The Hire

It's mid-afternoon. You're sitting at the kitchen table again, staring at the oddly-familiar smiling faces on the "Join Our Team!" page of another mid-sized tech company. Didn't you check this one earlier this week? Or are these "employees" actually just stock photos? Scrolling down to the "Engineering roles" section, you see a solitary post for a "Semantic Relationship Labeling Intern". Well, that's definitely not what you're looking for, and yes, you've already seen this page at least twice, and— The soft chime of a message from a friend interrupts you, and you breathe a sigh of relief. She can't help with the job hunt, probably; she already recommended you for an open role where she works, and you were rejected without even an interview, two months ago. The distraction is welcome, though. That semi-panicked, focused drive you had after you first discovered you'd been laid off has slowly twisted up into a tight knot deep in your gut over the past few weeks, and somehow the bright sunlight pouring in the window is making it all feel worse. The urgency to do *something* stays, but do what? For a delirious second you consider applying to the labeling internship -- then wince and expand the message. But it's surprisingly short: just "this is it", followed by a link. [[You click through]].

friendVisit: false -- You're sure {friend} wouldn't send you into some kind of scam. She's worked in web security! She must have researched this site. You flip back to the chat. Oh -- that's strange. There's no chat history, just the one message. You didn't notice because you opened the link straight from the notification. In the contact list, there are now **two** chats for "{friend}". One of them just has the "this is it" message in it, and the other is the _real one_ with your usual chatter. This fake one also has a new "{friend} has blocked you" notification now showing at the bottom. A cold trickle of adrenaline is turning into a flood, and you take a few deep breaths. [[Call friend<-Call {friend}]] [[Processing done<-Check the site again]]

friendVisit: true -- Your heart slows down a bit when {friend} answers on the second ring, busy but happy to hear from you. Yes, she's fine, she's at work, and she has no idea what this website is. Are you okay? Mostly. Nothing to panic about. You may have gotten pulled partly into a scam of some kind, but you didn't give them payment information or anything like that. She walks you through a few more quick questions and promises to check in on you later. You feel a bit better as you say your goodbyes and end the call. [[Processing done<-Close the site]]

Flipping back to the browser, you are about to close the window when you notice that the "processing" placeholder is gone. The page now simply says: ``` Selected application pathways Terminated: 11 In flight: 3 1. Navigating submission filters 2. First interview scheduled 3. Triggered hiring manager review ``` [after 5s] First interview scheduled -- **what?!**

{friend} {givenName} if, unless, else [if friendVisit] [if education === 'CS undergrad', 'CS post-grad', 'coding camp', 'self-taught'] [if ageGroup === '18-25', '26-40','41+'] [if english === 'first language', '2nd or 3rd+ language'] [if pronouns === 'she/her', 'he/him', 'they/them'] [if cis === 'cisgender', 'trans', 'non-binary'] [if wealth === 'neutral', 'drain', 'support'] [if psych === 'anxious', 'depressive', 'ADHD', 'people pleasing', 'always push through'] [if complexion === 'neutral', 'disfavored', 'favored'] [if attractiveness === 'high', 'medium','low'] [if pregnancy === 'not pregnant', '2-5 months', '6-9 months'] [if children === 'none', 'at home', 'in childcare/school'] [if elderCare === 'none', 'occasional care', 'frequent care'] [if partner === 'none', 'supportive', 'high-conflict'] [if partnerPronouns === 'n/a', 'she/her', 'he/him', 'they/them']

Before interview: partner support & rehearsal Interview: personal connection or not Trade for extra boost: to get different interviewer, pay a task (postal manipulation); rescheduled day before to (better suited interviewer) Friend visit: also support? Or more info about risks of the service? Outputs: fail (lots of other candidates today closer matches); see feedback or not share some, other hidden; not losing choice to see this one. Pronouns: uncomfortable;

{friend} paid good money to add you to this service, and she knows what she's doing. You'll get the process moving and see what kinds of results it can give you. You go through the form, raising an eyebrow at a few of the questions, but moving swiftly through the list. `Given name (what people call me):` {text input for: 'givenName'} `Education level:` {dropdown menu for: 'education', choices: ['CS undergrad', 'CS post-grad', 'coding camp', 'self-taught']} `Age group:` {dropdown menu for: 'ageGroup', choices: ['18-25', '26-40','41+']} `English is my:` {dropdown menu for: 'english', choices: ['first language', '2nd+ language']} `Pronouns:` {dropdown menu for: 'pronouns', choices: ['she/her', 'he/him', 'they/them']}  `Family wealth:` {dropdown menu for: 'wealth', choices: ['neutral', 'I support family', 'family supports me']} `Psych profile:` {dropdown menu for: 'psych', choices: ['anxious', 'depressive', 'ADHD', 'people-pleasing', 'just push through']}     `Child care needs:` {dropdown menu for: 'children', choices: ['none', 'at home', 'paid childcare or school']}  `Romantic partner:` {dropdown menu for: 'partner', choices: ['none', 'supportive', 'high-conflict']} `Partner pronouns:` {dropdown menu for: 'partnerPronouns', choices: ['n/a', 'she/her', 'he/him', 'they/them']} Thankfully, the last few after that are more normal. You select "remote" for location, fill in your timezone, and the form suddenly auto-submits, showing a "processing" page -- with a simple animation, still purely text-based. They demanded so many sensitive details, but ...not even your full name? No email, no phone, no work history -- nothing else? [[Realization<-Try to find out what's going on]]

Yes, you trust {friend}, and this service is probably legit. But filling out lots of personal info into a site you've never even heard of? An alarm bell is ringing in the back of your mind. You take a long, slow breath and slide your chair back from the table as you exhale, then walk over to the kitchen sink, your thoughts spinning. That pressure -- you have to find something soon, but how? -- is still weighing on you, but it receeds a little as you wet a cloth and wipe a few crumbs off the table, then rinse your hands. An idea comes to you as you close your eyes, leaning against the counter. This is just a fancy job search service. They're asking for all this personal info just to make their search better. And it's paid, so they're... probably not selling your info. It must be AI-based, you realize. Finicky prompts often need extensive data for the best results. Well, okay. You just want to know if the thing works, for now. What if you just put in **any** answers, run the search... and if the service looks valuable, you'll correct your profile and try again? That feels safer -- you slide back into the chair. [[Fill in the form]]

**Welcome to "The Hire"**, an interactive story exploring what really happens as you go through the process of applying for a software engineering role -- out of your sight (and out of your control). You are the main character -- or, you control the main character. You can play yourself, and make the same choices you normally would. But you'll probably learn more if you try out a few different paths. Data privacy: the story will ask you for personal data. Give any answers you like, true or not. But even if you reply accurately, don't worry -- the story runs entirely in your browser and does not send any of your data to a server. You're also welcome to run the story offline if you're feeling paranoid today. You may be curious to [[About project<-read more about this project]]. Otherwise, ready to get started? Take a deep breath. You haven't been having a good day, to be quite honest. You're [[Kitchen table<-sitting at the kitchen table]].

This is a little strange -- you don't remember her promising to send you anything, and this isn't quite her style, but it must be a rushed message while she's on a call or something. The site loads nearly instantly, and you can guess why -- it's 100% text-only; even the logo is just bigger text. It's ... some kind of job search service? The monospace font gives a tech chic vibe. It's like nothing you've ever seen, though. `Congratulations; you now have full access to Skip to the Hire. Invites are expensive. Do not waste this opportunity.` Expensive? Expensive how? `I need more info about you, to target roles and arrange initial application steps.` Well, okay. The first is "Referred by" -- it seems like she paid for it; won't this service already know your friend's name? Maybe it's just a sort of security check. You fill in her first name; that should cover it. `Referred by:` {text input for: 'friend'} You scan down the form, feeling uneasy; why would they need all this? It's not even legal for job applications to require this level of personal life data. Some questions are honestly just strange. You check a few dropdowns -- they don't even offer "Prefer not to answer" choices. All required. You glance back up to that line saying "invites are expensive". [[Fill in the form]] [[Don't fill in the form]]

Give companies names? Greenshift early eco startup? Techzia - consulting? Ayeaye AI - pirate themed family Eh, don't get tied up in that yet! Do need: diff interviews. Recruiter, HM interview, tech 1, minor take-home, tech 2,

**About this project** Bias Candidates suffer from a too-simple view of the process. Am I good enough? Yes. No = "you shouldn't show your face here again", or "You'd succeed here; but you were the first / last to pass the filter and we wanted to see more before choosing, "The Hire" is an interactive story about trying to land a software engineering role, and succeeding (or not) based on your choices, but also **who you are**. You'll make choices along the way that'll affect the story. But before the story really even gets going, you'll fill in details about yourself that will **also** change the story. After all, one of the greatest challenges of hiring SW engineers is that you're trying to choose someone for a role where they'll be working closely with a small number of familiar people, on projects that are mostly familiar, pursuing goals they have been thinking about for months. It's not possible to test a stranger to see how great they'll be after a few months. There are also many, many important factors hidden from candidates And bias... we all have natural biases built into how we think, and it's not easy Important: * the personal data you enter never leaves your browser * you do not need to "be yourself" -- in fact, enter the personal data of an imaginary alt version of yourself. Curious about the interview experience when you perfectly fit the interviewer's mental model of "our perfect hire"? Try it out. What about if all the bias is against you? * Landing a software engineering role in real life is often frustrating, discouraging, and just mystifying, and when the end result may dramatically change the course of your life, how can it seem so... random? In "The Hire", you'll peer into what is happening behind the scenes. What are they saying about you? Why did they move you forward or reject you? How much of a difference did it really make that you really pushed to be sure you mentioned all the tech you've been working with? What about how you connected with the interviewers? ...do you have similar backgrounds and interests? Or do you seem to have little in common? The story * Data handling: "The Hire" is an interactive story about you -- you're hunting for a job as a software engineer, and this is the story of how you succeed (or maybe not). In real life, This is an interactive story about you -- your choices affect where the story goes. You can restart at any time and try different choices -- even play as a different person, if you like. It's also free and open source, if you'd like to contribute ideas or even entire passages. [[Title page<-Go back]]