If you are willing to work for free, why not consider to work on some open-source projects that interest you? Those projects have a lot of stuff that you can help and it will look good on your resume.
Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
21–30 of 42 posts
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#22It was long, so I skimmed it.
1) Don't offer to work for free. It makes you seem like you have no skills. It's also a major hassle for a company, since they're coming under a lot of fire for how they deal with interns. (Nevermind that the medical industry does much worse and it's perfectly fine for them.)
2) Don't put all your eggs in 1 basket. Expect to take MANY interviews to get your first few jobs, and multiple interviews for jobs after that. NEVER sit and wait.
3) Of course nobody cares about your except you. Companies aren't in business to make you feel good. They're trying to make money. In this case, they actually SENT a rejection letter. It's quite common not to get one.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#23This is my personal opinion, so feel free to disagree:
I would never work for free. I'm good at what I'm doing and I create value for that company/person. No need to give this away for free.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#24No offense, but I think you may have aimed too high in reaching out to the CEO. Unless you honestly think you're going to nab a position on the CEO's staff (which is possible, but unlikely) you should try to get an intro to the person(s) most likely to be able to make you an actual job offer. I've seen variants of your situation several times in the past. CEO meets someone, is impressed in some manner, passes the con…
The difference is I wasn't looking for a "job". I'm a hustler, willing to do what it takes, and I made it clear from the beginning. I wanted the opportunity to learn and do, and money wasn't an issue. It's a shock to me that I couldn't hustle my way into interning a startup at virtually no cost to them, given my experience. Maybe I'm overrating myself :). Also, its a small startup, so I would have had to gone through…
Lesson from this which I learned from similar experience. Never work for free.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#25Jobs are like women, if you try too hard - they will loose interest and quickly especially if they already have what they wanted. Playing hard to get just works - like it or not. It also seems to me you may have a talent at recognizing talent - you managed to push your friend into that company and you've done that unknowingly - think what you can do if you actually put your mind into find great people and finding a j…
Haha, I actually thought about that - I'll send the company an invoice for my recruitment fee as a headhunter. Hell, if I'm going to be finding people jobs, may as well take a cut right :D
So you are going to try to burn bridges with a non-negotiated (a more accurate term would be fraudulent) invoice? How impressive.
Almost as impressive as your reactions in both a. handling the original situation by waiting ten weeks and b. responding to negative feedback here by telling people essentially "flag or GTFO."
You're quite an endearing person and I just can't see why they passed on the chance to have you around.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#26This is typical of a sales story I read from books. You were on a sales mission and it seems like:
1) You reached the wrong people. The focus of power in your case (CEO) was not the one making purchasing decisions (the HR guy)
2) You did not solve a pain in your prospect's business or, you could not sufficiently communicate what problem you would solve as an employee. You should have focused on this in your conversations.
I wouldn't say they used you, and you shouldn't be angry. It just did not make business sense for them and you could not make a sufficiently attractive sales pitch to the company as a whole.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#27Nobody owes you a damn thing. Suck it up, move on, and don't get so emotionally wrapped in a single opportunity ever again. You'll be disappointed every time. Job searching is a numbers game. The more opportunities you pursue, the greater the chance that you'll land one.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Haha, I actually thought about that - I'll send the company an invoice for my recruitment fee as a headhunter. Hell, if I'm going to be finding people jobs, may as well take a cut right :D
So you are going to try to burn bridges with a non-negotiated (a more accurate term would be fraudulent) invoice? How impressive. Almost as impressive as your reactions in both a. handling the original situation by waiting ten weeks and b. responding to negative feedback here by telling people essentially "flag or GTFO." You're quite an endearing person and I just can't see why they passed on the chance to have you a…
Well I was actually being sarcastic about sending them the invoice, it was a joke.
As for my response to negative feedback, I simply stated that if my story isn't interesting, he was free to ignore it or flag it. HN has tons of stories submitted every minute. I don't see a reason to comment in some, asking about each's relevancy to HN. Thanks :D
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#29>Nobody gives a shit about you, except YOU. What other lessons should I be taking from this? Anecdotal evidence is not evidence, even (especially!) if the anecdote is your own.
What if its a recurring pattern?
Then you should examine the common element. (hint: its you)
Reminds me of people who have been through a string of failed romantic relationships and resign themselves to resenting the opposite sex. Shows a lack of perspective.
Sorry if this comment comes across as callous, I cant think of another way of expressing this without sounding like a bit of a dick.
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if its a recurring pattern?
Then you should examine the common element. (hint: its you) Reminds me of people who have been through a string of failed romantic relationships and resign themselves to resenting the opposite sex. Shows a lack of perspective. Sorry if this comment comes across as callous, I cant think of another way of expressing this without sounding like a bit of a dick.
Actually i was thinking a bit about philosophy and what is truth, but thats for another time.