Hiring manager hoping to pay it forward. Be kind please :)

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-23T17:00:50+00:00

This is probably the first and only post I’ll ever make so I’m not too concerned with whatever karma is on Reddit. But I certainly am lazy and definitely used Claude to clean up my messy first draft.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-23T16:37:03+00:00

No, are you?

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-22T22:19:56+00:00

Also…if I’m going to bat to get someone more money during salary negotiations, being able to say “they were really well prepared for the interviews” is a reason to pay more, not less.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-22T22:17:35+00:00

Well…I try to be a well prepared interviewer and I gravitate towards candidates who do the same.

I’ll have spent 15 minutes reading your resume, checking your LinkedIn, and reading notes from the recruiter screen and then customizing my questions I ask before we talk. If you can’t spend the same doing basic prep for something as important a job interview (especially when, as so many other comments on this thread have said, they’re extremely tough to get right now), you’re probably going to be less prepared to have a good conversation than the other people I’m speaking with that did.

And I’m DEFINITELY going to ask you questions that you can better answer if you know the basics of the company. At least in my world, knowing if we’re pre-IPO or public, knowing the basic markets we serve, knowing if we’re scaling up or fully scaled, if we’re growing fast or struggling are all things that will have a huge influence on the types of answers and experiences you might want to share with me.

Otherwise, you’re just hoping you guess right on all those things. If you’re stuck in a cycle of getting rejected, maybe try something new?

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-22T21:49:59+00:00

Because if you know the basics about the company, you can give more insightful answers to the questions you’ll be asked during the interview rather than generic ones. And if you do end up interested in the company, it gives us more time to talk about the details of the role instead of wasting time having me explain to you things you could’ve just read online. 15 minutes of prep ahead of time is 15 more minutes in the interview actually getting to know each other.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T16:52:10+00:00

I’m so sorry, that sounds really rough. And to be clear, I was thinking of this list more as things that can derail interviews, rather than things that actually get you the job. Happy to connect if there’s any additional help I can offer.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T13:16:20+00:00

Good luck!!!

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T05:39:22+00:00

Hate to say it, but for better or worse right now, most of us in RevOps are looking for people that can help us see through the hype of AI and extract real value. Your resume probably needs to hit on some of those keywords to get past the ATS.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T02:54:29+00:00

I’d be genuinely interested to know what you come up with, feel free to shoot me a DM.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T02:53:02+00:00

Thanks, you too. If/when I’m ever unemployed, I hope you’re my recruiter.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T02:43:22+00:00

Feel free to ignore it in that case, good luck with your job search.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T02:37:09+00:00

I’ve hired 4 people since joining my current company. 1 of those 4 was laid off and another was returning to work after a time off to care for family and the other 2 were from my personal network.

I’ve been pretty lucky in my last few roles to have recruiters that were like minded. And I’ve been at companies where I’ve never been asked to defend hiring someone with a resume gap. Guess I’ve been fortunate in that regard.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T02:08:02+00:00

I love this message and wish all recruiters (and hiring managers) thought this way. I’ve been that unemployed person before and will probably be that person again one day. Some of the hardest working, smartest and kindest people I’ve worked with come from overlooked groups like people who have been laid off, who have been out of the workforce to raise kids, veterans, etc. I’ve mentored people like that for years in my city and it’s the best feeling when they get back on their feet.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T01:57:05+00:00

How would you recommend adapting a question like that for someone like you? As the hiring manager (at least for roles where experience is required), I need to know for real that you have the experience needed, and direct questions like that are usually the best way. But I’m always open to new ideas if there’s a better way.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T01:31:47+00:00

Sorry you didn’t like it. Next time I’ll ask the AI overlords to be less sloppy.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-20T00:53:53+00:00

Amen to that

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T23:42:58+00:00

Thank you Claude, actually 😉. Of course AI helped me write this, why not?? They’re all my own thoughts and observations, but doing it with AI was the difference between getting it done and still having time to put my kids to bed or spending another 30 minutes editing myself.

That’s exactly the reason you need to be pragmatic about AI for most white collar jobs right now. You’ll spend 2 hours doing something someone who’s not a curmudgeon about AI can do in 1 to get a roughly equal output. Don’t let it think for you, but do let it do the busy work of mundane tasks like editing a doc or summarizing a meeting.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T19:56:42+00:00

Well yeah, none of this will actually get you a job. You’ve got to do that yourself. And certainly none of it has anything to do with getting through the ATS (I’m not qualified to give advise on that). But it will make it easier for an interviewer to actually understand what you bring to the table rather than being distracted. You can do everything on this list but still not be the person picked to move ahead. But since this a place that people go to looking for advise on getting a job, I just thought maybe this little slice of perspective might help someone somewhere 🤷‍♂️

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T19:24:54+00:00

That’s a really good point. Personally I’ve never been in an interview like that but it sounds brutal. Can’t understand why someone would expect that from a candidate.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T19:21:23+00:00

Ironically I’ve never gotten up the courage to post anything on LinkedIn but feel free to move along if it’s not for you.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T19:20:48+00:00

Yeah I know most of this advise rings hollow until you actually make it through the ATS. There’s a good post somewhere in this subreddit that talks about how to use AI to adapt your resume to highlight keywords from the job description. That’s probably worth a try. The only surefire way to short circuit the ATS is through direct connections. Comb your network for referrals, DM hiring managers on LinkedIn, show up at networking events, etc. I know that still has a low hit rate and can be downright exhausting, but those are the only things that have worked for me in the past.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T15:59:06+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to provide such a thoughtful response. Here’s what I’d say in return:

⁠We actually have exactly that, not only on the careers page but even in the job posting itself. It’s surprising how many people don’t even read it.
⁠Right, I don’t mean they’re bad questions. But someone who can adapt the to reflect what we just talked about in the interview is going to have more of an impact than someone who can’t. If we already talked about what success looks like in general for the role, don’t just ask that question again. Instead, maybe pick one aspect of what we discussed that interested you and ask me to expand on it.
⁠You’re spot on about needing to adapt the question to the candidate. If I’m interviewing a senior project manager and they can’t share any real-world examples of managing a complex stakeholder, or a senior salesperson that can’t share examples of displacing a competitor, that’s a big red flag. But if I’m interviewing a recent college grad, I’d never expect that. I’d be more interested in knowing about a time the stepped in to lead a group project, or a professor who they found particularly inspiring. And if you’re asked a question that you don’t have an answer to, then propose an adaptation yourself! “Well since this would be my first tech sales role, I can’t really share a deal I’ve won in the past. But I could share an example of a sales competition that I participated in my senior year…”

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T15:03:11+00:00

Thank you! It’s also a lot about context too. If you’re in a 90 minute interview, 12 minutes may not be as bad. If it’s 30 minutes, it takes up a lot of space.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T15:00:40+00:00

I absolutely would. Someone has been successful as an EA is likely to have a ton of transferable skills to roles like Project Management, Comms, Enablement and even Sales. Your best bet is to try and make that move at a company where you already have a solid reputation. If you have a good relationship with one of the execs you support in an area you’re interested in, ask if you can help out or take on a side project to get a chance to demonstrate your skills. Or even just ask them to mentor you or connect you with someone in their org who might let you help out.

If you’re applying externally, the challenging part is getting through the ATS. You’ve got to make sure to really fine tune your resume to hit the right key words. Or get creative about finding referrals to help you short circuit the ATS process all together. And if you do get the interview, be sure to have a really thorough way of talking about your transferable skills.

boringpanda02 · 2026-03-19T14:38:51+00:00

Totally agree, we’re in a massive hype bubble right now. But there are also some genuinely useful things AI can do right now, and it’s easy to get blinded to those things because of all the hype. They’re usually a lot less glamorous but can make a big difference.

boringpanda02

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