Even though I have 21 years of experience in the software industry, and am fairly proud of some of my accomplishments, I Absolutely. Dread. Interviewing. I am not good at it. I don't think I've ever interviewed nearly as well as the employee I ended up actually being. But, when hiring, you can't take people's word for it. Thus, we continue to interview, knowing that it's ableist, biased, and inaccurate, but not knowing what else to do. In fact, I wouldn't really trust a company that gave me an offer without administering at least a sort of FizzBuzz test, because I've interviewed a lot of people that couldn't pass one.
I'm especially concerned about it, now, because I am not presently employed, and I intend to try to join any new company without the consequential role reduction and having to climb the ladder all over again. At my last two companies, I had to work myself up the ranks twice each time, at some point losing a lot of capital that I'd built up due to unfortunate circumstances and reorganizations. I don't think I have it in me to start over yet again.
The process of working one's way up the ladder is also one that naturally builds resentment. You have to do the job at the next level to get promoted, as we must avoid the ever-threatening Peter Principle. And, honestly, that's fair enough. But, most companies don't do a great job of promoting you even after you have been doing the next job. So, at some point you switch from aspiration to resentment. What's taking so long? What do I have to do? Why do I feel left behind? My boss got promoted and inserted another manager on top of me. The reality is that no one cares about you either way, they are mostly just worried about themselves. And, I resent that, too.
I'd prefer to start at a new company with a good attitude, but also with enough organizational capital to have a broader effect. I imagine that, in order to do that, I'd have to interview really well, and probably in a different interview format than the standard Individual Contributor Software Engineer slate that I'm used to. But... I don't know, I have never done that. I've done the job, but my interview was ~4 years of proving myself.
To be clear, I have no problem proving myself. As I've said, I don't see any alternative. But, it takes years to work up to a Staff or Architect position from scratch, and I just don't think that whole thing should be necessary for me, again.
I don't have a poignant conclusion, here, I'm mostly setting up for some blisteringly hot takes in my coming posts.
It's pretty rich asking anyone for thoughts when I have a blog that no one has read. So, I'll just wonder aloud what other folks' experiences have been with ladder climbing, increasing "scope" and "impact," how not to lose out when switching jobs, and how to stay happy while doing it.