17 ms·

> But my background kept leading hiring managers to suggest putting me on cloud teams doing orchestration in Go around a database rather than working on the dat

> But my background kept leading hiring managers to suggest putting me on cloud teams doing orchestration in Go around a database rather than working on the database itself. This is extremely annoying. This also means if your first job is doing X, it is very difficult to break into Y even if you know quite well about Y, and even have side projects. I have tried attaching cover letters indicating even if my current experience is in X, I am quite familiar with Y, to no luck. (No one reads those stuff).

mettamage 10mo ago
Is there a way to work around this?
- ccakes 10mo ago
  Lie on LinkedIn, get a foot in the door and explain in the interview
  - freedomben 10mo ago
    Risky. If I interview somebody and their resume is inflated or wrong, at best as a candidate you wasted my time reviewing your resume and scheduling interviews and what not, and now you're starting from a disadvantage because my first impression of you is one of being misled. We're a high-trust organization and anything that causes doubt on your integrity puts you at a disadvantage. If I'm interviewing you, it's because I considered you against the torrent of other applicants, and I likely excluded one that is more qualified than you based on your misrepresentation. That also doesn't work in your favor. If you are a truly exceptional dev in your previous field and can convince me of that, along with an up-front and transparent explanation of why you lied to me as our first interaction, it is possible to overcome this. However, that is a pretty small pool of people. Though, it definitely can work at some companies.
    - ccakes 10mo ago
      Definitely fair but for the candidate considering this, it's a numbers game. They're just looking to get their foot in the door for a new career path. You care, and you're right to care, but there will be others who don't. Then next time, it's no longer a lie and they can (in theory) get by on merit
- fogj094j0923j4 10mo ago
  references, apply for a company rich enough to fund various projects ( like crypto company, if your moral compass allows ).
- sabirAk 10mo ago
  If you're interested in working on database internals, it's worth looking at startups—even if you don't have prior experience in this exact area. At my company, we hire engineers with strong systems backgrounds who haven't necessarily worked on databases before. If that sounds like you, feel free to check my profile for more details.
dmoy 10mo ago
To me it seems like the majority of recruiters barely read past company name and job title. I switched from Dev to SRE at the same company, and within like one week of remembering to update LinkedIn job title, the random recruiter messages switched from Dev to "oh we are looking for someone like you with lots of SRE experience" (having worked in SRE for <3 months). So yea, it's difficult to get traction for something that isn't already your job title.
- MikeNotThePope 10mo ago
  >> the majority of recruiters barely read past company name and job title This is a failing of the hiring manager. If the recruiter can't tell who is and isn't a good fit, the hiring manager should have corrected the situation or not partnered with the recruiter.
  - freedomben 10mo ago
    Disagree. The most common reason I've seen for this is the recruiters using largely or entirely automated tools to comb LinkedIn, Github, and many other sources and auto-blasting out those cold emails. They don't even look at the resume until you reply with interest. It's not (usually) the hiring manager's fault. They frequently don't even know that is occurring. I find that practice disgusting personally and will never do it myself or condone it in others, but it does seem to work.
    - never_inline 10mo ago
      It probably doesn't work. It seems to work because you will never know the opportunity cost of not hiring a better person, after you already hired a worse person.
    - MikeNotThePope 10mo ago
      The hiring manager can set the expectation with a recruiter that all candidates submitted must meet a certain standard. If the hiring manager let's the recruiters send garbage and/or fails to guide them, that is 100% a hiring manager problem.
ChrisMarshallNY 10mo ago
My entire career was switching from one discipline to another. For me, the key was twofold: 1) Spend a lot of extracurricular (not work) time, exploring new tech that interests me. This often included purchasing expensive kit, and attending classes, on my own dime (but I could usually use the spend in my tax write-offs). 2) Be willing to accept being paid a lot less than my peers. My career is a fairly eclectic one. I’m now retired, and spend a lot of time learning stuff, which is fun.
- ramon156 10mo ago
  How do you have the time to do this? I already barely have free time, let alone time to attend classes
  - ChrisMarshallNY 10mo ago
    In my case, I'm a bit obsessed. I'm "on the spectrum," and that helps me to concentrate and understand stuff. Also, I just like doing this stuff. My work is also my hobby. There's not that many things that I'd rather be doing. I have also had a very good venue for doing volunteer work, and that has always provided a driving force. Of course, now that I'm retired, I have the time.
    - fm2606 10mo ago
      This is me to a big extent. Sometimes I feel like I to learn for learning's sake. Which is okay, or at least that is what my therapist tells me. I struggle with the fact that I "think about doing" vs actually doing. My work is my hobby too, that is why I struggle sometimes wondering if I will ever retire. Why retire when what I'm doing is for the most part fun. Sure, there are days that I'd rather be "doing X", or more like "studying X" than actually working but I'm enjoying work so much lately that it soon passes. Work also forces me to actually DO instead of thinking about doing. I have to perform. People are depending on me to get stuff done and that is a big motivator. With my personal projects, no one needs it or is expecting it so it is too easy to abandon.
vasco 10mo ago
I find it's easier to prove that within a small company after you're in. You just fix a problem in the area you want to work in, then you fix another problem, and soon after people want you on their team or a team is created around you to fix that class of problem. But lots of engineers just wait to be picked while only doing the stories assigned to them. Or they are in big companies, of which I don't know about.
zerr 10mo ago
Never gets old: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/4k994j/if_carpenters_were_hired_like_programmers/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/4k994j/if_...
pjmlp 10mo ago
I have come to the conclusion years ago that it is easier to work on a consulting agency, where everyone is "jack of all trades master of none", than trying to apply to regular HR positions. In agencies, a bit like startups, everyone "knows" everything up to the point of winning projects. While everyone knows here how famous some of those projects end up being, but if you can take this ongoing pressure to "know" everything, it is much easier to switch between roles and programming stacks, than the usual HR looking for X on the CV and nothing else.

mettamage 10mo ago

Is there a way to work around this?

ccakes 10mo ago
Lie on LinkedIn, get a foot in the door and explain in the interview
- freedomben 10mo ago
  Risky. If I interview somebody and their resume is inflated or wrong, at best as a candidate you wasted my time reviewing your resume and scheduling interviews and what not, and now you're starting from a disadvantage because my first impression of you is one of being misled. We're a high-trust organization and anything that causes doubt on your integrity puts you at a disadvantage. If I'm interviewing you, it's because I considered you against the torrent of other applicants, and I likely excluded one that is more qualified than you based on your misrepresentation. That also doesn't work in your favor. If you are a truly exceptional dev in your previous field and can convince me of that, along with an up-front and transparent explanation of why you lied to me as our first interaction, it is possible to overcome this. However, that is a pretty small pool of people. Though, it definitely can work at some companies.
  - ccakes 10mo ago
    Definitely fair but for the candidate considering this, it's a numbers game. They're just looking to get their foot in the door for a new career path. You care, and you're right to care, but there will be others who don't. Then next time, it's no longer a lie and they can (in theory) get by on merit
fogj094j0923j4 10mo ago
references, apply for a company rich enough to fund various projects ( like crypto company, if your moral compass allows ).
sabirAk 10mo ago
If you're interested in working on database internals, it's worth looking at startups—even if you don't have prior experience in this exact area. At my company, we hire engineers with strong systems backgrounds who haven't necessarily worked on databases before. If that sounds like you, feel free to check my profile for more details.

dmoy 10mo ago

To me it seems like the majority of recruiters barely read past company name and job title. I switched from Dev to SRE at the same company, and within like one week of remembering to update LinkedIn job title, the random recruiter messages switched from Dev to "oh we are looking for someone like you with lots of SRE experience" (having worked in SRE for <3 months). So yea, it's difficult to get traction for something that isn't already your job title.

MikeNotThePope 10mo ago
>> the majority of recruiters barely read past company name and job title This is a failing of the hiring manager. If the recruiter can't tell who is and isn't a good fit, the hiring manager should have corrected the situation or not partnered with the recruiter.
- freedomben 10mo ago
  Disagree. The most common reason I've seen for this is the recruiters using largely or entirely automated tools to comb LinkedIn, Github, and many other sources and auto-blasting out those cold emails. They don't even look at the resume until you reply with interest. It's not (usually) the hiring manager's fault. They frequently don't even know that is occurring. I find that practice disgusting personally and will never do it myself or condone it in others, but it does seem to work.
  - never_inline 10mo ago
    It probably doesn't work. It seems to work because you will never know the opportunity cost of not hiring a better person, after you already hired a worse person.
  - MikeNotThePope 10mo ago
    The hiring manager can set the expectation with a recruiter that all candidates submitted must meet a certain standard. If the hiring manager let's the recruiters send garbage and/or fails to guide them, that is 100% a hiring manager problem.

ChrisMarshallNY 10mo ago

My entire career was switching from one discipline to another. For me, the key was twofold: 1) Spend a lot of extracurricular (not work) time, exploring new tech that interests me. This often included purchasing expensive kit, and attending classes, on my own dime (but I could usually use the spend in my tax write-offs). 2) Be willing to accept being paid a lot less than my peers. My career is a fairly eclectic one. I’m now retired, and spend a lot of time learning stuff, which is fun.

ramon156 10mo ago
How do you have the time to do this? I already barely have free time, let alone time to attend classes
- ChrisMarshallNY 10mo ago
  In my case, I'm a bit obsessed. I'm "on the spectrum," and that helps me to concentrate and understand stuff. Also, I just like doing this stuff. My work is also my hobby. There's not that many things that I'd rather be doing. I have also had a very good venue for doing volunteer work, and that has always provided a driving force. Of course, now that I'm retired, I have the time.
  - fm2606 10mo ago
    This is me to a big extent. Sometimes I feel like I to learn for learning's sake. Which is okay, or at least that is what my therapist tells me. I struggle with the fact that I "think about doing" vs actually doing. My work is my hobby too, that is why I struggle sometimes wondering if I will ever retire. Why retire when what I'm doing is for the most part fun. Sure, there are days that I'd rather be "doing X", or more like "studying X" than actually working but I'm enjoying work so much lately that it soon passes. Work also forces me to actually DO instead of thinking about doing. I have to perform. People are depending on me to get stuff done and that is a big motivator. With my personal projects, no one needs it or is expecting it so it is too easy to abandon.

vasco 10mo ago

I find it's easier to prove that within a small company after you're in. You just fix a problem in the area you want to work in, then you fix another problem, and soon after people want you on their team or a team is created around you to fix that class of problem. But lots of engineers just wait to be picked while only doing the stories assigned to them. Or they are in big companies, of which I don't know about.

zerr 10mo ago

Never gets old: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/4k994j/if_carpenters_were_hired_like_programmers/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/4k994j/if_...

pjmlp 10mo ago

I have come to the conclusion years ago that it is easier to work on a consulting agency, where everyone is "jack of all trades master of none", than trying to apply to regular HR positions. In agencies, a bit like startups, everyone "knows" everything up to the point of winning projects. While everyone knows here how famous some of those projects end up being, but if you can take this ongoing pressure to "know" everything, it is much easier to switch between roles and programming stacks, than the usual HR looking for X on the CV and nothing else.