I was told today by a company that very recently hired me that I am "A very talented developer, but unfortunately not a cultural fit". This has been told to be <i>literally</i> by every single company that has ever hired me except for one. I have never been told by anyone that I can't get things done, or that my insights are wrong, or anything like that. The common thing amongst the companies I work with are the founders who are extroverted, love smalltalk, sales based, etc. While I'm the opposite: likes to work in quiet environment, introverted, strong engineering intuition, poor sales/people intuition.<p>I have this fantasy that I'll come across a company some day that will tell me "You're a great developer, who gets stuff done, and thats exactly why we want you on our team!", but I'm beginning give up on that dream because I've seen so many companies that are the opposite.<p>Should I give up hope, or maybe someone has a recommendation of a company in the NYC/Bay area that is looking for someone like me?
Saying someone is "not a cultural fit" is a polite way to say that the person is difficult or impossible to work with.<p>In the workforce nowadays, you are almost never going to get direct feedback about what you might be doing wrong: you have to read between the lines.<p>If you have been told by several companies that you are not a cultural fit (and then let go), then you might consider what aspects of your behavior are causing friction.<p>Think of it this way: due to the high costs of acquiring and training employees, companies <i>hate</i> to let people go, especially new hires. One has to be doing something very wrong to get let go, and employees are usually given many chances to get it together.
Note that social skills are needed in order to work within a team. I suggest you explore expanding your socials skills. If you want to, I can give you a few pointers over email.