tekBlueprint

I was debating whether to write this article, but why not? Thoughts out loud about domestic IT and beyond. Naturally, this is just my perspective, a purely personal opinion and the picture I see from my perspective. Therefore, I don’t claim any validity in my conclusions, and remember – all events are fictional, any coincidences are purely coincidental.

Employer Market

This year, I was forced to look for a job, as the conditions at my previous job made it pointless to continue. I’d say it’s been almost eight years, but oh well.

I’ll say right away that I’m not trying to generalize. I met genuinely honest company representatives, without making false promises or misleading me. Apparently, they know how to read resumes. We talked, realized we had no common interests, and parted ways. Simple and respectful of each other’s time, for which I’m especially grateful.

I haven’t been to interviews in a while, so I could compare how it was several years ago and now. The first stage of recruiting hasn’t changed much, which is understandable; you need to avoid scaring them off. And then the show begins.

We’ll suffocate you for months

I think many have already encountered interviews copied from foreign companies that have five stages. Senseless and merciless. I have a strong feeling that the purpose of such a sadomasochistic process is not only and not so much an attempt to weed out the unworthy, but something else entirely:

1. Entertainment or training for interviewers and managers, paid as working time (perhaps even with additional bonuses). KPIs for bonuses need to be achieved, right?
2. A rather nasty manipulation – after putting a candidate through five circles of “hell,” you can lower the proposed terms. Not everyone will be willing to refuse after spending so much time and effort; they will make concessions.
3. An attempt to present themselves as a powerful company that’s so difficult to get into. So, only the best come to us. Yeah, they run and stumble :)

There are also those who simply interview for the sake of an interview. They don’t intend to hire, but they won’t tell you that. Such vacancies usually sit for years. Sometimes they disappear, apparently for a short vacation period for the person responsible.

So, if you go back a few years, out of dozens of interviews, there was only one like this (four or five stages, I don’t remember). Then, during the second stage, I managed to find out where the interviews were actually taking place (legacy project support) and promptly abandoned the subsequent stages. HR refused to disclose. I don’t know how they’re doing now, but I hope everything is fine with their legacy project.

In short, there’s no point in naming these companies; everyone already knows them. The most surprising thing is that they can drag out the entire process, knowing they won’t be able to offer satisfactory terms in the end. They could easily have parted ways after the screening stage, but no. There’s zero respect for other people’s time and efforts. I’m sure this can easily be attributed to the internal processes of departments, hiring managers, and ultimately, company executives, who bear full responsibility for everything that happens below. Frankly, it’s annoying when people talk about the market and “how bad it is,” but in reality, they haven’t encountered it directly as candidates for a long time. They have a one-sided view of it, while essentially being the ones shaping it.

Yes, there are those who don’t engage in this kind of work. I’d like to believe they genuinely don’t believe this approach is right, and not because they lack the resources to organize it. I can only wish them good luck and not join this trend.

Market Isolation

It seems to me that the departure of foreign companies from the market, which had previously had a sobering effect on local employers, also played a significant role. With the alternative removed, it became easier to dictate terms. If you don’t want to work here, well, try finding someone else; you’re locked in here with us.

Yes, there are still escape routes, like relocating. But this isn’t always possible, and it’s not always profitable. One option is to work completely remotely (as a self-employed individual) for the foreign market. But given the endless sanctions, the unclear process of currency controls, and money transfers between countries, this is an acquired taste. However, financially, it can easily outweigh any offers on the domestic market.

You can also try your hand at moonlighting on an outstaffing basis on the domestic market. I know of some who hold several jobs, working 30% of their time, and then selling it as 100%. Personally, I don’t really want to do something like that, and I gave up outstaffing after EPAM, and I have no desire to voluntarily return to it.

AI Hysteria

This isn’t news anymore, but still. Like the saying among effective managers these days: “We’ll replace everyone, we’ll lay everyone off, and everything will be optimized and perfect.”

There are many opinions, so I can only express my current impressions.

AI has provided good tools for automating routine tasks in many areas. That is, in areas that can be templated and calculated based on probabilities. Everyone still remembers that AI doesn’t exist; the tired old LLMs are essentially pattern-based generators. We’re talking about a tool, not a complete replacement for humans. This has truly made work significantly easier in certain areas of work related to processing large volumes of information (analysis and documentation), and I hope this trend continues to evolve.

Regarding the wishful thinking about universal developers and vibe-coders, I’m not sure yet what could be done, for example, by turning a backend developer into a frontend developer simply by giving them an LLM. Or simply moving them to a different tech stack. It would still be the same backend developer who’s poor at some frontend tasks. They’d still have to learn a new direction and move toward fullstack, which would be long and difficult. However, for those who work on the “cowboy coding -> run off to the next client” model, this works. Technical debt would be someone else’s problem. But we remember that we’re isolated in the local market, and we can’t keep screwing things up for that long.

The same can be said for designers and artists. AI has simplified some technical aspects for them, such as creating references, sculpting templates, mockups, and so on. The final polishing until a quality product is achieved is still done by humans.

But there are a couple of concerns:

1. By greatly simplifying the initial stages of work, future specialists stop developing the basic skills upon which all subsequent expertise is built. This isn’t a problem for those who worked before AI, as they already have this foundation. But what will happen to those who start with a finished piece of work, without any understanding of how it came about or what to do with it? This is a question.
2. Professional degradation, if left to its own devices. AI greatly encourages laziness, which is natural for people with limited experience. There have already been examples of seemingly leading developers unable to understand and refine regular code or solve a simple problem. Something clearly breaks when someone is doing the thinking and doing the work for you. Who would have thought that something could go wrong?
3. As a consequence of the previous point, those who fervently promote the use of AI in work are alarming. However, they don’t mention that a person can essentially destroy their professional career with their own hands. On the other hand, it won’t go away, and the salary won’t need to be raised; he won’t be able to pass the interviews anyway.

And about the eternal. There’s a lot of money circulating in AI-related fields, including government grants (as in all countries). Therefore, there are many, many people willing to participate in harnessing these cash flows and prove themselves AI experts. So, this bubble has existed, exists, and will continue to inflate. It’s just interesting who will survive when the time comes to pay off the debts.

Conclusion

And without a conclusion, I can’t say anything good yet. :) If I have any new thoughts, I’ll add to this.