If you went through multiple rounds it likely means they were seriously considering you but ultimately they didn’t get to a yes. If it’s any comfort that means you did pretty well.

The short stints on a resume is likely not the only reason you didn’t get to 100%, but unfortunately you should know that it’s seen as a pretty bad signal. The general expectation is 2 years minimum at a gig. If you have multiple short non-contract jobs it raises the concern that a candidate doesn’t commit to their jobs, or that they don’t do well at their jobs and are getting let go.

You're not changing the world either way, you would just be working for a more demanding guy. Fuck em.

A generic rejection is more than I got for feedback; I never heard back. Still, I thought the process of writing the materials was great. I don’t usually take the time to think about the arc of my experience in a holistic way. Do it for yourself if you do it at all; don’t go into it with high expectations for feedback and you won’t be disappointed.

Usually the stated reason is not actually the real reason. They just state something generic that isn’t illegal to admit.

The real reason might be “they didn’t like your vibes” or something like that

So basically you wanted to have it easy - joining a company with a certain prestige and be over the recruitment process in 30 minutes or less.

> Concerns that should have been handled in the initial call, somehow get pushed back till after I've wasted monumental amount of time.

Honestly these "reasons" they give are usually BS excuses when it basically amounts to they don't like your personality or looks.

Don't underestimate the importance of timing, for both the company you're applying at and the industry/economy as a whole.

As they say, you can't get blood from a turnip.

Writing this comment reminded me of a personal experience, story time:

Many moons ago I interviewed at a mature startup in silicon valley, they shipped a tiered storage appliance and were in the process of pivoting to a new storage medium (think transitioning from spinning rust to SSDs, something like that).

This was in-person, and everything went swimmingly well, before departing they stated an intention to make an offer and I should expect an email w/offer attached within a week. I got an offer letter, and accepted immediately, as I was super excited about the stack I'd be playing with.

A week before the start date I get a call from a founder, they said I couldn't start because their funding round didn't come through. The economy was going through some sort of financial crisis and it was one of the many blood baths where silicon valley startups shuttered by the hundreds overnight. So in essence, this was a job I got fired from before I could even start, wee!

What followed was a pretty frustrating few months of interviewing and not getting anywhere.

But there is a silver lining to this story, that founder who called me sat on the board of other storage startups. One of them managed to get some water in this funding desert, and its founders reached out to me at his recommendation. I ended up building some great stuff over 4-5 years at that company.

I used to enjoy it much more before it became just another podcast extoiling the virtues of AI-assisted coding. I have too many of those already.

I love the new podcast but miss on the metal so much. It should be quarterly at least

Well, a couple of things. First, the Jonathan Blow episode[0] was over six years ago. Second, it was nearly a three hour conversation -- I don't think I can be accused of not letting him talk? Third, I definitely remember that I felt I had to interrupt him to move the conversation along. Fourth, I had to pee really badly, I was absolutely freezing, and I was quite concerned about missing my flight to New Zealand that evening with my family for Christmas (which I damned near did) -- and I have no doubt that I was not at my best!

I do try to get better at this stuff, and I re-listen to our episodes to improve as an interviewer. If it's been "a few years", maybe you haven't listen too much to Oxide and Friends? I think we've had some wonderful guests and great conversations over the span of the podcast -- though I also have no doubt that it's imperfect, for which you have my profound apologies!

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkdpLSXUXHY

And lawnmowers.

It doesn’t strictly exclude Europe, we have a few employees in Europe. But as the other reply says, they work slightly odd hours.

> I would try to apply but as far as I know they require 4 hours overlap with PST which excludes Europe

Wouldn't that depend less on where you are and more about your sleeping schedule? I generally go to bed around 04:00Z, up around 11:30Z sometime, seems that would work regardless of location, no?

Well one, don't look up to people you personally don't know. Parasocial relationships are not healthy. Look into your local community for people to be mentors or help you.

That said I like Bryan Cantrill as an engineer and leader, but I would never put him on a pedestal.

It's best to avoid idolizing folks. It can give you a skewed set of expectations and lead you to resent them when inevitably they cannot live up those those expectations (which is unfair to them), and possibly lower your own self esteem if you cannot meet those same standards yourself.

Tip that will work forever, even when the ones you replace your old idols with get replaced: Don't have any idols.

Listen to the words, don't follow "personalities", don't listen to specific individuals just because of their status. Not a single time have I been disappointed by an idol, because I've made the conscious choice of not having following any. Bunch of smart people say smart stuff all the time, until they don't. I read everything as if I don't know the author, I think more people should do this and less celebrity worship would make the entire ecosystem better. We need less of it, not more.

I've seen Bryan Cantrill present at a few conferences and his talks are always the best.

Is Jessie Frazelle still there? She is very impressive.

Bryan Cantrill