Kathryn Hodge

"I don't like leetcode style interviews!" See I wasn't making it up! Kurtis Nusbaum tells us more about why engineers don't like leetcode and the types of interviews that lead to a more enjoyable and effective interviewing experience.

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Anyone in my network (or knows someone) that’s looking to start out their software career or already has some experience, gimme a shout. Have a client looking to hire. Please note, this is more of an entry level/less experienced position. Not looking for loads of experience. Only drawback is it’s mostly an on-prem gig here in Jax. Upsides include getting to work with modern tech, a plethora of legitimately interesting problems, and you get to work with us too. 😎 That last one might include some mentoring, pairing, and teaming. #payITforward

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Taken from TLDR - full article attached. "To automate entire job functions" it says. Talking about making your job easier? You won't have to do anything! 🤖 In two months they have generated 700k in ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue, so subscriptions. Artisan, a fast-growing startup founded in 2023, is revolutionizing the future of work by developing AI employees, called Artisans, to automate entire job functions, starting with sales. After initially struggling with a self-serve model, it transitioned to a sales-led approach, resulting in significant growth. Artisan is focused on building an efficient inbound lead generation system and aims to create the best outbound AI SDR on the market. It plans to expand into other areas like marketing and customer success. https://lnkd.in/eUnT972j

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Tech debt is the interest you pay for building code fast and cheap. Sure, you can "fix it later," but that can often snowball to "we'll struggle with this forever." I get it, you're just building your MVP — it doesn't have to be perfect, but start with a solid foundation: • Ensure your code is clean • Prioritize debt reduction • Embrace test-driven development • Leverage test automation • Implement CI/CD These practices will help you sleep better at night and keep your code healthy. How do you manage tech debt? #AI #QA #Technology #TechLeadership Image Credit: Vincent Déniel

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Carta's data is ....off? Coastal Recruiting communicates with hundreds of engineers weekly, primarily in New York and San Francisco. We consistently encounter software engineers with 2-6 years of experience requesting base salaries between $180,000 and $250,000, plus equity. Perhaps "misleading" is a better term, as I frequently hear founders saying, "But Carta indicates we can hire this engineer for $140,000 to $160,000." We then observe Seed/Series A companies paying $200,000 to $300,000 for top talent. The disconnect may stem from the fact that companies raising funds from Sequoia, Khosla, Founders Fund, Lightspeed, a16z, KP, Greylock, Index, NEA, Lux, and others are not seeking what 95% of the companies providing data to Carta are seeking. These companies are looking for the top 0.01% of engineers. I say all this while also acknowledging my appreciation for Carta. I value the data and charts it provides, but it's important to remember: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

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Some SaaS software subscriptions are like signing up for an email list in order to get a discount: easy to sign up for but difficult to cancel. Has anyone come across any hidden or misleading terms & conditions for software?

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🎯 Hiring managers…have you ever felt overwhelmed opening a new software engineering role? 🤓 Hiring software engineers for your team shouldn't be a headache. My video below reveals the top 3️⃣ struggles I see – and the small, actionable 🎯 adjustments that'll save your team time in the hiring process. 🤝Ready to partner for a smoother search? Watch ⬇️!

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$2,175 per week -- double the cost of the #iPhone people will be waiting in line to buy on 9/20. If you make $125K per year, it costs you $2,175/week to apply to #jobs with a #resume that doesn't get #interviews. 😱 If your current resume is a low-cost resume ($500 or less) or if you wrote it yourself, you're probably getting more rejections than interviews. Many credentialed resume #writers, including me, offer service bundles that are well below $2,175. Let's do the math. A gross salary of $125K per year is $2,400/week, $60/hour, and $10 per minute, assuming a 40-hour workweek. This is how much your time is worth. 👎Like most job-seekers, you’re applying to as many jobs as possible (let’s say 50/week) at a 90% rejection rate. This works out to 5 real responses per week. 👎 In 6 months, you’ve gotten 3 interviews. What's that costing you per week, whether or not you're employed? ➡️ Here is a breakdown of what 50 jobs per week and a 90% rejection rate is actually costing you, assuming you make $125K per year. You think you have to write a new resume to tailor to a job; it takes up to 5 hours to do this. You do this for 5 postings per week. (Pro tip: tailoring a resume isn't this involved.) You're spending 25 hours per week (5 hours x 5 resumes) on full rewrites @ $60/hour. This is 💵 $1,500 per week. 😱 For jobs that aren’t as interesting, you use Easy Apply. That works out to 45 resumes at 15 minutes a pop. This means it's costing you $15 per job to use Easy Apply. This is another $675 per week. 😱 ➡️The grand total, as mentioned, is 💵 $2,175 per week 💵. Questions? I'm happy to answer them. Comment below or visit https://lnkd.in/gKpT_2K to set up a chat.

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If I could offer one piece of advice to a new engineer, it would be to take pride in the craft of software engineering. Career success happens because you deliver something of value — not because you're working on the "coolest" tech. I often see software engineers focus on following the latest trends. They move from stack to stack or chase the newest, shiniest technology. I would advise people to 1) find a problem that you're passionate about and 2) laser focus on building good technology that solves these problems. Even though I don't personally code our products anymore, I'm still a "product guy" who believes this kind of engineering mindset is crucial to success. (BTW: This advice applies to both new engineers and engineers who want to transition into entrepreneurship. At the core, good software is about building products that solve big problems. If you do that, everything else falls into place.)

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Ever interview for a QA automation role requiring Python, only to have candidates try to charm their way in with just Java experience? It's like ordering a latte and getting espresso—both caffeinated, but not quite what you asked for! ☕⚡ Me: "How do you use decorators in Python to modify a function's behavior?" Candidate: "Well, in Java, we have annotations, so I guess it's similar in Python?" Me: "Can you give me a Python example?" Candidate: "Nervous laugh Imagine if Java and Python merged?" A for imagination, F for execution! 😂 Friendly Tip: If your résumé says Python, make sure you've spent quality time with it—not just a weekend fling. Apply for roles that match your actual skills, and come prepared. Honesty isn't just the best policy; it's the best strategy. Let's keep our QA processes sharp and our code even sharper! 🛠️ #QAAutomation #TestingLife #AutomationTesting #InterviewHumor #TechLaughs #QualityAssurance #KeepItReal

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OpenAI’s new hire, Leah Belsky, as GM of Education is going to make a big impact in how AI shows up in schools. We’re already seeing how ChatGPT Edu is being used for tutoring, resume help, and even writing grant applications—so what’s next? Could AI take personalized learning to a whole new level? A few things I’m wondering: - How is AI going to change the way classrooms work? - What new doors will this open for students and teachers? - And what do we need to do to keep data safe? As both an educator and product manager, I think this is huge! #ai #education

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A random thought, and I want to send encouragement for people in the tech sector that are either currently out of work, or are walking on pins-and-needles. For software developers in the U.S., I'm concerned about both the oversaturation of software engineers and the lack of recruitment. This wasn’t the case 3-5 years ago. By god, I'm one of them. I don't have a computer science degree. My grandpa taught me how to use MS-DOS on an IBM-386 in the early 90s. I taught myself basic C++ programming and HTML later in the late 90s from books rented at the library. I experienced two tech booms in '98 and '04. I worked relentlessly to get good enough at a particular craft of software development that always had a job for me. AI is looking like a different game. Discern the hype with what is going to make your life better, and hopefully and more importantly, solve problems for others. Correct me, but I look at app dev of the last decade to gaming dev. A developer from each discipline can work together, but it's not like one of them is going to wake up the next day with another new discipline. It takes years to learn the frameworks and the economics and the business to a direct career path. AI and the rest of software development will be the same. There is hype around AI. What I remember from my learning years as a young developer is that the more you work, the more you create, the more you're turned down and fight right back, one day, it clicks. And while never easy on the mind, you sustain well-being in a job if you can calm the algorithms flying through your head. Careful. But keep working at it. Just keep working at it.

Major milestones in how tech companies interview software engineers: - 2008 Steve Yegge publishes the viral blog post "Get that job at Google" - 2008 Gayle McDowell publishes the seminal book Cracking the Coding Interview - 2015 Winston Tang founds Leetcode, the essential resource and community for interview-focused coding exercises Each of these were amazing pieces of work and hugely influential, because they pulled back the curtain on the Google-like interview, and showed a path to getting hired into big tech companies to those of us without a CS degree from Stanford. But I'll argue they were influential for another reason: they were so successful that they gave legitimacy to this style of coding/whiteboard interviewing, which minimizes past technical accomplishments, references from colleagues, fluency in specific technologies, and realistic on-the-job exercises. The further away you are from school, the more work experience you have, the less likely you are to pass this kind of interview without months of preparation. Many, many companies have adopted this style of interviewing, because, well, you can't get fired for interviewing candidates like big tech does. So this is now the industry standard. Shout out to companies that attract talent by publicizing they do *not* have this kind of interview process. Interviews without whiteboards is a movement I can get behind. Now, rant aside. This is the world we live in and most job seekers need to do this kind of preparation. Don't hate the player, hate the game. I've heard from 2 of the co-authors of the upcoming sequel Beyond Cracking the Coding Interview, and am pretty excited about the updates. I think it will be another essential resource. I've pre-ordered mine. ---- Hi! I'm Larry Jacobson.  I coach people in tech. Like this post? Hit 👍 Love it? Leave a comment ✍️ Think others should read it? Repost ♻️

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How I helped Oleg land multiple roles, including a FAANG offer, despite layoffs 1. Built a structured job search strategy: * Oleg came in feeling overwhelmed and unsure which steps to prioritize. * We crafted a plan tailored to his goals, from clarifying his ideal role to targeting the right companies. *With clear focus, his confidence started to grow. 2. Mastered storytelling to stand out in interviews: * We worked on turning his career experiences into compelling stories, drilling these repeatedly through peer practice. * Oleg spent hours refining his narratives, recording himself, and iterating until they were polished. * His storytelling became so powerful that interviewers frequently complimented his clarity and confidence. 3. Optimized the job search process with referrals and networking: * Cold applications weren’t working in today’s market, so we helped Oleg leverage warm introductions and referrals: * Through our program’s network, he secured interviews with top companies like Amazon, Coinbase, and Angie's list. * He not only got offers but the luxury to negotiate terms and choose the best fit for his career goals. The result of doing this: Multiple offers, including from Amazon and Angie's list, during one of the toughest markets for job seekers. Oleg ultimately landed his ideal role while rediscovering his confidence. But here’s the thing: Oleg put in the work. Months of commitment, countless hours practicing, and a relentless focus on improvement. You can also land your dream product role—even in a tough market—but you have to approach your job search with strategy, storytelling, and persistence.

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Hey folks, I'll be running a two-part virtual PD through Nassau BOCES in March 2025 called "Grading for Equity" using Joe Feldman's text, Grading for Equity, as our guide. Please see below for the description and feel free to share with your networks. To register, go to: https://lnkd.in/ehw8gkwn While grading is an everyday practice for classroom teachers, we rarely have the opportunity to interrogate our grading practices and understand how grades impact our students' attitudes, well-being, and academic success. In this transformational course, we will use Grading For Equity by Joe Feldman as our anchor text to 1) understand how traditional grading practices impact our students, and 2) how we can use research-based grading policies that are accurate, bias-resistant, motivational, and empowering. Rather than lectures, this course is active and engaging, using the case study method and rigorous discussion to support learning.

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I remember sitting at the conference room table with my co-founders, building out our org chart with 90% remote offshore talent and 10% US talent. Our Amazon aggregator business was operationally intensive, and being self-funded, we couldn't afford US salaries. Two of our co-founders from Pakistan showed us the cost-effectiveness of hiring there. For the price of 1 US employee, we could hire 4-5 full-time employees in Pakistan. It was a no-brainer. And the truth is, the team you see in the image below are some of the brightest minds in the e-commerce space. Better than most US employees i've worked with in the past. In the past 3 years, we've hired over 100 offshore employees, enabling us to scale rapidly and survive challenges post-covid without a hefty US payroll burden. This success led me to launch Talent Hackers, an offshore staffing firm. We specialize in helping companies scale by providing top-tier talent at 70% less cost than US equivalents. Don't let payroll limitations hinder your growth. Let me help you build your army. P.S. If you're ever in Pakistan try their chai tea ;)

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“They keep mashing the go-back-to-2019 button, and they see it’s not working” Some strong #RTO takes from Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, criticizing rigid return-to-office mandates, saying they create toxic relationships with staff and hinder talent retention. He argues that flexibility, not office perks, retains talent. From the piece, "Flexible firms will steal your talent no matter what perks you attempt to sweeten the sour deal with." 🙅‍♂️ 90% of Dropbox employees are fully remote under the "virtual-first" model (they started in April 2020) and per the article, "Dropbox is subletting 'a lot' of its empty office space in San Francisco" Other interesting factoids, suggesting an RTO backtrack by leaders: 🔔 63% of CEOs predicted the end of remote work by 2026, but this has significantly changed 🔔 90% of CEOs previously linked raises, promotions, and favorable assignments to in-office presence, but are now rethinking this stance 🔔 Only one-third of CEOs now expect a full return to the office within the next three years 🔔 Nearly half of CEOs acknowledge that hybrid work is the future Beyond Nike and Zoom, are there other companies facing scrutiny for their RTO policies? Have other execs come out as so Anti-RTO? Curious to hear your thoughts! #FutureOfWork #RemoteWork #HybridWork https://lnkd.in/g3JAkEkc

The Knights Who Say Nooooo! I'm going to share a recent experience that I think epitomizes the current state of finding work in fintech. If I haven't made it clear across social media, I was laid off at the start of April. It wasn't a surprise - when your job descends into a series of "projects", you know your days are numbered. They were, but I still wasn't mentally prepared for the unexpected appearance of HR staff on a 1:1 with my boss. Anyway, here we are. I'll start with the good. I have to say our industry comprises of the most supportive and genuinely caring people I have ever met - I'd say 95% of the people I've reached out to have been incredibly helpful and are actively looking out for me. Onto the bad. The journey is undoubtedly long, emotionally draining, and fraught with significant instances of disappointment. For what is supposed to be a booming economy, there's a disconnect. Applying for an opening cold on LinkedIn is pointless unless you have someone as a connection at a company. I've seen jobs with over 500 applicants with specs that are works of science fiction. Not unlike Monty Python's "Knights Who Say Ni", they want candidates to bring them a shrubbery and to cut down a tree with a herring. Now the ugly. I went through a series of interviews with a well known research company that also comprised of a two day exercise to demonstrate written and data analytic skills. I took the two days to really do a deep dive on market segments, adding additional data to the spreadsheets and creating what I thought was a fairly compelling example of my skills and experience. Two weeks later, I got a call from the recruiter who was incredibly apologetic, letting me know that they were not going forward with the application because "they were looking for stronger handling of visuals." Nowhere in the job description was there any callout for having graphic design chops. Admittedly my skills reached their pinnacle with Microsoft Paint 95, but in 20 years of being an industry analyst, I have never had to BE a graphic designer. No commentary on the actual analysis, no commentary on my skills. Just my inability to design a couple of charts that matched whatever standards I wasn't aware existed. I gave them the best shrubbery, cut down a tree with a herring, and in reality four days of my time, and it still wasn't enough. WTAF?! So, my ask is this of recruiters and hiring managers. Please - stop making prospective employees jump through hoops and then judging them by criteria that have zero to do with the ability to perform the job. This is hard enough without futile Sisyphean tasks. Have your own story from the job search trenches? Drop me a comment... (first posted on my blog https://lnkd.in/e8M8w3nT)

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For what it's worth, I don't work at AWS, Google etc because less favorable to contractors(I like working with my taxes + finances/can crank out an extra 50-100k on c2c). That being said, if I did work at AWS and it required me to be there 5 days a week(like it does now), I would quit. So there's that. I worked remote before Covid, I'm special/cracked. Especially if people get to work on their own schedule, asynchronously with good tickets. Things go zoom 🏎️ If any of these orgs have a problem with remote teams let me head one of them and I’ll teach you how it’s done. Until next time. Stay cripsy.

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