be the most candidates going after that skill set as well. What you see yourself doing matters most because ultimately when you get the role you have to show up and do the work. So find something you’re interested in. That’s where you’re going to thrive and succeed long term.

      Insight from Exponent

      If you have spent the last five years working in databases and think you need to learn React to be employable but your passion is databases, then that might not be the technology to learn.

      Learn more languages 

      It’s easy to think back on when you learned the language that you actually made your bread and butter with, it was hard to learn and you probably don’t want to do that again. The truth is that with every year that passes, the way people learn coding languages is better and easier than it was the year before. Remember when Stack Overflow changed the game? There’s a time that didn’t even exist. You couldn’t ask a question – you’d get an odd forum and esoteric responses or you’d have to open a paper book. So, learn a little bit about more languages and realize you’re never pigeonholed to one.

      Tip from Exponent

      The first language you learn is going to be the hardest but after that, you establish mental models and understand how to read documentation. It’ll be much easier to pick up new technologies after mastering one or two.

      Understand concepts in programming  

      Learning more languages also speaks to how much you start understanding real, valuable concepts in programming. I recommend the book, Learning Javascript Design Patterns. It reviews what you need to do to write really complex code. There is the specific stuff like hoisting but also polymorphism, ways to curry different functions to build into other ones, and there’s direct inheritance.

      Understanding deeper patterns will make you a stronger programmer and enable you to do more powerful things. When an interviewer looks at a submission and says, “Oh they’re currying a function. That’s an interesting approach.” Even if you aren’t able to do it, if employers watch it (which we really encourage our clients to do), they’ll see you know your chops. At the end of the day, no business is making money by having a programmer who can write fizz-buzz the fastest. 

      Ready to complete a free profile and sit back while employers search for you? Learn how Hired works for jobseekers!

      Click below to watch the full interview, including when Dan and Exponent’s Lucas fall down a rabbit hole discussing the relationship between javascript, cryptocurrency, and building blockchain. 

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      in Talent Acquisition

      How to Handle an Employment Gap on Your Resume (Flip the Script!)

      by

      You’re not your work history

      Addressing an employment gap on a resume is one of the most common worries keeping job seekers up at night. It’s been drilled into our heads that if you’re not working, you’re wasting away. 

      There’s a prevailing, persistent belief out there that if a hiring manager or recruiter sees even a small gap on a resume they’ll automatically assume the applicant is a slacker who can’t hold down a job. 

      This simply isn’t true. Consider these recent stats from a 2021 LinkedIn survey: Just under four in five hiring managers (79%) say they would have no issues hiring a candidate with a gap in their resume.

      The relationship between “job hopping” and DEI 

      “Considering ‘job-hoppers’ for roles is a DEI practice many employers may not realize. In many cases, ‘job-hoppers’ have had more barriers than others in the workforce.” This could mean many things, including health challenges, economic hardships, caregiving responsibilities, or transportation issues.

      “To be frank,” being a serial “job-hopper” is one of the things I credit to my career success. My skills are varied, my familiarity with different industries is comprehensive, and my understanding of organizational culture is robust.”

      Brittany King, Senior Manager, TA-Talent Intelligence & Diversity, and a member of Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech. 

      Employment gap a deal breaker? Not anymore

      Not having a job for a year or longer may have been considered a deal breaker by most decision makers just 10 years ago or so, but the narrative surrounding career gaps has changed considerably since.

      You can probably guess the biggest reason why: COVID-19. The pandemic sparked an absolute tidal wave of layoffs, furloughs, and self-imposed sabbaticals to care for loved ones. 

      In light of everything that’s happened over the past few years, it doesn’t make business or ethical sense to discriminate against otherwise attractive job candidates due to a career break anymore (self-imposed or otherwise).

      That being said, you still absolutely have to touch on and explain your resume gaps. Here’s what Allison Rutledge-Parisi, senior vice president of People at Justworks, recently told Protocol: 

      “I sense in the atmosphere a change from the days earlier in my career. If you see a gap on a resume, it’s no longer a red flag at all. It’s an area of inquiry. But the inquiry is not assessing if it’s OK or not. The inquiry is more like, ‘Wow, what did you do?’”

      Give me a break!

      On a day to day basis, the average working professional has little time to consider the bigger picture of their career. When we’re preoccupied with what our current job needs from us on a particular day, it can be all too easy to forget about what we truly want from our careers.

      Another LinkedIn survey from earlier this year reports 69% of people say taking a career break helped them gain a new perspective and outlook on what they really want from life. 

      Even more revealing: That same survey tells us that just under half of hiring managers (48%) believe most candidates are too negative about their job gaps, undervaluing themselves in the process. Meanwhile, 64% of job seekers wish there were a better way to broach the subject of career gaps on resumes and during interviews.

      What does all of this tell us? Both employers and applicants are ready to put to bed the outdated notion that one must hold down a steady job from the moment they finish school to the time they retire. 

      Yes, your resume is about your career in your chosen field, but to a greater extent it’s about you. Your story isn’t limited to periods of employment. Here are a few ways to flip the script on career breaks, and use gaps in your resume to your advantage.

      There is no success without adversity 

      At Leet Resumes, we always encourage resume writers to emphasize their career wins and accomplishments. Showcasing successes sends a clear message to readers: “I’m good at what I do, and I’m ready for my next career challenge.”

      Well, what’s a success story without a little adversity to overcome? One research project published in the scientific journal Basic and Applied Social Psychology investigated what hiring managers want to hear from applicants during interviews. While achievements are great, the study found interviewers really wanted to hear about the setbacks and problems interviewees encountered on their way to those successes.

      Gaps in your work history can serve this adversarial role on your resume. Yes, taking a break from work for whatever reason isn’t ideal. But, if you frame these gaps in the right light, using the right verbiage, they may work in your favor by showcasing your resilience and commitment.

      Not working doesn’t mean not growing

      You may be wondering how exactly to frame unemployment as a positive, especially on paper. The simple answer comes down to staying busy. You need to address the time period you weren’t working in some other way on your resume.

      The best way to do this is via some type of institutional connection. Maybe you went back to school, or completed a new certification in your field. Volunteering for non-profit work, especially for a good cause, is another great way to show readers that you may not have been working – but you were still learning, growing, and pushing forward. 

      Consulting roles, attending industry conferences and virtual events, and even part-time or one-off freelancing gigs, can work too. 

      The biggest mistake you can make with an employment gap

      The #1 mistake to avoid here is leaving a year plus long gap on your resume totally unaddressed. Doing so virtually guarantees recruiters and hiring managers alike will assume you spent your time off moving exclusively from the couch to the kitchen.  

      Avoid lengthy explanations about an employment gap

      If we put COVID-19 aside for a moment, the three most common reasons people usually take an extended sabbatical from full-time work are:

      semi-retirement (taking a year off for travel, etc), they were fired, or electing to stay home as a full-time parent or caregiver.

      It’s likely that many who fall into one of those three categories did not maintain any type of formal institutional connection during their employment gap years. If this is your situation, don’t waste much room on your resume explaining the finer details of your story.

      At Leet Resumes, we believe brevity is best across all aspects of resume writing. Even when describing your biggest career wins it’s best to keep things short and sweet. This applies even more so when addressing gaps in work history.

      Instead, go with a single sentence addressing the time period in question with a positive spin toward the future.

      If you’ve spent the past couple years caring for your family, write something like:

      “Stay at home parent, family of five, excited to re-enter the workforce. 2020-2022”

      You can keep it even more vague:

      “Energized to return to work after a period of personal growth. 2020-2022” 

      You’ll have an opportunity to better explain your work gaps during the interviewing process. For now, there’s no reason to take up any more valuable space on your resume than needed. 

      Never adopt an apologetic tone about your employment gap

      It’s important to be transparent about your career breaks, but that doesn’t mean you should be apologetic. Again, the hiring handbook from a decade ago just doesn’t apply anymore. 

      Remember the statistic stating 48% of hiring managers believe candidates are too down on themselves over career lulls? If you frame your work gaps as a failure warranting an apology, or immediately sulk when the topic is brought up in an interview, it sends the wrong message. 

      “Do not apologize for doing what you need to do for your professional and personal growth.  Taking time off for whatever reason is sometimes necessary. Be confident in your decision to take time off and be prepared to be confident in your answer to why you did it.”

      Lexi B, Founder of Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech.

      Not all periods of unemployment are our own choice, but you always control the greater narrative of your story. Even if you were unceremoniously fired, turn it into motivation. Use it to propel you forward, not a hindrance holding you back.

      That was then, this is now

      Decision makers are no doubt more open to considering candidates with gaps in their work history nowadays, but they’ll still need to know that you’re serious about seeking employment. 

      Be sure to make it clear that today – in the here and now – you’re absolutely chomping at the bit to pick up where you left off and never look back. No employer wants to hire a new worker only to have them disappear shortly thereafter. It’s essential to frame your employment gaps as temporary siestas.

      Ideally, the message is you made meaningful use of your time off and you’re ready to return as an even better professional version of yourself.

      You’re not just your career

      As we wrap this article up, it may be useful to touch on resumes in general for a moment. Most people tend to think of their resume as a mere description of their careers, but that’s a gross oversimplification.

      “A resume is an art and not a science. As a recruiter I want to get a glimpse of the impact you’ve been able to accomplish and what you’re passionate about. The gaps in your experience are less important to me than the story I’m being told in your resume.” 

      Amal S., Fellowship Recruiter @ Formation

      When recruiters sit down to read your resume, they want to learn about you as a person – not just every job you’ve held since college. If you get the job, it’ll be you reporting for duty on Monday morning, not your resume.

      Addressing an employment gap the right way, and showing you didn’t let a bump in the road derail your journey, will speak to your character and persistence far more than any boring old corporate achievement.

      Need some help with your career?

      Feeling like you could use some assistance with your job search? 

      Consider creating a free profile on Hired and have companies apply to interview you for tech or customer-facing roles! 

      Related: 

      Hired partner Leet Resumes helps jobseekers revise their resumes for free. 

      Hired partner Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech (BWiT) is a solidarity group dedicated to supporting Black Women in technology, including providing community and networking.  More

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      in Talent Acquisition

      Evaluate the Job & Negotiate the Job Offer You Deserve

      by

      Editor’s note: this is Part 3 in our series with our partner, Makers, “Build Confidence and Take Control of your Job Search Series.”

      After a successful interview, a job offer often comes next. The offer stage sometimes creates discomfort and uncertainty for job seekers. When do you bring up compensation? How do you negotiate a salary? What should you ask for? Is the offer a good fit for you?

      These are all questions Hired and Makers answer in this chapter. Learn how to check offers and negotiate the salary you deserve! If an interview ends in rejection, learn how to tackle that, too.

      Get Started with Salary Negotiations

      Most of the time, the sourcer or recruiter will ask what you’re looking for in base salary or total compensation. Don’t feel put on the spot! Instead, if a screener asks for your expected salary range, ask about the salary band, or budget for the role.

      Pro Tip: It’s illegal in a growing list of areas to ask candidates for a salary history, or about their current compensation. Doing so promotes bias. These laws are known as a salary ban, not to be confused with a salary band, as mentioned above.

      If this doesn’t come up in initial phone screens, you can start the salary conversation early in the interview process. Be polite, don’t make it your first question, but don’t wait for an offer, either. Waiting to bring up salary until the end of the process doesn’t do you any favors. The early discussion helps you get in front of salary negotiations. 

      You could choose to say, “I’m sure you value alignment as much as I do. Can you share the salary band budgeted for the role?” You may have follow up questions to qualify that number. Is it base plus bonus? Is that a total compensation number, including benefits? Nobody wants to make a false assumption.

      Make sure you are clear about your personal priorities during the interview process. Determine your value in the marketplace before setting foot in an interview. This is very important for women. Female job seekers sometimes undervalue their contributions to the marketplace. This is known as an expectation gap.

      Hired’s salary calculator helps you with this task. We  recommend a starting point for you using data from the marketplace. The Hired platform alerts you to the discrepancy so you are able to make changes if you set expectations too high or too low.

      Remember, this number is just a starting point. Keep your priorities in mind as you negotiate. Some job seekers choose flexibility in exchange for entering a high-demand industry. Don’t share minimum expectations as they can result in low offers. Think about the salary offer that makes you excited to take the job and pursue this number.

      How to Negotiate Your Salary & Benefits

      Ask if you and the company are on the same page regarding salary after stating your expectations. The salary offer isn’t always what you expect or a number that satisfies your needs, and that’s ok. Communicate your desire to negotiate salary quickly so the company can respond.

      State your passion and motivation to join the company. Then, explain that the current offer doesn’t work for you. Be direct and be very clear if you intend to give a counteroffer for your salary. Let the company know that you plan to accept the role if they meet that number. Companies ready to move forward quickly respond when candidates are ready to start.

      Tech jobs and sales jobs have differing salary components. Base salary, target bonus, and equity are common for tech role offers. Fixed compensation and variable compensation or base salary plus commission are components of a sales job salary offer. Benefits and perks are usually included in both.

      Consider negotiating other benefits beyond salary. Getting creative can help you get what you want when there is no wiggle room in the base salary. Some possibilities include:

      Sign-on bonusGuaranteed annual bonusExpedited raiseMoving stipendStocks or RSUsPaid time offHealth benefitsLearning stipends

      Examine the Offer

      Once you lock in salary negotiations, it’s time to take a hard look at the offer. Look at all elements and decide which are the most important in your eyes. Write down your priorities – this trick helps you hold yourself to them.

      Consider these areas when checking your job offer:

      People element – your manager, team culture, and company culturePlace element – location of the office, company size, industryThings element – compensation, benefits, perksTiming element – do you need to find a new job right away, or is there time to be choosy?

      Rejection is Just Redirection

      Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, despite a great interview. Don’t take this personally! Rejection doesn’t always mean you did something wrong or weren’t qualified.

      Stay solution-oriented to keep future doors open. The way you handle rejection can make or break this relationship. Ask the company for feedback. Learn what you can to improve your future interviews. You never know when another position will open. Be civil and respectful despite rejection.  It often leads to new opportunities on different teams or at other offices. Besides, there’s no guarantee the person they hire will work out. It happens more than you think.

      Do you feel like you need to upskill to be more competitive? Makers offers opportunities to increase your technical skills!

      Land the Job Offer You Deserve on Hired

      Master the job search process from start to finish with these easy to follow steps. Hired.com helps you every step of the way! Our Customer Experience managers help candidates achieve success throughout the hiring process. Complete your free profile on Hired’s job marketplace. Be sure to optimize it with these tips, and let employers search for you!

      Related:

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      in Talent Acquisition

      How to Become a Machine Learning Engineer

      by

      Hired & Exponent Partner for Engineering Career Advice Video Series

      Hired recently completed a video series with our partner Exponent, featuring three of our talented engineers: Nico Thiebaut, Prakash Patel, and Dan Baker. They discussed topics such as:

      How to Become a Machine Learning EngineerEngineering Manager vs. Individual Contributor PathTop Programming Languages to Land a Job (in 2022).

      Here’s a quick summary of the first one! To watch the full interview, scroll down to the bottom of the article.

      How has the Machine Learning and AI career path changed over time and what’s behind that evolution?

      It’s constantly evolving. There’s a clear shift from machine learning and pure data science to a more holistic approach to roles. As companies collect more and more data, it’s inevitable to try to build predictive models. I think it’s a natural result of the age of data collection.

      What kind of education, technical knowledge, and soft skills are necessary for machine learning engineers?

      Success is achieved as a machine learning engineer from various backgrounds. Even though the role has been around for some time, it still feels new. While we look for diversity on our team, we try to hire people whose strengths will combine well with existing team members.

      Educationally, solid understanding of computer science and math is standard. In addition, I’d say:

      experience with software developmenta sense for businessstatistical modeling skillsunderstanding probabilitiesgreat at managing dataunderstanding DevOps is helpfulhow to develop and deploy models to production smoothly.

      No one person is skilled at all of these equally. It’s incredibly difficult to find someone who would check all of these boxes immediately, but I suggest spending the time to develop these skills in a basic way, at a minimum. Then, figure out which areas really drive you and find a team that needs that energy. Because machine learning is changing all the time, it’s likely you’ll find a time that’s a fit for your skillset.

      Are there computer science degrees and certifications for Data Science and Machine Learning?

      It’s a common mistake for companies to require machine learning degrees. Why? They’re relatively new, so there are few people with those specific credentials. Frankly, the demand for engineers with an ML degree doesn’t match the supply.

      A lot of folks, myself included, come to machine learning engineering from quantitative fields. I have a PhD in physics. On our team, we have people with computer science, traditional software engineering, and mathematics backgrounds. They’ve all moved into an ML role well. You don’t need a specific degree to be successful, it seems very open to various experiences.

      How can you pivot from different engineering fields? Which roles might be easiest?

      While pretty flexible, I’d say traditional software engineers who remember math concepts well probably have the easiest time and quickest path to success. Another extremely useful and valuable transferrable skill is the craft of software engineering. It can take a long time to develop that.

      So, if you’re someone who has, you’ve got a big headstart. More ML engineer practitioners strengthen software development skills as they become more experienced, obviously. So, if you’re a software engineer, the pivot is a natural one.

      What do machine learning interviews typically look like?

      Generally, they resemble interviews for software engineering roles. It commonly starts with a couple of technical interviews. You may meet with a cross-functional stakeholder, someone you’d likely work with on a project. This person might be from a department like Revenue, or Product Marketing and less technical.

      The interview with the hiring manager may be toward the end. As for the technical portions, they’re commonly divided into software development and algorithms. The direct machine learning portion may use math concepts more directly.

      What are the biggest career growth opportunities in the machine learning AI space?

      There’s so many! Regarding modeling, dealing with textual data and natural language processing (NLP) are big. If you haven’t heard of the transformers revolution, it’s a new collection models incredibly efficient at comprehending language.

      As for machine learning, MLOps is one to watch. At the crossroads of machine learning and DevOps, we’re seeing more and more roles in companies. Teams need someone who knows how to plan and execute deployment efficiently.

      There’s also room for generalists. Machine learning skills are highly transferrable.

      Related: In a survey of software engineers on Hired’s platform, they identified the hottest trend in tech as AI, Machine Learning, and Big Data, with 55.1% of respondents ranking it first. (Hired’s 2022 State of Software Engineers.)

      What are the most important skills to develop as your machine learning career grows?

      Versatility and curiosity! Because the field is changing and growing quickly, keep learning! Learn the new techniques for modeling, technologies, the foundations – all of it. Don’t box yourself in by investing too much time in any one technology.

      Watch the complete interview here:

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      in Talent Acquisition

      Ace Your Interview & Get Your Questions Answered

      by

      Editor’s note: this is Part 2 in our series with our partner, Makers, “Build Confidence and Take Control of your Job Search Series.”

      Ok, so you completed the job search steps successfully and landed an interview. Now it’s time to show your abilities and learn about the company. Hired and Makers share how to nail the interview and get the answers you need.

      Demonstrate Transferable Skills

      The level of tech skills you need depends on the level of position you interview for. Employers are more willing to accept more transferable skills in mid-level roles. For senior roles they are seeking someone with the right technical knowledge. 

      Start with soft skills you have that fit the requirements of the role. Share you have what it takes to be successful in the position. Learn about the company’s culture and values. See how those attributes align with your personal values. Determine if you have experience representing similar values in a former role. Get ready for experience-based behavioral questions. Prepare answers with examples from your previous work experience. The answers you give need to show your impact and its result.Determine how you can make up for any gaps in the required experience. Explain why your skills or experience will transfer to this new role. This helps you appear low risk to the employer.

      Related: Want to advance your technical skills? Check out options through Makers!

      Ask Questions

      Finding a good company and culture fit is critical to success in any role. The interview is your opportunity to ask questions. Listen up for answers that are factual and based on data. See nonspecific answers and those with no available data as red flags. The answers provide insight into the company to help you determine if you have found the right fit.

      General Examples

      How does your company promote work-life balance?What initiatives are in place to promote diversity and inclusiveness?Can you share data on the organization’s diversity?Ask about their experience and feel free to ask for examples: What are some of the best things about working here? What are some of the challenges you’ve found? What do you wish you knew when you started your role here? What does success look like for this role?

      Examples for Tech Candidates

      How does your team address problems that arise?Has this position evolved? In what ways could the responsibilities change in the future?What is the balance between junior and senior roles on the team, and will this change?What are the company’s technical principles?

      Examples for Sales Candidates

      What are some of the challenges faced by the current sales team?Where is the company looking to grow in the future?What support do sales staff receive from team leadership?What are the traits most critical to success in this role?

      What Are Interviewers Looking for?

      The interview isn’t just a chance for you to learn about the company – the company also learns about you. Know what interviewers are assessing for so you portray yourself effectively. At all levels, an interviewer’s questions seek to uncover your character, passion, and transferrable skills.

      When interviewing for a senior-level role, the questions are more specific. The interviewer wants to learn about your technical skills and large project contributions. They also want to determine how willing you are to mentor and help others on the team.

      Forget to Ask an Important Question During the Interview?

      Don’t worry! This easily happens. Use this opportunity to follow up with the interviewer. If you remember your question, include it in your thank you note. (Yes – these still matter). Use the thank you or follow up email as an opportunity to demonstrate your curiosity and enthusiasm for the role. Be selective, don’t send a long list or questionnaire. The interviewer is busy, too! Choose the top two to three questions you’d like to ask at this stage in the interview.

      Pro Tip: Don’t apologize for forgetting to ask. Instead, say, “as I was reflecting on our conversation, I have some additional questions.”

      Find a New Role on Hired

      Are you ready? Hired sets job seekers up with the right resources to ace the interview process. Dedicated Candidate Experience managers ensure your success every step of the way. The perfect role is out there – find it today on Hired, where companies apply to you!

      Related:

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      in Talent Acquisition

      Build Confidence and Take Control of Your Tech Job Search Series

      by

      The process of finding a job often feels overwhelming. It’s difficult to determine the best avenue to explore when searching for a new position. It’s also too easy to spread yourself thin between the options. The job search process requires a lot of work which often ends in rejection – how does a person deal with that?

      In this three-part blog series based on a webinar co-hosted with our partner Makers, Hired teaches you how to streamline your job search. With actionable strategies, we break the process down so you know where and how to focus your efforts. Simplify your process and build confidence as you work through the steps. 

      Part 1: Start Off Strong in Your Job Search

      Searching for a new role can be an unscripted process with no defined starting point or steps to follow. Often, this approach leads to frustration instead of success. Why? It completely ignores the real method to the job search process!

      Do you feel like you’re the problem when you aren’t successful? It’s easy to assume you’re the problem, but the real issue is your process. When your search is missing critical steps, it may doom your search from the start.

      Hired breaks down the job search into three easy steps. Learn about available roles and build connections for later. Expand your skill set in preparation for the job you want. Use resources like LinkedIn and your resume or CV to your advantage. Deep dive into the available opportunities to identify the perfect role.

      Phase 1: Exploration

      Increase Your Chances of Serendipity

      The exploration phase should always be the first step of your job search. Start by getting involved with the communities you ultimately wish to join. Through this direct involvement in the industry, you learn about available positions. Plus, you make the connections necessary to help you later on.

      A great quality of the tech world is the built-in community. Join in for the opportunity to learn first-hand what it’s like to work in these different spaces. Taking part in-person or online also allows you to discover the many technical and non-technical roles available in technology. These roles include:

      Software DeveloperScrum MasterProject ManagerDevOpsTestingProduct ManagerMarketingContent WritingCustomer ExperienceHuman ResourcesFinanceOperationsSales

      Community participation is a must if you see yourself at a technology company. Coding clubs provide an excellent starting point for you to explore the industry. You start to build your own community to assist with your job search, from mentors to contacts. These communities are also a great place to learn about available positions.

      Phase 2: Marketing

      Claim Your Career Identity

      After you dive into the community, it’s time to take the steps to make you stand out as a candidate in your job search. Technology is a great career to transform yourself – it doesn’t matter where you started! Focus on targeted and continuous learning. Take courses to gain the skills you need or improve your existing skills for the roles you want. 

      Next, it’s time to craft your CV. A good CV or resume for a tech role deviates from the traditional rules. They are project-driven and need to speak to what the employer seeks. Include the experience important in a tech team. Show your passion for tech by showing off your projects from coding clubs and courses. Talk about the podcasts you listen to and books you read. Show how excited you are to be a part of the industry to stand out when job searching.

      Lastly, embrace social media as a tool to market yourself for the role you want. Change your LinkedIn profile to share that you are seeking tech jobs. Lean on your social network to find open positions by making a post or tweet about your interest.

      Phase 3: The Professional

      Get the Job You Want

      The last phase of your job search process is a deep dive into job opportunities and employers. Read between the lines of job postings and company descriptions to determine if it’s a good fit for you. The research you do in this phase helps you find a role and company where you can learn and grow. 

      It’s important to look into the language used in a company’s job postings. Look for open positions with language that shares the company is willing to nurture you in the role. Be aware of the gender bias in hiring. Don’t feel you have to be a near-perfect match for the requirements, because male job seekers don’t!

      Resources

      Resources for Tech Talent

      Phase 1:

      Makers.techCodebar.ioWomenwhocode.comBlackgirlscode.comCodefirstgirls.co.ukRailsgirls.comSiliconmilkroundabout.com

      Phase 2:

      Phase 3:

      Resources for Sales or Customer Experience Talent

      Phase 1:

      Meetup.comEventbrite.co.ukNawsp.org (National Association of Women Sales Professionals)Outintech.comSalesfortheculture.com

      Phase 2:

      CourseraUdemyMasterclass.comSV AcademyHubSpot AcademyThe Advanced Selling PodcastConversation with Women in Sales PodcastThe Modern Selling Podcast

      Phase 3:

      Find New Roles on Hired

      When you’re ready to start looking for available job openings, make Hired your first stop!

      Our Candidate Experience team and partners work to set you up for success throughout the job search process. Join us today to find your next job in tech, sales, or customer experience roles.

      Related:

      Coming soon! Part 2: Ace your Interview & Get Your Questions AnsweredComing soon! Part 3: Evaluate the Job & Negotiate the Job Offer You DeserveWatch the complete webinar co-hosted with our partner, Makers, below!

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      in Talent Acquisition

      How to Stand Out Behind the Screen: a Guide for Remote Candidates

      by

      Part of a Series: Setting yourself up for success as a remote candidate

      Editors note: this article was previously posted on LeadDev on behalf of Hired as part of a content series for remote jobseekers.

      Before the pandemic, the job market was split into two uneven parts – office work and remote work – with hardly anything in between.

      Two years later and we now live in a world where you can be, say, 92% remote, visiting the office twice a month. The binary of home and office work no longer exists; ‘remote’ is a variable, and every company has its own baseline.

      Some are offering remote positions on top of office ones. Many are taking a hybrid approach, giving the flexibility to work some days remotely and encouraging folks to come in for ad-hoc team events or sensitive one-on-ones. I was recently involved in a company effort to design that hybrid culture shift and it changed the way we recruit as well.

      If you’re searching for a partially or fully remote role, how can you navigate through an uneven and saturated market? Here I’m sharing my guide for remote candidates looking to stand out by mixing new ‘remote’ tricks along with proven winning strategies.

      1. Boosting your profile

      Cut through the noise

      It’s important to clearly communicate your personal baseline for working remotely. Let recruiters know if you’re willing to come to the office at all, and specify how often. Put this information on your LinkedIn profile and CV. Otherwise, you’ll waste valuable time talking to recruiters who are looking for something else and miss other opportunities due to a lack of focus. It’s also a good idea to highlight if you’re open to relocation and what your baseline would look like in the new country.

      Plan for limited attention

      As a hiring manager, I look through CVs every day. Attention is the most valuable resource I have, and so my task is to extract essential information as fast as possible to decide whether to start the recruitment process. I only take a deeper look when I’m preparing for the interview.

      This isn’t just me. Some studies suggest you have only 7 seconds to attract a recruiter’s attention. That may be an exaggeration, but most recruiters I know settle on a 60-second interval. To increase your chances, consider structuring the most vital details on the first page and use an E or F pattern.

      Showcase the most valuable details

      When I scan the applicant profile, I personally look for:

      Is it a remote-only candidate? If so, what is their timezone range availability? I hope to find these details at the top of the page, together with their LinkedIn URL and personal website or GitHub.Is relocation needed? Relocation adds an interval on top of the notice period, so if I am proceeding with such a candidate I need to plan accordingly.What can this person do, and what do they like to do? A lot of candidates barely mention what they excel at and what kind of opportunities would make them happy. I get very excited when candidates include this in a summary.What was their last job role in detail? Here, I expect a clear distinction between responsibilities and achievements. When I was refactoring my own CV a few years back, I was surprised by how hard it was to separate achievements and tie them to numbers, let alone business outcomes. It’s no wonder that many candidates fail to paint a clear picture of their recent roles. However, doing this will get you bonus points.Is it written in sufficiently good English? I also use the CV to estimate English proficiency and attention-to-detail levels. This is especially important for remote candidates who rely a lot on written communication. And of course, it may not be applicable to neurodivergent individuals.

      Treat LinkedIn as a minimalistic version of your CV

      Recruiters rely on LinkedIn more and more as a sourcing tool where they can find and reach out to attractive prospects. Moreover, if your profile is detailed and up-to-date, they may treat it as a mini CV. Sometimes, I interview candidates without seeing their CVs, just based on their LinkedIn profiles.

      Consider keeping sections like your ‘Summary’ in sync between your CV and online profile. Often, candidates don’t have any description of their roles in the LinkedIn ‘Experience’ section, which renders their profile semi-useless from a sourcing perspective.

      Remember that exercise of writing down your achievements? These would shine on your profile too. Because of the spam, you would still get irrelevant proposals occasionally, but less so. Having your online profile in check may lead to some of the most promising and well-targeted recruitment invites.

      2. Making the right impression

      Think through your video appearance

      In a remote work environment, the way you present yourself matters. It’s not about how you look. It’s how you impact the experience of others. When we come to the office, we want a comfy, quiet space with a nice interior. In a video chat, each participant’s video and audio stream contributes to the overall environment. It forms that virtual office space. Your own contribution should improve it, so the interviewers can see it would be comfortable for them to work with you remotely.

      Do you have everything listed below? These represent the hygiene minimum:

      Good sound. Don’t use an internal microphone.No background noise. You can also try to bring it down via software.Non-cluttered background. The real one is better, yet you can also resort to a virtual background.Non-blurry webcam. A cheap webcam also might do a better job if you increase the amount of light in the room.Good internet connection. Also, arrange for a backup connection.

      If adjusting your current setup is entirely impossible, consider renting a meeting room through a coworking space or taking an interview from a friend’s house with a better setup.

      Related: Video Interviews 101: How to Impress in the Digital Age

      Demonstrate remote professional traits

      Every company has different needs, so there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the personal qualities you should demonstrate in the interview. Some companies may consciously allow for specific traits as a part of their D&I strategy. A good trick is to ask the recruiter what kind of remote candidates they’re looking for.

      That said, there are a few common things that would highlight your capacity to work remotely

      You come across as an organized person. To the extent that you are on time to join interviews, responsive to recruiters over email, and appear composed when speaking.You have good written communication skills. The typical signals are your CV, online profile, and any written content you generate during the recruitment process (e.g., email exchange with a recruiter) or posted online earlier (e.g., your article).You can be concise when speaking. This means you don’t take too long to deliver a point. Folks who can’t do this tend to bloat work meetings, increasing zoom fatigue. If brevity and structure don’t come naturally, you can practice in advance (try using the STAR or PARADE methods).You can bring results autonomously. This is especially important if there’s a timezone difference. The ability to organize and unblock yourself while your colleagues are asleep becomes crucial.

      3. Applying the secret sauce

      Highlight what makes you special

      Every person is special and can contribute in a unique way. As a hiring manager, I also have to be very pragmatic. Ultimately, I will prioritize hiring those applicants who are already aware of what makes them stand out. These folks write about it on their profile and highlight it during interviews.

      Things I would look for include open source contributions, pet projects, tech articles, non-tech initiatives, and public speaking. Your personality and past experience can also make you interesting. I’ve hired pilots and poets, architects, and party people. Carefully growing a team and adding diverse personalities into the mix can make it incredibly performant and creative. It also makes for a fun place to work. Consider what kind of community you want to join, and make your profile stand out in that way.

      Reflections on standing out as a remote jobseeker

      One thing I haven’t mentioned at all in this article is tech skills. Those alone could get you a job, and there’s a magnitude of resources dedicated to perfecting them. But it’s a shame that so many people overlook the importance of presenting themselves in a clear, appealing, and authentic way. By boosting your profile, making the right impression, and applying a bit of secret sauce, you’ll surely increase your chances of swiftly getting the best offer from the company that’s right for you.

      This article was written by Matthew Gladyshev as part of a content series for LeadDev.

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