OT: Career advice Part II

[Machinehead]

The best snack I've ever had is that like, spicy mango street food. Some tajin, lime juice, hot sauce over sliced/diced mango.

You should try Mangonadas. It's that but you can drink it.

 

[kovazub94]

I just shoved a mango in my face alone at my desk.

Highly recommend.

I strongly believe that the apple from the forbidden tree was actually mango.

 

[will1066]

I actually have to exert effort at my job now and I don't like it

 

[Do you want ants]

I actually have to exert effort at my job now and I don't like it

Only until you earn the reputation of being an engaged, hard working employee. Then you can go back to writing Emily fanfic and coast on that reputation…

 

[NickyFotiu]

I actually have to exert effort at my job now and I don't like it

That may be why they call it work

 

[kovazub94]

I actually have to exert effort at my job now and I don't like it

Silver linings - it will make you a better person, it will make your day go by quicker, improve your relationship with your wife (less time to stalk Emily)...

 

[will1066]

That may be why they call it work

I didn't have to before! And was making more too! Lol

 

[will1066]

Silver linings - it will make you a better person, it will make your day go by quicker, improve your relationship with your wife (less time to stalk Emily)...

The days here do go by quick, I must say

 

[SnowblindNYR]

So I just wanted to share something hilariously ironic. From a company that I applied to months ago:

XXX is a blockchain intelligence company that helps financial institutions, crypto businesses, and government agencies detect and investigate crypto-related financial crime and fraud. Every day, we tackle challenges in data engineering, data science, and threat intelligence to advance our mission to build a safer financial system for billions of people.

Attention Job Applicants: Recently, it has come to our attention that certain individuals are masquerading as members of XXX's recruitment and human resources team online. We will never request your personal information outside of the standard recruitment process. Every job offer at XXX is extended only after a formal interview process and we will not require candidates to fulfill any financial obligations as part of the hiring process. If you believe you have been targeted with a fraudulent job offer or encountered any suspicious activity, please send us an email with “Recruitment Fraud” in the subject line to [email protected].

 

[will1066]

So one thing I do at any office I work in is find a secluded bathroom. I ain't doing my business on a toilet that's trafficked as much as one at a gas station. Luckily I found one today. Required going up a few floors in the building.

 

[NCRanger]

Something new today.

Interview via chat bot. Get a text requesting a 10 minute interview. Have no idea who it was from. I've applied to over 100 jobs, so who knows. I click the link.

Anyway, I have to be on camera giving answers to questions asked by a chat bot. What the hell is this?

This was actually from a reputable company too.

 

[mrmovies779]

So one thing I do at any office I work in is find a secluded bathroom. I ain't doing my business on a toilet that's trafficked as much as one at a gas station. Luckily I found one today. Required going up a few floors in the building.

Dont lie-you know you are writing your love letters to Emily in said secluded bathroom

 

[will1066]

I

Dont lie-you know you are writing your love letters to Emily in said secluded bathroom

I do my best work in the throne!

 

[80s Kid]

So one thing I do at any office I work in is find a secluded bathroom. I ain't doing my business on a toilet that's trafficked as much as one at a gas station. Luckily I found one today. Required going up a few floors in the building.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Something new today.

Interview via chat bot. Get a text requesting a 10 minute interview. Have no idea who it was from. I've applied to over 100 jobs, so who knows. I click the link.

Anyway, I have to be on camera giving answers to questions asked by a chat bot. What the hell is this?

This was actually from a reputable company too.

I had to do that couple of times and hated both times. I think I bombed both times. I wanted to talk to a person. Not talking to a person is a weird dynamic.

 

[will1066]

Something new today.

Interview via chat bot. Get a text requesting a 10 minute interview. Have no idea who it was from. I've applied to over 100 jobs, so who knows. I click the link.

Anyway, I have to be on camera giving answers to questions asked by a chat bot. What the hell is this?

This was actually from a reputable company too.

I had to do that couple of times and hated both times. I think I bombed both times. I wanted to talk to a person. Not talking to a person is a weird dynamic.

This is messed up.

 

[NCRanger]

I had to do that couple of times and hated both times. I think I bombed both times. I wanted to talk to a person. Not talking to a person is a weird dynamic.

No way to get clarity on the question, or to be able to follow up with questions of your own or expand on the topic.

 

[sbjnyc]

It isn't about working from home. It is timing. Are you going to ask someone to marry you on the first date? You are on a contract, not an FTE. There are dozens of other qualified people who desperately want jobs, who would happily come into the office.

At my office when trying to fill a role we get a lot of pushback when requiring 3 days a week in the office.

I recently saw a video from Mr. Wonderful of Shark Tank where he was trying to hire someone and she had two rounds and was invited to a third round with Kevin and said "I only do two rounds". THAT'S entitled.

Interviews and the hiring process is a 2-way street. Now I'm not saying I would do this but consider that woman's thought process as being "I don't want to get strung along. If you can't decide that you want to hire me after 2 rounds of interviews then I don't want to work for you." I don't see any entitlement there - it's a perfectly reasonable attitude IMO. Don't forget you are also interviewing your potential employer.

 

[Gardner McKay]

At my office when trying to fill a role we get a lot of pushback when requiring 3 days a week in the office.

Interviews and the hiring process is a 2-way street. Now I'm not saying I would do this but consider that woman's thought process as being "I don't want to get strung along. If you can't decide that you want to hire me after 2 rounds of interviews then I don't want to work for you." I don't see any entitlement there - it's a perfectly reasonable attitude IMO. Don't forget you are also interviewing your potential employer.

I'm not sure where/what your company is located and industry but I've hired more than 1000 people in the last 3 years, all over the country (hell, all over the world). With the exception of a few specific fields that are still largely remote (customer facing roles), we have had no issue hiring people in a hybrid environment.

We did get some pushback in 2022 but now in 2025, we have people who are leaving companies that have a five day RTO to join us at three days RTO. Monday/Friday remote.

 

[kovazub94]

Something new today.

Interview via chat bot. Get a text requesting a 10 minute interview. Have no idea who it was from. I've applied to over 100 jobs, so who knows. I click the link.

Anyway, I have to be on camera giving answers to questions asked by a chat bot. What the hell is this?

This was actually from a reputable company too.

My son in college has had quite a few interviews in the form of answering pre-recorded questions (ie. no one on the "other side" of interviewing process) in his first rounds. Brave new world...

 

[Greg02]

There's a weird AI arms race in hiring. Tons of fake people that you need to spend a significant chunk of time investigating to figure out what the tell is.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

At my office when trying to fill a role we get a lot of pushback when requiring 3 days a week in the office.


Interviews and the hiring process is a 2-way street. Now I'm not saying I would do this but consider that woman's thought process as being "I don't want to get strung along. If you can't decide that you want to hire me after 2 rounds of interviews then I don't want to work for you." I don't see any entitlement there - it's a perfectly reasonable attitude IMO. Don't forget you are also interviewing your potential employer.

Maybe I just come from a different industry than some people. I have a friend in accounting that gets job served up to her on a silver platter by recruiters and she has one interview and gets hired. In my career corporate finance (budgeting, forecasting KPIs...) it's rare that you get less than an HR screen, and then two interviews. The standard is an HR screen and three, sometimes with a case mixed in. People were supporting this woman that I mentioned and said it's crazy to have more than two but it's standard in a lot of business industries. If you're going into investment banking you have to have a ton of networking AND a super day final round.

 

[sbjnyc]

I'm not sure where/what your company is located and industry but I've hired more than 1000 people in the last 3 years, all over the country (hell, all over the world). With the exception of a few specific fields that are still largely remote (customer facing roles), we have had no issue hiring people in a hybrid environment.

We did get some pushback in 2022 but now in 2025, we have people who are leaving companies that have a five day RTO to join us at three days RTO. Monday/Friday remote.

I work in NYC (financial services). It's probably not as bad now like you say, but we have lost people including potential hires due to changes in WFH policy over the past year or so and difficulty in hiring perhaps is partly in more specialized roles (eg cybersecurity).

Maybe I just come from a different industry than some people. I have a friend in accounting that gets job served up to her on a silver platter by recruiters and she has one interview and gets hired. In my career corporate finance (budgeting, forecasting KPIs...) it's rare that you get less than an HR screen, and then two interviews. The standard is an HR screen and three, sometimes with a case mixed in. People were supporting this woman that I mentioned and said it's crazy to have more than two but it's standard in a lot of business industries. If you're going into investment banking you have to have a ton of networking AND a super day final round.

Employers can set up their ground rules but why should potential employees be forced to agree? They need you as much as you need them (overall - obviously differences in the details). But how many times have you gone through 2+ interviews for a job that was never available since it was always going to someone internal only the job had to be posted. I can see the woman's point. If after 2 rounds of interviews you're still undecided maybe the problem is your interviewing process. Just saying.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I work in NYC (financial services). It's probably not as bad now like you say, but we have lost people including potential hires due to changes in WFH policy over the past year or so and difficulty in hiring perhaps is partly in more specialized roles (eg cybersecurity).


Employers can set up their ground rules but why should potential employees be forced to agree? They need you as much as you need them (overall - obviously differences in the details). But how many times have you gone through 2+ interviews for a job that was never available since it was always going to someone internal only the job had to be posted. I can see the woman's point. If after 2 rounds of interviews you're still undecided maybe the problem is your interviewing process. Just saying.

LOL, now I feel like Loki.

I think with some exceptions, you need a job more than they need someone due to supply and demand. They can get 200+ applications in a week and they get their pick of the litter. If you're applying in a lot of cases you might get 1 or 2 interviews max and maybe not even any interviews. There are more candidates than employers so while yes they do need someone, they need SOMEONE not necessarily you. And technically you need someone not necessarily any one employer but trust me as someone with a decent but not elite resume during slow hiring periods I sometimes go months before I get an interview invite. Meanwhile companies can interview anyone they want and in a city like NYC get top talent. In my world there many roles that people ask for for investment banking analysts and there are plenty in NYC and many of them got burned out in IB. Lots of competition.

Also, a company won't struggle financially because they didn't hire one analyst fast enough, but regular people have their savings dwindle.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Employers can set up their ground rules but why should potential employees be forced to agree?

At that point they are just a potential employee not an employee. If they want to become an employee then they will have to go through with that employers process. They are free to disagree but then they will not become an employee.

They need you as much as you need them (overall - obviously differences in the details). But how many times have you gone through 2+ interviews for a job that was never available since it was always going to someone internal only the job had to be posted. I can see the woman's point. If after 2 rounds of interviews you're still undecided maybe the problem is your interviewing process. Just saying.

Like many things in life it comes down to supply and demand. Is it a buyers market or a sellers market? If you are Connor McDavid you are one of one so they need you much more than you need them but Connor McDavid is a unicorn and not the typical job seeker. The typical job seeker has his/her life changed a bit if they get a job when they need to pay their bills. The typical employer just looks at the next resume if a job seeker says they are not interested. That is not always the case. A lot depends on the field and the timing to determine how strong the demand for a prospective employee will be.

A lot of good businesses in history were started when people got tired of working for other people.