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What I say to people who are looking for a job

gregkamradt.com

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Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#51

Post by dracodoc »

In my opinion, the single most point in job seeking is to get feedback as much as possible, as early as possible.

Consider these bad examples:

sending many resumes and didn't get any response. This is huge blow to morale and there no hint on what should be improved, which went wrong.

- to fix it: get someone in field to review the resume and give suggestions. This is simple but many people didn't do it. And it's totally possible to find somebody you never know before to review your resume.

decide to jump on a wagon (data science, machine learning) and plan years for it, like online degree, many courses, a master or even a Ph.D!

- problem: it took too much time to get some feedback, and the commitment is too big, often not executable in reality. It's possible somebody spent a lot of effort to get in a program, only to find out he/she doesn't like/fit it later.

- and the wagon may be outdated when you finished the program.

- to fix: tiptoe as early as possible, like a side project, some short courses. This of course require some existing experience and skills.

In general,

- meetup is a great way to meet with people, learn about the field.

- doing side project is very useful.

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#52

Post by ken »

> “Building things” isn’t an activity. “Building furniture” or “Building a web app” is an activity.

This is a strange way of thinking, to me. What I’m building (or even if I’m “building” at all) is way down my list of priorities. You’d do better to ask me what color I want the walls painted at my job.

Building software can be fun and I’ve spent many years of my life doing that, but in that field I’ve also had some of the worst managers I could have imagined. I much prefer loading boxes in a warehouse for a great boss, than writing software for a lousy one.

Why would I start a job search with the low-order bit? That practically guarantees an inefficient search, which may not even converge on a local maximum.

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#53

Post by astura »

semitext wrote: post #17
ergothus wrote: post #9

> Google, “[this activity I like] for dummies” and learn for a week. I used to think this, but after guiding some folks into coding I find this flippant and discouraging. First, tech is lucky in that you can learn essentially for free, with the not-to-be-forgotten requirements of a computer and an internet connection. Other professions - say, carpentry - have costlier barriers to entry, even for that week. Second, wh…

I also take issue with the idea that you should try something for a week, and if you don't like it, it's not for you. There are certain ctivities where your first week will be a poor representation of how much you enjoy an activity. I found the first couple of weeks of learning how to play a guitar miserable. That does not mean it was wrong for me to persevere, it meant that certain activities only become enjoyable o…

Consider the case of someone who is terribly out of shape and tries something that is a bit physically demanding for a week. They will feel miserable. That doesn't mean the task is "not for them," it might mean they can enjoy it if they get into better shape.

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#55

Post by SuperhackerXXL »

my_usernam3 wrote: post #10
PopeDotNinja wrote: post #3

Based on the title, I was expecting the article to suck, but I think it's actually pretty solid. My takeaway is 2 things: - if you wanna do something for living, sound like you know it well, and hopefully actually well - if you are not financially independent, keeping shaking the money tree until you have another money tree to shake And calling myself out, here's a couple notes to self: - don't judge a book by it's c…

Yeah I had a similar reaction, while reading it. He seems a little egotistical for my liking. Writes as if he is "all knowing", and people are constantly badgering him for his wisdom, so he finally decided to give some. Us plebeian should be grateful. That being said, his advice seems pretty damn good, and I plan to pass it on to some people who are burning out and/or looking to switch career paths.

If the advice is good, then why shouldn't he present it confidently? Wouldn't you take it less seriously if he had a disclaimer of "i have no idea wtf i'm talking about but here are some thoughts"?

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#56

Post by SuperhackerXXL »

closetohome wrote: post #27
my_usernam3 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I had a similar reaction, while reading it. He seems a little egotistical for my liking. Writes as if he is "all knowing", and people are constantly badgering him for his wisdom, so he finally decided to give some. Us plebeian should be grateful. That being said, his advice seems pretty damn good, and I plan to pass it on to some people who are burning out and/or looking to switch career paths.

Right? And then you look at the profile picture and he's like 19.

Seriously? You're one of those people who believes experience and wisdom solely comes with age?

But for real... does he still live at home with mom?

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#57

Post by SuperhackerXXL »

ForHackernews wrote: post #13

This guy seems hilariously full of himself: http://www.ischiaproject.com/purpose/ (linked from the OP) > The purpose of the Ischia Project to to provide a visual, personal, and informational perspective of the Island of Ischia in its present state. This project does not serve to be a travel guide for the island, however, it does promote itself as a chance to visit the island through the lens and words of a fellow tra…

Serious question- did you look into the project any further than reading the purpose? I've never seen a "travel instagram/blog" that included 9 unique interviews that focus on the interviewee/local culture. There is actually minimal ego involved in the entire thing- the primary focus seems to be on shedding light on a lesser known locale with very few (3, to be exact) personal articles.

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#58

Post by romwell »

paulpauper wrote: post #31

It seems like most of the comments are negative yet the article has over 130 votes. Weird how that works sometimes.

Last time I checked, I couldn't downvote articles here.

So instead of downvoting drivel like this into oblivion, people come and explain why they think this is nonsense.

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#59

Post by my_usernam3 »

SuperhackerXXL wrote: post #55
my_usernam3 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I had a similar reaction, while reading it. He seems a little egotistical for my liking. Writes as if he is "all knowing", and people are constantly badgering him for his wisdom, so he finally decided to give some. Us plebeian should be grateful. That being said, his advice seems pretty damn good, and I plan to pass it on to some people who are burning out and/or looking to switch career paths.

If the advice is good, then why shouldn't he present it confidently? Wouldn't you take it less seriously if he had a disclaimer of "i have no idea wtf i'm talking about but here are some thoughts"?

This is overly confident and gives off "I am right, and I don't need to back it up" type of vibe imo.

> "i have no idea wtf i'm talking about but here are some thoughts"

I think there is a middle ground between this and overly confident that is best for advice giving. From my experience those with the most confidence while giving advice tend to be least open minded about altering their opinion upon being questioned. Which in turn leads to bad advice.

Re: What I say to people who are looking for a job

#60

Post by my_usernam3 »

closetohome wrote: post #27
my_usernam3 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I had a similar reaction, while reading it. He seems a little egotistical for my liking. Writes as if he is "all knowing", and people are constantly badgering him for his wisdom, so he finally decided to give some. Us plebeian should be grateful. That being said, his advice seems pretty damn good, and I plan to pass it on to some people who are burning out and/or looking to switch career paths.

Right? And then you look at the profile picture and he's like 19.

From what I can tell he worked hard, switched careers, and is still super high from his accomplishments and wishes to share that which he learned from his journey.

I was like this when I got my first engineering job out of college. It's hard to be modest and understanding when you first climb up the ivory tower after much hard work.

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