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The reverse job applicant

reversejobapplication.com

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Re: The reverse job applicant

#251

Post by loup-vaillant »

stealthdude wrote: post #40
brosephius wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wait, it's the employer's job to dig for your resume? this "reverse job app" gives me no substantive data on what this guy's skills are, so why would I even bother? if you want a job, it's your responsibility to make the case for why you're worth hiring.

Likewise most job ads provide very little actual information about the job, use vague descriptions for everything, do not explain what company or project the job is really for, cannot explain what actual skills are required to do the job, do not give any idea what pay-scale is being offered.

Yes, but unlike the would-be applicant, they have the upper hand. So they don't care (though they should).

Re: The reverse job applicant

#252

Post by loup-vaillant »

shrikant wrote: post #15

The form validation error messages are interesting, too :-) In case Andrew Horner reads this: yes, I'm one of the people (assuming there are more such curious folks) that filled in junk info to take a peek at those error messages. Sorry!

Turning off JavaScript (I run noscript) works just as well (though it took me time to realize they actually were error messages).

Re: The reverse job applicant

#253

Post by Marticus »

run4yourlives wrote: post #72

If you really care which programming languages I already know or which applications I have used before, I can only assume that you're overlooking my ability to quickly pick up new technologies and adjust to new ways of thinking. I would encourage you to correct this, as it is a mistake. I know it's tongue in cheek, but my god does the current generation not have any humility at all? This is going to ruin your world v…

While I see your point (I agree for the most part), I do hold that while it is being a bit... overconfident(?) I do see that is a problem sometimes in companies.

I think it's mostly a fault in recruiters as some of the more-technical positions are frankly over their heads, but nonetheless I myself have had a few failed interviews because the people weren't willing to take me on my word that if I am passionate enough about something, I WILL learn it and I will be GOOD at what I do. But that alone will not net you a job.

I think part of his problem is a lack of persistence. We are (for the most part) hackers of some flavour here, and hearing "we'll get back to you" when we know that's "you will never hear from us again" is unacceptable. So go hunt down the recruiting manager. If that fails, hunt down someone who likely holds a similar position and who you can impress to the point that they might vouch for you.

Take alternative routes, and be DAMN persistent and passionate about the job you are trying for, even if it may not be 'teh bestest job evar.' Make them believe that you think it is.

As someone commented below, they get tons of resumes (especially now). You've gotta stand out. If that means rolling up to some business in a suit and tie one day and wanting an interview so you can circumvent lackluster recruiters, so be it, or setting up an interview with (insert manager here) because you can Google things / social engineer a bit (obviously you don't want to lie, but you'd be surprised how few questions receptionists ask - usually just your name).

Re: The reverse job applicant

#254

Post by brianbreslin »

treeface wrote: post #87
gammarator wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weighted GPAs can be higher than 4.0: A+ grades in advanced courses are often given 5.0 points, and so on.

I had a system like this in my high school too, but technically it's not "out of 4.0". The maximum possible grade is usually dependent on what courses the student takes. For example, if you took an "honors" course, an A would get you 4.5, B would be 3.5, etc. If you took a "high honors" or "AP" course, A would be 5, B would be 4, etc. If you know what classes you took, you can calculate your maximum score possible. I…

If I recall correctly (and i graduated high school 10 years ago), so I may be a bit fuzzy on this. But in THEORY you could not calculate a max "out of 4.6" because you could take more credits than the baseline by taking summer school, college courses, etc.

So one could end up with an "average" of 6.3 or 7 since they are divided by the baseline (i think it was like 28 classes? at 4points max each so 112) so assume I took ALL AP classes all 4 years, I'd get a 140/28 (7 classes/year/4 years?)

I think my school's valedictorian had like a 6.X gpa.

Re: The reverse job applicant

#255

Post by jbooth »

loup-vaillant wrote: post #243
jbooth wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I suppose we're operating with a different definition of "understand", regarding the semantics. RE: Sawzall, haven't used it, but assuming it's similar to Pig, that's pretty domain specific. You'll probably write different code a year from now than you're writing now, though.

It's more than your respective definition of "understand". You learn differently. You sound like a "practice" guy. To learn a language, you need to see and write code in that language. You take a good look at the standard library, you practice, you learn the trivia, how things are done, and as you become proficient, you acquire a good intuition of the language semantics. jemfinch, on the other hand, is more a "theory…

It's not so much that we learn differently, I think everyone in CS who's any good is a "theory" guy to some extent.

But understanding the basic flow of a language well enough to write "hello world" doesn't mean you fully grasp the semantics. Sure, you need to get a basic understanding down before you start coding but you don't actually understand things until you've had to look at them from a few angles. I used to assume I had something once I had the basic idea, but I've been bitten enough times by all of those unspoken assumptions that I have a healthy respect for the practice as well, is all. First inclinations notwithstanding.

Re: The reverse job applicant

#256

Post by jbooth »

inboulder wrote: post #189
jemfinch wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm calling you not particularly self-aware. Based on no real data except your prejudices. > Unless that language is so domain specific that there's no room for design or so derivative that you can apply another language's style 100%, you almost definitely still have more to learn after 2 weeks. There's a vast chasm between "understands the language's semantics" and "has no more to learn." I've been programming for…

>> For example, Java, can you tell me the difference between volatile and synchronized as it regards the memory model without looking it up? What's a happens-before relationship and how is it relevant to those keywords? What's the transient modifier do? >I didn't claim to be a Java guru. Very few Java programmers actually need to know the answers to those questions in day-to-day programming; I could probably (if aske…

Also, worth saying, if it's running in a web container, threads are involved. You don't need to know what you don't know until there's a tricky bug.

Re: The reverse job applicant

#257

Post by treeface »

brianbreslin wrote: post #254
treeface wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a system like this in my high school too, but technically it's not "out of 4.0". The maximum possible grade is usually dependent on what courses the student takes. For example, if you took an "honors" course, an A would get you 4.5, B would be 3.5, etc. If you took a "high honors" or "AP" course, A would be 5, B would be 4, etc. If you know what classes you took, you can calculate your maximum score possible. I…

If I recall correctly (and i graduated high school 10 years ago), so I may be a bit fuzzy on this. But in THEORY you could not calculate a max "out of 4.6" because you could take more credits than the baseline by taking summer school, college courses, etc. So one could end up with an "average" of 6.3 or 7 since they are divided by the baseline (i think it was like 28 classes? at 4points max each so 112) so assume I t…

Never heard of that sort of system, and I'd never before heard of a valedictorian having a GPA too far north of the 4.6 region. Well...I suppose it's difficult to say if my experience applies generally (I'm sure it doesn't). However, at least in my high school, the absolute maximum possible was something like 4.6. You could, and we regularly did, calculate it based on your own classes. External classes would usually be counted either as honors or AP (unless it was a remedial course).

Re: The reverse job applicant

#259

Post by ciupicri »

catshirt wrote: post #115

i'd like to find out who hires andrew.

I'd like to find out what companies have contacted him.

The text from the site might look appealing, but as others have noticed, he doesn't mention his field[1] (is it programming, graphic design, etc.?), his resume is a bit hard to find[2] and it's also full of HR speak[3] (although this might turn out to be an advantage).

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1807937

[2] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1807094

[3] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1808661

Re: The reverse job applicant

#260

Post by RyanMcGreal »

ryanc wrote: post #193
RyanMcGreal wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true right up until it isn't, i.e. when you're struggling to understand why your javascript is producing subtly buggy behaviour.

I hate to be that guy but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases:_I#id_est

I know what i.e. means. The benefit to valid markup is specifically for ensuring that the javascript you write to manipulate the DOM works properly.
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