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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

#61

Post by tom-- »

stcredzero wrote: post #5

One piece of advice I like to give nowadays, is that if you don't know how to get to a goal, then do this: 1) Divide up that goal into pieces. 2) Take those initial pieces and divide that up. 3) Take one of the bits from 2, and create a lame, incomplete version of it 4) Keep polishing that bit until it's great The key steps are 3 and 4! It's hard to build even a small production ready component of something, even a v…

Great advice, similar to the concept of building an "MVP" as a solo programmer. If you're too motivated then you'll have all these specs and wear yourself out thinking about the details - aiming to instead build a lame minimal version helps a lot with that.

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

#62

Post by PopeDotNinja »

dnautics wrote: post #16
rc-1140 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Based on the title, I was expecting the article to suck, but I think it's actually pretty solid. I disagree, honestly. After reading it, I saw another stellar example of empty yet well-meaning advice. It's just enough to stand on its own, has good intentions, but doesn't actually focus on a tangible problem or set of problems that people have. Rather, it addresses a few high-level topics in extreme brevity and is j…

a lot of the advice struck me as something that not everyone looking for a job can afford . 10 weeks of trying a new thing for a week? I found the best advice in the article to be the one about taking time off to travel - that it will be hard getting back (know someone who is in that state now) Honestly: If you're looking for a job - find a friend who is hiring. Be sure that friend is not just a friend, but a friend…

Speaking only for myself, I've found looking for to fluctuate between quite easy and quite hard. Anytime I've really struggled to find a new job, whether I already had a job or not, it was usually because there was some factor beyond my control that I could not work around. In those hard times, I think I would have landed new employment more quickly by focusing more on making myself more marketable so I could stand out in a sea of applicants without enough to go around. Sometimes rushing to fight the wrong fight is simply not gonna work.

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

#63

Post by esotericn »

leesec wrote: post #44
esotericn wrote: post #18

The problem with this sort of advice is that how useful it is completely depends on where you are in life. Basically, it's targeted advice, but there's no disclaimer stating that. Arbitrary examples: - Someone fresh out of a Chemistry undergrad - A 40 year old laid off from their Walmart job with no savings - A 30 year old who's just had a successful startup exit - A young (say ~20) adult in a dead-end town ... etc T…

I don't think this is the problem. I think you assuming a short blog post like this is supposed to be a universal, generalized solution to job searching is the problem. You can pretty much tell if this article is meant for you in about 1 minute.

> You can pretty much tell if this article is meant for you in about 1 minute.

That's only the case if you already know what you're looking for!

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

#64

Post by slededit »

romwell wrote: post #58
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.

You can flag posts.

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

#65

Post by domjones »

paulpauper wrote: post #28
esotericn wrote: post #18

The problem with this sort of advice is that how useful it is completely depends on where you are in life. Basically, it's targeted advice, but there's no disclaimer stating that. Arbitrary examples: - Someone fresh out of a Chemistry undergrad - A 40 year old laid off from their Walmart job with no savings - A 30 year old who's just had a successful startup exit - A young (say ~20) adult in a dead-end town ... etc T…

to try to account for so many circumstances would require a book rather than an article

I very much liked Bolles' "What color is your parachute"

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

#66

Post by HillaryBriss »

bluGill wrote: post #24

What I say: the worst thing that can happen is you take a job and realize a few weeks latter you hate the job. You can do anything (within limits). Some miserable jobs must be done by somebody, they often pay well. Doing a "miserable" job for 40 hours a week and going home might be better than a job you love for 100 hours a week, since those off hours can be filled with other things you love. It depends on you though…

> a few weeks later you hate the job

yes. and, to make matters a bit more confusing, any job can be made vile by extreme hours, rude/uncaring/mean co-workers, multiple bosses, unnecessary chaos and stress caused by an overprivileged unqualified manager, etc. so one needs to somehow see past all of that in order to figure out if one hates the job or this job

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

#67

Post by bluGill »

ergothus wrote: post #29
bluGill wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carpentry is easier to get into than you think. During the boom years the requirements are able bodied (sorry, if you are confined to a wheelchair you are out) and willingness to work hard. The boss will lend you tools for the first weeks until you get that first paycheck which you are expected to use to buy a few tools (but this won't cost much). Of course it is a boom and bust profession. Some years they are not hi…

> The boss will lend you tools for the first weeks until you get that first paycheck This doesn't line up with the "google it and try it for a week" unless some sort of apprenticeship is the norm (which also assumes you have no current job). Now, I happen to think what you describe sounds great, but it also sounds like starting the job rather than finding out if the job is for you.

If you have no skills you can get paid to try it for a week. The pay isn't great compared to other jobs, but you don't need invest much to try it (compare to the investment to get far enough in brain surgery to decide if you like it)

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

#68

Post by umichguy »

megaman8 wrote: post #54

Rule #1 for career advice: Never, ever leave a good job unless your financially ready to retire.

What constitutes a "good job" here? The pay or the work you like to do? I did a kinda stupid thing when I left my last half decent paying, but a miserable one for nothing. I just couldn't take it anymore. So I stepped off the ledge, figuratively speaking. I was lucky enough that I had money for 6 to 8 odd months, so I just packed my bags and took off backpacking. Only now just slowly trying to get back into full time work again.

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

#69

Post by dnautics »

jehlakj wrote: post #19
dnautics wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a lot of the advice struck me as something that not everyone looking for a job can afford . 10 weeks of trying a new thing for a week? I found the best advice in the article to be the one about taking time off to travel - that it will be hard getting back (know someone who is in that state now) Honestly: If you're looking for a job - find a friend who is hiring. Be sure that friend is not just a friend, but a friend…

It’s a tricky situation. I was in a position to look for hires, but I was surprised to realize how many of my friends weren’t necessarily qualified for that position. It wasn’t a high position or anything either. If you can vouch for a friend to that degree, they probably don’t need your help.

> If you can vouch for a friend to that degree, they probably don’t need your help.

A friend of mine finished a coding camp. He'd been looking for a job for 9 months. I interviewed him and totally understood why - he just had no chill at all. Super anxious, very nervous, seemed way too eager to please, borderline desperation? Sat him down, we did a very tough coding problem, and he did just fine for a junior position, so I made an offer happen.

A lot of times people have a 'singular flaw' that nobody will tell them what it is, and it takes someone willing to come up with an excuse to get them hired.

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

#70

Post by megaman8 »

umichguy wrote: post #68
megaman8 wrote: post #54

Rule #1 for career advice: Never, ever leave a good job unless your financially ready to retire.

What constitutes a "good job" here? The pay or the work you like to do? I did a kinda stupid thing when I left my last half decent paying, but a miserable one for nothing. I just couldn't take it anymore. So I stepped off the ledge, figuratively speaking. I was lucky enough that I had money for 6 to 8 odd months, so I just packed my bags and took off backpacking. Only now just slowly trying to get back into full time…

So, it sounds like that wasn't a "good job".

The tricky part is defining what a "good job" is. which will be different for different people. i define it as: good work life balance, decent salary, good location, good stability.

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