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Comment by ryandrake | Hacker News Reader

I think it's hard to gauge who's actually hiring by reading HN "Who's Hiring?" posts or looking at job boards. I think a lot of companies maintain longstanding job posts without actually finding/hiring people. Or they keep interviewing but never commit. Like a fisherman with bait always in the water, never reeling anyone in. The posts should really be renamed to "Ask HN: Who's Interviewing?" or "Ask HN: Who's Fishing?"

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I interviewed at some of the startups that constantly post on Who's Hiring. Long process and no hire. I check on Linkedin their growth from time to time and it's basically flat.

Yeah, I have as good a CV as anyone and I've never gotten anything off any of these hiring threads. I suspect many posts are just straight up resume collection schemes. If I post on the freelancers thread, I tend to average one reply and it is always some recruiter spamming a job they have, never actual freelance work.

I found my most successful job via HN back in 2011 before the whoishiring bot was made, when these posts were less formal and structured. (Not sure how good or bad this is internationally, but great in the USA).

The companies I’ve been with, I’ve always pushed recruiting to post here as a high quality source for leads.

Active fishing vs passive. Job boards and sites are usually much more passive, but you have to "renew" your Who's Hiring posts

> I think a lot of companies maintain longstanding job posts ...

Or, they are growing at a rate that supports a hire every month or three?

If you apply to a post with a qualified resume and don't get a response or get rejected for trivial reasons, and then see the job posted again the following month, that argues against the steady growth theory.

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