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What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

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Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#191

Post by collyw »

id_21150930 wrote: post #87

The following is (very?) controversial advice. Depending on your situation, it may be bad advice. There are too many downsides to list, so please use your best judgement. Before voting or commenting please remember this HN guideline: >Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith ...and for what it's worth, I absolutely wo…

On number 1, personally I have had better luck in interviews being honest. I put a load of buzzwords on my CV but things that I know the basics of I will tell them I only know the basics (if asked). I think you look worse if you try and bluff your way being some kind of expert when you are not.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#192

Post by owenmarshall »

clinta wrote: post #70
adrianpike wrote: post #29

"HR does not operate with your interests at heart, do not talk to them." -- Anonymous

Be smart enough to determine if your interests align with the company's interests before talking to HR. Sometimes they do.

That’s a dangerous thing to try. We like to think we are smart but even the lowest level HR person knows things that aren’t even on our radar.

Ever had a complaint made against you? Possibly - maybe it was quietly filed away. Ever wonder if people are paying attention to when you come into the office? They are.

I went through an outsourcing at my last job and for nine+ months the only people that knew it was coming was executive leadership, the CIO, and his HR staff.

HR is risky because they have hidden information in spades. The interests you think align might not after all.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#193

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

flying_dutchman wrote: post #158
toomuchtodo wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are very few jobs worth believing in to be honest.

This is not accurate. There are large number of jobs that have a directly impact, as part of solid teams working on things for the right reasons.

I strongly disagree. Many many jobs, especially the higher paying ones, are bullshit jobs. Real work to actually improve the world doesn't tend to make a whole lot of money, it's much easier to lobby for bureaucratic inefficiencies you can inhabit, create artificial scarcity, gamble with other people's money, or outright scam people.

Look at the web. There's a ton of jobs (many would say a nigh-overfull bubble's worth) in the web right now, yet most webshit doesn't meaningfully improve anyone's life and is instead just a way to trick people into looking at ads or providing their personal data so it can be collected and sold.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#194

Post by kamaal »

silvat wrote: post #183
kamaal wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, even if it terminates your employment status. This is very bad advice purely career wise. In fact being in the good books of the cartel managers is something you should proactively do. Also stop believing in this myth of finding a boss who is powerful, just, fair and does the right things all the time. Humans are irrational species because we have to often arriv…

It bothers me that your comment is written well because it lends credibility to a comment that essentially amounts to 'don't stand up for what you believe, it won't work! Be a weasel instead!' I strongly disagree, I think this approach is worse off for pretty much everyone in the long run. I can also tell you that unless you are really good at hiding your opinions/intentions, for some(me for example), your attitude i…

Pretty much any one responsible for making decisions for others can't be fair by any definition. Add to this that they have to tend to their own interests too. You have to align your interests with their's. There is nothing wrong with this. The problem is often people get in your way when this is supposed to happen. This is where 'throwing people under the bus' situations happen.

The second problem with people is that they try to evangelize their own little personal moral-principles based religion, some cause they believe in and try forcing it down other people's throats. There is literally no reason why any one should care about what or why you believe in anything at all. Especially if they don't stand to benefit from it in any real way. There is also no reason why you should mark any one as your enemy for not believing in what you do. This is even more troublesome because people attach things like moral prestige/superiority/pride to their cause and humiliate other people's intelligence for not aligning with theirs. Why should you want to do this?

Stop trying to be a rebel, take a step back and what see you are doing. Your boss wants X, in an ideal situation the best you can do is convince them to agree on settling with X-dx. But if your boss wants X and you want to change their directions and want them to do A instead. They are going quietly relieve you of your work, and find some one else to get the job done.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#195

Post by username90 »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #193
flying_dutchman wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not accurate. There are large number of jobs that have a directly impact, as part of solid teams working on things for the right reasons.

I strongly disagree. Many many jobs, especially the higher paying ones, are bullshit jobs. Real work to actually improve the world doesn't tend to make a whole lot of money, it's much easier to lobby for bureaucratic inefficiencies you can inhabit, create artificial scarcity, gamble with other people's money, or outright scam people. Look at the web. There's a ton of jobs (many would say a nigh-overfull bubble's wort…

I work for Google and Google has a lot of products that has improved my life immensely. Google maps, Google search, Google docs, gmail and Youtube are all very useful products, especially for poor people who can't afford paid options. I don't feel bad in the slightest for working to improve them.

People say that Google does questionable things but I haven't seen any of it. Of course as a bottom-up organization it is very likely that other parts of Google are less ethical but that doesn't really affect my work or conscience.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#196

Post by mr_overalls »

Balgair wrote: post #111
mdorazio wrote: post #71

Article comments and comments in this thread seem to miss the point of the title entirely. Here's some actual advice I don't want my name on, but seems pretty effective based on working at a lot of different Big Cos: - Always go for prestige over purpose. Have a choice between a shiny project with very little actual impact to the company and a behind the scenes project that will actually make lives better for employe…

> Especially throwing other people under the bus. Hard disagree with this one. I've seen better success with 'compliment everyone behind their backs, giving a good reason'. Throwing everyone under the bus can be very very effective, but it's got to be for a very short run at the goal, typically. If you end up working with those people again, you're cooked. I'd say, if you don't see yourself working with that person e…

As a counterpoint: the long-term success of Donald Trump.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#197

Post by toomuchtodo »

username90 wrote: post #195
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree. Many many jobs, especially the higher paying ones, are bullshit jobs. Real work to actually improve the world doesn't tend to make a whole lot of money, it's much easier to lobby for bureaucratic inefficiencies you can inhabit, create artificial scarcity, gamble with other people's money, or outright scam people. Look at the web. There's a ton of jobs (many would say a nigh-overfull bubble's wort…

I work for Google and Google has a lot of products that has improved my life immensely. Google maps, Google search, Google docs, gmail and Youtube are all very useful products, especially for poor people who can't afford paid options. I don't feel bad in the slightest for working to improve them. People say that Google does questionable things but I haven't seen any of it. Of course as a bottom-up organization it is…

> People say that Google does questionable things but I haven't seen any of it.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/11/18260712/google-amit-sing... (Google confirms it agreed to pay $135 million to two execs accused of sexual harassment)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L... (High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_(search_engine)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_concerns_regarding_Goo...

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#198

Post by username90 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #197
username90 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work for Google and Google has a lot of products that has improved my life immensely. Google maps, Google search, Google docs, gmail and Youtube are all very useful products, especially for poor people who can't afford paid options. I don't feel bad in the slightest for working to improve them. People say that Google does questionable things but I haven't seen any of it. Of course as a bottom-up organization it is…

> People say that Google does questionable things but I haven't seen any of it. https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/11/18260712/google-amit-sing... (Google confirms it agreed to pay $135 million to two execs accused of sexual harassment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L... (High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_(search_engine) https://en.wikipedia.org…

Correction: I haven't seen any of it in my work. My work is not related to any of those things. I have only seen unethical things done by Google in the news, never any emails encouraging anyone to do unethical things or anything like that.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#199

Post by dorgo »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #154
ggm wrote: post #21

Have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, even if it terminates your employment status. I'm only unkeen to have my name on this, because I haven't done it, and I wish several times in the past, I had. I respect the person who did this early in his career in one ISP immensely: it was stunning to watch somebody say "you're full of shit" to the new CEO, and walk out. (he was btw, full of shit)

What if you're 99% sure someone doesn't know what they're talking about, but there could be on shred of crucial information, you aren't privy to, since companies are sometimes large and unwieldy things, and information doesn't always flow as it should. You could call someone out, and make a fool of yourself, if you're wrong. It would make me very hesitant to ever actually do something like this, because you never kno…

> What if you're 99% sure someone doesn't know what they're talking about

I hate this. I can't convince colleagues that they are wrong. And I can't push too hard as long as I'm not 100% sure. So I have to make their work for them just to proof them wrong. I think it is not a good investment to aim for 100%, at least where I work.

Re: What’s good career advice you wouldn’t want to have your name on?

#200

Post by Balgair »

mr_overalls wrote: post #196
Balgair wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Especially throwing other people under the bus. Hard disagree with this one. I've seen better success with 'compliment everyone behind their backs, giving a good reason'. Throwing everyone under the bus can be very very effective, but it's got to be for a very short run at the goal, typically. If you end up working with those people again, you're cooked. I'd say, if you don't see yourself working with that person e…

As a counterpoint: the long-term success of Donald Trump.

History is being written as we type.

That said, he's out of runway and can't get ahead anymore, being the US President and all. The throwing everyone under the bus tactic can't work if you can't distance yourself away from those you burned, and he's out of room now.

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