151–160 of 342 posts
I recommend following
1. Get examples of your work online somewhere. Quick. It should be neat, professional. Easy to view. It means a real URL like yourname.org or something like it. Check out personal blogs/tutorial sites of other developers to get ideas. I had a hardest time finding a linux support position, because I had been out of work awhile. I think what really helped me get current job was having a blog with examples of my work (scripts/howto) online. You should make it easy for the recruiter/manager/future-coworkers to accurately judge your skill, and resume is worthless.
Github is good. But for me, it was a hand coded html/css website. Didn't use wordpress either. Put it up asap but don't spend all your time on it. Put something up quick, go apply for jobs, and keep coming back every few days or once a week to check for typos/improvements to fix/add. The process is much like writing a paper or a book.
Remember this URL/website is like your brand. More important than your resume.
2. You mentioned working in a plastic factory before. Now this may sound weird/frivolous, but look at yourself in the mirror. Do you see someone who looks like a tech worker? Or a factory worker? Do you wear t-shirts like the other coders in the office wear? Rails T-shirt? Linux T-shirt? Near haircut? Shaved?
A lot of job matching is about image. Do you project the image of a Rails guy? Or a plastic factory guy?
3. You shared your story about your family and your living situation. I'd keep that story away from recruiters/managers/coworkers. Keep it vague. Nothing about shame or being poor. You just want to look like someone who can fit in. Weird but remember the whole culture-fit stuff at tech shops.
4. You said f* to the jackaxx ceo. Please don't do it. Sure, you were upset and he was taking advantage of you when you desperately needed the money for your family (not even for yourself). I know you were not trying to make big bucks to drive a BMW, but rather for your family. Still, no need to say f word to higherups. You don't have to go down to the gutter he's in.
Best revenge is living well. And being a Rails coder, it should be relatively easy.
Cheers
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 blac…
What he did was give his boss an entirely reasonable ultimatum.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 blac…
No one would ever be found guilty of blackmail for simply saying "Give me a pay rise or else I'll resign". (But, "Give me a pay rise or else I'll report your illegal activities to the authorities" would be blackmail.) The essence of blackmail is demanding money for an illegitimate reason - money which you are not legitimately due - and there is nothing inherently illegitimate about demanding a pay rise. It simply means that you put a different value on your own labour than your employer currently does, and if you and they cannot reach agreement on that value, you'll look for someone else with whom you agree more.
If you have no university degree and next to no industry experience, 40k is not that far off the mark. But if you're doing the work of a 75ker, you should be able to convince someone you're worth at least say 60k. I find it strange that you had kids before you were making the kind of money you need to support them.
As a manager if someone tries to blackmail me with leaving, I usually say "Then leave". Never let people blackmail you. Would I hire someone who swears and uses f* in a conversation with his boss? No. Would I hire someone who creates a blog to make his boss look bad? No. All of this with 4 kids I surely would not trust on you any responsibibility acting so irresponsible. So everyone here who wants to hire this guy, a…
You seem really bitter for no reason.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Good managers let their employees vent, when necessary, and don't take it personally.
Insecure ones get all uppity about things like that.
2.) Don't spend so much time thinking about why your company is screwing you. People job hop every 2 years, because it's the only way they'll get a 20k raise. Your salary will eventually hit a plateau as you move up, but early in your career, you shouldn't stay too long at one place.
3.) Don't reek of desperation. It's a turn-off to dates and it's a turn-off to interviewers. Ranting with a throwaway account is fine, but don't mention your situation in an interview.
4.) Use your rails skills and scrape indeed's listings for rails jobs in your area. Make a private rails app and filter out all the recruiters and IT staffing firms. Why? A lot of them are just doing arbitrage with the existing listings, and they don't have exclusive access. Do direct applications first, and if you're still not getting hits, then go to recruiters.
5.) Do research on data.jobsintech.io, glassdoor.com, crunchbase.com, and angel.co for company information. Message past devs on linkedin. Oh, and half of all glassdoor reviews are fake and from the HR departments. If they don't talk about negatives or give weak ones, it's usually fake.
6.) If you haven't already, look into your county's social services for any benefits you might qualify for. Your daughter might be eligible for disability benefits, and in the meantime, your family needs to eat.
My email is blowing up. Sorry I haven't answered anyone, I really didn't expect much of a response and this on top of everything else is overwhelming. I really can't post my personal account names publicly, that would give away the company and, as I've said previously, I do really like the dev team. My team leader has a kid as well and works his ass off, and I want to see that pay off for him when they get through so…
No matter what transpired between the OP and his boss, that is not how you fire someone with a family. Period.
You can hate the guy. You can think he's terrible. You can wish him all the ill in the world, but if there's a family involved, you give them notice and you help them move on.
Anything less than that, you're just a selfish asshole.