Wellfound

Is remote hiring dead? Well, the data says… …not really. Here’s the percentage of new engineering job postings on Wellfound that allowed remote work: - Pre-pandemic - 20% - Post-pandemic peak - 46% in July 2022 - Now - 30% That said, a 33% drawdown from peak is notable. But if you’re hiring remote, that’s just more applicants you can choose from. And if you’re a candidate applying, you’ll probably see less competition if you’re willing to go into an office. But no, I wouldn’t say remote is dead, compared to where we were pre-pandemic.

If I were to restart my career, I wouldn’t worry about joining a startup vs big tech. I’d answer these three questions instead: (New grads, use this framework.) 1. How fast am I learning? Compound growth is one of the most powerful effects, and it applies directly to your career. You should be learning fast, and early. Flashy names in big tech might seem safe to join (and have other upside), but you could be learning at a snail’s pace. When you’re seeking these opportunities out, ask yourself - are the problems interesting? Do I get significant ownership over my part of the product? I’d pick a small product with large ownership over a huge product with tiny ownership, all else being equal. 2. How good is my network? My entire career is based on the network that I had early on. I worked closely with these people every day, and they went on to do incredible things. You can’t buy that type of relationship. Which is why it’s so crucial to join a team full of cracked, driven people. I’d be asking questions like: are the people around me really smart? Will I actually work in the trenches with these people, instead of talk once at a water cooler? Finding the right group of people can literally change your life. 3. What credibility will I get? Here’s where big tech rears its head. Because yes, you get significant social proof. The check mark that people place on your resume. It’s possible, but rarer, to get that from a startup. If you’re early on in your career, you honestly just need a checkmark of some kind. It makes everything else so much easier. So, it can be a bit of a gamble picking a startup over Google. But if it’s the right startup (that checks the first two boxes) then you’ll be just fine. If I were evaluating two competing offers (or staring down a 6-month interview grind, and wondering where to set my sights) I’d focus my attention around these three questions.

New grads in engineering, here’s why the market is so tough. You’re not competing against each other. You’re competing against someone with 5 years of experience. Any company that hires new grads is agreeing to training them. Which, when done right, can be great. Higher loyalty, tenure, and lower pay. But it comes with significant cost: - Teaching them how to build production systems - Teaching them how to build software end-to-end - Teaching them how to work within a larger organization These are things that mid-to-senior level engineers just know. They’ve had the reps, they know the typical paths to take to problem-solve. There’s a few reasons most companies pick these engineers over entry-level: - Ambiguity - Engineers with experience generally deal with professional ambiguity better vs someone who’s only seen a smaller set of problems in school - Self-motivation - Being able to do things when people don’t tell you to do them takes on a different meaning post-school - Shortcuts, and knowing when to take them - Knowing the tradeoffs of an architectural decision or an implementation can make or break a sprint, month, quarter, etc. In short, that’s who you’re competing against. If you can sell the upside (loyalty, fresh eyes, work ethic) you’ll be playing a smarter game.

Recruiters, there are dumb ways to use AI and smart ways you should be using AI. Let me walk you through the smart way. I think by 2025, we should expect purpose-built AI tools to handle the “manual” part of recruiting. Interview scheduling, initial outreach, surfacing resumes. But you can do so many high-leverage things with off-the-shelf tools. For example, Google’s NotebookLM lets you create a shareable knowledge base on a job listing, candidate, or company. - Share it with other recruiters who might be helping with hiring - Share it with candidates so they can ask questions about the company This is incredibly useful, context-specific, and time-saving. And I think every entry-level recruiter should be taking advantage of it.