I first heard about zig this May and since then I hear more and more often about it. I wonder if it’s baader-meinhof or is Zig actually gaining popularity?
Both things can be true. This most recent hype cycle seems to be riding the wave from the related hype of Ghostty's public release and Bun's latest release. And recently, another project with decent name recognition by some announced intentions to rewrite in Zig. Other than the latter event which is merely an announcement as of now, this language is showing up in projects that people are paying attention to. That only brings more attention and to a degree, a certain amount of credibility, especially when the lead developer for Ghostty has a well-earned and positive reputation among the engineering community.
> I applied for on the company website. And they flat out rejected me. Then a recruiter contacted me directly and offered me the same position at more money.
I hear that a lot. Is it because recruiters get commission for candidates they “found themselves”? Why did they reject you when you applied yourself?
Depends on the recruiter, some get commissions, others are hired with a flat rate. The problem I've sometimes seen with companies hiring while working there is they have expectations that are impossible to fulfill. E.g. some niche knowledge or an ancient hiring process that doesn't really work, so hiring by themselves takes forever.
