Benjamin Hendricks

📚 Hiring Labs — Episode 4: Grads, It’s Tough Out There (But Here’s How to Make It Work) Let’s be real: If you just graduated with an engineering or software degree, this market is not playing nice. 🧊 Entry-level hiring has frozen at some of the biggest tech firms. 📉 Job listings for new grads are down ~50% since 2019. 😓 Nearly 6% of grads are unemployed, and over 40% are underemployed—working in jobs that don’t require their degree. And here's the truth: Graduating into a weak market like this can cause up to a ~9% salary penalty, lasting years. But... taking smart moves now can set you up for serious payoff later. Let’s talk about what recruiters are really noticing—and what might be holding you back. ❌ What’s Not Helping You Right Now Pricing yourself out of the market Asking for $120K in Orlando or Huntsville because your cousin's roommate got that in Palo Alto? Nope. Taking a ~$50–60K job now and learning fast can put you in that $120K seat sooner than you think. Unemployment = lost income and lost momentum. ❌ Relying on your degree alone Everyone applying has the same degree. What else do you bring? ✅ Projects ✅ GitHub repos ✅ Stack Overflow activity ✅ Open-source contributions Even self-initiated work counts. Show you’re hungry. ❌ Ignoring the tools If you haven’t touched: – GitHub – AI tools (yes, including ChatGPT & Copilot) – Python frameworks – Docker or Kubernetes – Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) …then you’re not showing recruiters you’re ready right now. ❌ Ghosting recruiters You might be ghosting your way out of your first job. Even a 10-minute chat can plant a seed. You don’t have to say yes—but you do have to show up. And yes, you should vet recruiters too: Do they know tech? Are they active in the space? ✅ What Does Get You Noticed – A clean, tailored resume that connects to the job posting (see Hiring Labs Episode #1!) – Proof of life: GitHub, LinkedIn, a portfolio site—something we can actually see 🎓 This cycle is tough, no doubt. But recession grads who stay visible and adaptable are often the ones leading teams five years later. Because while your degree opens the door—your hustle gets you in. — 💼 Want to know what we’re hiring for right now? Take a look: https://lnkd.in/etJQ5jCE

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We sat down with the co-founder of a $1B tech company. He shared with us how engineering teams can leverage AI in ways no one has been thinking about. Most engineering teams aren't struggling with whether to use AI. They're struggling with how to extract real value from it. In July, we co-hosted an event with Guy Gur-Ari (co-founder, Augment Code) and Tushar Jain (CTO, Docker) to discuss what they are seeing in engineering teams. Guy pointed out that building with AI agents requires a fundamental shift in how engineers think about their craft. It's no longer about reading code, reasoning through it, refining it line by line. Working effectively with AI introduces a new skill entirely. It's about breaking problems down so intelligent systems can actually help. This shift takes time because you're rewiring decade-old habits, current workflows, and expectations. This Thursday, January 15th, we're hosting a small, off-the-record dinner for CXOs to have an honest conversation about one question I’m hearing everywhere: How are engineering teams actually getting real leverage from AI in code today? I'll be joined by Guy and Igor Ostrovsky (co-founders of Augment Code) and peers from Enrich - our private members-only network of CTOs and VPs of Engineering from companies like OpenAI, Slack, and Reddit. We'll share what's working, what's not, and how teams are adapting in practice - not theory. Comment if you're interested in joining; priority given to Enrich members.

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Reading Metronome’s Monetization Operating Model, I kept coming back to one idea: pricing has become product. Software now delivers outcomes, not access. Yet most companies still charge as if they’re selling seats or licenses. That disconnect creates friction: for customers, unpredictability; for companies, stalled growth. The paper’s argument is simple but sharp—monetization isn’t a late-stage decision. It’s strategic infrastructure. Pricing needs the same ownership and iteration as any feature. Treat it like a surface that customers touch, not a spreadsheet buried in finance. If value is continuous and dynamic, pricing must be as well. That means product, GTM, finance, and engineering working from one system of truth. How many of us still treat pricing as an afterthought—when it should be a growth engine? https://lnkd.in/gnH7WzYf #Monetization #ProductStrategy #AI

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Curiosity is an underrated trait in engineers. In my experience, the best engineers are curious about problems and new tech. They lean in, read up, and ask questions. They don't prematurely conclude something isn't worth their time. Mediocre engineers aren't curious and default to a defensive posture: "this is dumb", "why should I care", "it's just hype", etc. Be a curious engineer.

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You can't demand boldness from people you've trained to just follow orders. Want innovative engineers? Make it safe for them to THINK. OUT. LOUD. Tech leaders can be so focused on their vision, that they stop listening to the engineers actually building it. When you start treating engineers as partners, and start asking them important questions like "what could go wrong?" instead of just "how fast can you build this?", you'll see the same 'quiet' developers suddenly speaking up and preventing disasters you didn't even know were coming. The courage to question starts with leaders who make a safe space for engineers to express their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. A place where they can feel SEEN. You don’t grow courage with pressure. You grow it with empathy, on repeat.

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The billionaire is partly backing a new AI startup called Project Prometheus, has raised $6.2 billion in funding, and will take on duties as co-chief executive of the new venture. https://lnkd.in/eWHUUqhs

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So many in tech think that no one sees through this post template: “So many in tech think that [extreme position that no one actually espouses]. When actually, [benign-sounding position stated as a neutral principle that just so happens to promote the poster’s products].”

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40% of engineering applicants were fake, and now, hiring teams have a new way to respond. Greenhouse’s integration with CLEAR introduces identity verification as a seamless step in the hiring journey, not a post-offer afterthought. It’s a sign that trust is becoming just as critical as fit. In a world of AI-generated resumes and deepfake interviews, this shift feels timely—and overdue. It won’t solve everything. But it’s a bold move in the right direction. https://lnkd.in/ez9eihjT Greenhouse Software #recruiting #HRTech #WorkTech #IdentityVerification

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One of many reason the call Seth Raphael magic Seth, works Convex and helped Optimized OpenClaw ’s 1M Weekly Active Users. Here’s how: https://lnkd.in/gJjhuD3y

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Tech stacks can be learned. System thinking, ownership & hunger cannot. That is what makes hiring engineers so hard. 100% agreed with Brian (Coinbase CEO) here, most of the times best hires are totally unqualified on paper. After building two startups and hiring across both, the pattern is clear. The best people are problem solvers who want to do something big and genuinely believe in the mission. They take initiative without being asked, stay curious, and never stop learning. But the one thing that matters more than all of this is trust. Trust cannot be tested in an interview. It is earned slowly over time through consistent actions, not words. The best hires are the ones who build that trust in the first few months by simply doing what they said they would do. This is exactly how we are building the team at CubeAPM. If you are hiring engineers, I would love to hear what filter works best for you.

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