u/michaelnovati replied · ★ FEATURED
The Codesmith in person cohort in October looks really interesting. I have ZERO inside info on how it's coming together but if in-person works for you, this might be a great option.
I've also heard about how hard it is for people with zero experience in this recent 2-3 cohorts(?, like the last 2-3 months) to get jobs.
I have many years of industry experience and a deep network across the top companies, and we've been through quite the rollercoaster right now. The end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 were somewhat crazy times where it was fairly easy to get a job and I expect those outcomes to be very high from Codesmith and others. Lots of people talking about how amazing program X or Y was and how everyone got jobs, etc... and then all of those who read these posts and signed up, are not having the same luck.
Right now we are returning to a more normal market with some changes. This is what we are seeing at [Formation.dev](https://Formation.dev) with our early career Fellows:
1. The hiring market isn't as bad as it sounds. Like if you have a room full of bootcamp grads supporting each other in these hard times, it might create kind of a "negative" bias that there are just no jobs out there and that it's hopeless. Sure there are hiring freezes here and there, and layoffs, but a lot of companies with layoffs are STILL HIRING AS WELL AT THE SAME TIME. The market is really not that terrible and the press is overblowing negative news. We are even seeing junior people with almost no experience get many interviews and offers.
There is some amount of hiring freezes but it's more like going to a busy city and having a couple of restaurants closed unexpectedly, than all of downtown shut down.
2. Companies hiring mid-level and senior are being pickier. This might be hitting the Codesmith way-of-doing-things as the boosted OSP projects that look like work experience might not be making the cut anymore to get interviews. But system design, stronger past work experience, and GENUINE aligned passions with the company are more important than ever.
3. So overall we are helping people double down on their strengths, target highly matching companies, and helping them present their best authentic selves, and it's working pretty much as well as usual. The negative things we are seeing are: more spread out interview dates, no down-leveling/finding other teams if you don't meet the bar for a mid-level/senior role, occasionally cancelled interviews when spots are filled, negotiations are a little tighter and faster instead of keeping offers open for longer, etc...