Viewing profile — mandytolliver

Good webapp, that! You're doing something right! Network effects always start with a small, dense network. Do you have a tight group of software developer friends? Have them sign u…

Spam could be an issue. But they say they screen contacts, so it looks like it could work.

Yes, it's just feel. A peppy intelligent response will give me a more positive feel than no response or a cold, guarded response. That is far from a good indicator, but it is a sta…

Thanks! So I see that the concept exists and is considered a sign of maturity, not rudeness. Good! I think I'll do it. As to whether it is through my network or not -- I'll try my …

Wow, great! And the idea of getting my resume passed on is very much secondary -- the main purpose here is informational only -- I want to learn about the company.

Employers often prefer passive candidates to actives--it's the "playing hard to get" thing. As to the informational interview -- is that also the term used when the candidate makes…

OK, getting a referral is good. The link to my personal site has the role of a resume -- it is to show that I'm not sure random person off the street, I am someone who may well be …

Good idea! You got the best of both worlds: Even though you didn't know anyone, you were able to contact someone who you were already "connected" to.

Thanks, and I think you could combine the two in a softball opener. For example, you could say -- "Developing Augmented Reality apps fascinates me, and Example.com seems to be a le…

I completely agree. But it's still possible to respond neutrally, truthfully, and informatively. For example, it's possible to just answer with positive aspects and leave out the n…

Thanks. For some of these companies, I don't know anyone. Would you just cold-email someone, even if you didn't have any acquaintances there?

Thanks, that makes sense. But if you don't know anyone, why not find some developer and their email address (a bit of Google-Fu will do it) and contact them? To me, it seems polite…

Sure thing, this is about the exploration stage when I am just wondering what workplaces are right for me.

Thank you folks. I'm still wondering though -- why don't we hear of this more often?

I'm thinking about my next software development job. I think I might find a developer in a similar job in a company, cold-email them, and ask a few questions about what it's really…

The job market is messed up. Why can't hackers do something about it, at least for the jobs that WE want???

Strange how employers have to dig through HN profiles or LinkedIn accounts to find the good ones -- and many of us just don't WANT any offers at all. I wish I could say "Job's not …

Right, I signed up after trying out the quiz. It was the cute idea that brought me in, not the graphic design (though that's pretty good). I'd say that FiveYearItch exists to get p…

Can you do more minor graphical changes, and A/B-test those?

Yes, absolutely, I specified those things and more in my FiveYearItch profile, and at least on that score it's been good -- some employers apparently don't want to contact me if th…

Thanks, yes, FiveYearItch got me some other good offers. Some had significantly higher pay. But at this point, that's not my top priority. It's a choice between the comfortable job…

I've got a good job at a midwest IT services firm -- but the tech is outdated and the coworkers "just doing their jobs." A VC-backed startup founded by Google alums in SF made me a…

Rand Paul, Justin Amash, Jason Chaffetz. Is some sanity creeping into our political system?

You make a decision using a baseline, and you can use surveys for that. Yet most of us are not really choosing from a number of jobs -- usually we're considering a specific offer. …

Study up on Martine Rothblatt. Per Wikipedia, "she is responsible for launching several communications satellite companies, including the first nationwide vehicle location system (…