I'm Begging for Work • Hacker News Board

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#81

Post by Bonogongo » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:29 AM UTC

Bonogongo wrote: post #76

nilkn wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt this way at first, but not after reading the entire post. Yes, it was emotionally driven and certainly goes against a lot of rules for job solicitation. But I actually think he's shown himself to have good character here. He isn't attempting to sabotage the company even though he could. This happened very recently so you'd expect some of the emotions to be raw. I don't think this person is "high risk" if firin…

He blackmailed his boss, used f* f* f* in a conversation with him and you think "hink he's shown himself to have good character here."? Holy Batman.

@nilkin "You give me more money or I leave." vs. Just walking away from the negotiation. From my experience if you give in to "You give me more money or I leave" 6 months down the road it will be another "You give me more money or I leave" and then another.

Wikipedia: "Blackmail is an act [..] involving unjustified threats to make [..] cause loss to another unless a demand is met."

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#82

Post by everyone » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:30 AM UTC

Bonogongo wrote: post #76

nilkn wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt this way at first, but not after reading the entire post. Yes, it was emotionally driven and certainly goes against a lot of rules for job solicitation. But I actually think he's shown himself to have good character here. He isn't attempting to sabotage the company even though he could. This happened very recently so you'd expect some of the emotions to be raw. I don't think this person is "high risk" if firin…

He blackmailed his boss, used f* f* f* in a conversation with him and you think "hink he's shown himself to have good character here."? Holy Batman.

I shall never utter the dreaded F word to my boss. I will to my boss be true and faithful and love all which he loves and shun all which he shuns.

Also please explain where he 'blackmailed' his boss?

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#83

Post by gorkemyurt » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:31 AM UTC

Jake232 wrote: post #45

nurettin wrote: post #44

I can't even imagine having a 40+K$ salary in my country (Turkey) that's like 3x what I make.

Your monthly expenses are likely 3x lower than the location he lives in though.

Not if he is not living in New York, LA, SF or maybe couple other cities.. Rest of america has really cheap housing and pretty good social services

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#84

Post by vruiz » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:32 AM UTC

Bonogongo wrote: post #79

vruiz wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> get a great looking but professional profile pic up there, get kudos from friends Really? as a CEO those are signals for you? the profile picture is debatable but the endorsements are just a joke and everyone knows it, people just exchange them like they do with twitter follows. If anything, too many of them would be a negative signal for me. Completely agree with the rest of your comment though.

Hiring is a filtering game. With 100 candidates, first thing you do is filter out 80, I wish more candidates would understand this.

I'm very aware, my point is being an endorsement collector will put you in the group filtered out, at least if I'm doing the filtering, but perhaps I'm the minority.

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#85

Post by nilkn » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:34 AM UTC

Bonogongo wrote: post #81

Bonogongo wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He blackmailed his boss, used f* f* f* in a conversation with him and you think "hink he's shown himself to have good character here."? Holy Batman.

@nilkin "You give me more money or I leave." vs. Just walking away from the negotiation. From my experience if you give in to "You give me more money or I leave" 6 months down the road it will be another "You give me more money or I leave" and then another. Wikipedia: "Blackmail is an act [..] involving unjustified threats to make [..] cause loss to another unless a demand is met."

It sounds like you've had a bad experience with a former employee, but this is not blackmail. That's just standing up for himself. The OP was working there contingent on his boss's promise of a raise, and both parties knew this, including the boss. In fact, the OP was remarkably generous towards his boss by doing something very foolish: knowingly taking an unlivable wage out of trust that the boss would live up to his word.

Regarding your Wikipedia quote, leaving a job in which you are abused and underpaid is not at all unjustified.

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#86

Post by argc » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:35 AM UTC

Bonogongo wrote: post #81

Bonogongo wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He blackmailed his boss, used f* f* f* in a conversation with him and you think "hink he's shown himself to have good character here."? Holy Batman.

@nilkin "You give me more money or I leave." vs. Just walking away from the negotiation. From my experience if you give in to "You give me more money or I leave" 6 months down the road it will be another "You give me more money or I leave" and then another. Wikipedia: "Blackmail is an act [..] involving unjustified threats to make [..] cause loss to another unless a demand is met."

If I was offered that much I would say the same thing. Although, I might try to have something else lined up first.

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#87

Post by Bonogongo » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:40 AM UTC

nilkn wrote: post #85

Bonogongo wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@nilkin "You give me more money or I leave." vs. Just walking away from the negotiation. From my experience if you give in to "You give me more money or I leave" 6 months down the road it will be another "You give me more money or I leave" and then another. Wikipedia: "Blackmail is an act [..] involving unjustified threats to make [..] cause loss to another unless a demand is met."

It sounds like you've had a bad experience with a former employee, but this is not blackmail. That's just standing up for himself. The OP was working there contingent on his boss's promise of a raise, and both parties knew this, including the boss. In fact, the OP was remarkably generous towards his boss by doing something very foolish: knowingly taking an unlivable wage out of trust that the boss would live up to hi…

It sounds like you have done this in the past, and it is blackmail.

And I understand that you don't want to see yourself as a blackmailer.

"I'm more worth than that" and leaving is standing up.

"Give me more money or I leave" is blackmail.

"Regarding your Wikipedia quote, leaving a job in which you are abused and underpaid is not at all unjustified."

Leaving is not the blackmail part, threatening to leave is the blackmail part.

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#88

Post by upbeatlinux » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:40 AM UTC

tluyben2 wrote: post #39

upbeatlinux wrote: post #18

As already stated add links to Github and LinkedIn. Also see https://remoteok.io https://www.upwork.com https://careers.stackoverflow.com

Do you have good experience with Upwork? Like every project having 100+ bids, most of them very low.

As a freelancer I've had pretty good luck with Upwork. The art in getting hired is crafting an apt proposal, being personable and accommodating. This might require doing a bit of research on the client (not necessarily easy to figure out), learning about their vertical, understanding what they are actually asking for, etc. A lot of this is common sense but often overlooked. However, many of these details are gleaned from an initial interview.

A few notes

- Obviosuly, don't apply to jobs you lack skills for

- Similarly, don't apply to jobs you wouldn't be a good fit for

- Keep your Upwork profile up to date

- Use the Github, LinkedIn, etc accounts integrations. This helps clients verify your experience skill-set

- Don't be afraid to adapt your profile to the job you are applying for

- Be sure your rate matches your experience. If you're billing $100/hour but can't prove your skill-set, experience or the value you provide you won't get hired.

Since 2010 I've worked from a few hours a week, to part-time and in full-time capacity on Upwork. Its gotten me connected to a lot of great startups (mostly SF) and recurring gigs. However, it was very difficult getting started.

All this being said if you're based in the US and can verify your skills you have a lot better chance of landing quality gigs than your international counterparts putting in very low bids.

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#89

Post by Bonogongo » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:40 AM UTC

everyone wrote: post #82

Bonogongo wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He blackmailed his boss, used f* f* f* in a conversation with him and you think "hink he's shown himself to have good character here."? Holy Batman.

I shall never utter the dreaded F word to my boss. I will to my boss be true and faithful and love all which he loves and shun all which he shuns. Also please explain where he 'blackmailed' his boss?

You can do what you like, but if you swear at me and call me f* I'll not hire you.

Re: I'm Begging for Work

#90

Post by Bonogongo » Thu, Sep 10, 2015, 7:41 AM UTC

vruiz wrote: post #84

Bonogongo wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hiring is a filtering game. With 100 candidates, first thing you do is filter out 80, I wish more candidates would understand this.

I'm very aware, my point is being an endorsement collector will put you in the group filtered out, at least if I'm doing the filtering, but perhaps I'm the minority.

I agree on that one.