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We created a fake language to root out resume liars

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Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#72

This reminded me of a talk [1] at pyData Berlin some years ago. Vincent demonstrated how he used some ML techniques to create fake pokemon sounding names to put into his LinkedIn resume. So that he could filter out headhunters without any real knowledge. To quote from my notes [2] of the conference: > There is a striking phonetic similarity between big data technology and pokemon names. Can you create a service that…

For naming new projects, I like to use the random page function in Shin Megami Tensei wiki.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#73
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A mate of mine's consulting company offers a 10% discount on any work if the client buys them a plant, any plant, for the office. Apparently they've only had two clients take them up on the offer.

Why do they offer that?

Because they want plants.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#74
post #37

I find it particularly ironic that it has fallen to a Facebook group of Cold Fusion programmers to call out poor choices. Those of us who actually worked at 1st generation dotcoms know that absolutely nobody had any idea what they were doing, even at the "proper" ones, and things were moving so fast that you absolutely _had_ to fake it until you made it.

It's funny, but if CF solved your problem and put money on your bank account then it did its job.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#75
post #24

This reminds me of an anecdote I read once, maybe in Liars Poker, about how lots of people applying to this hedge fund put "Chess" on their resume somewhere thinking it made them seem like a deep or strategic thinker. As it happened, at this hedge fund there worked a former Soviet master or grandmaster ranked player. And so, whenever interviewing any candidate who claimed great proficiency with chess on their resume,…

I used to do some work with a software consulting firm. There was a ping pong table in the office, and while talking about rates, our CEO liked to offer clients a 15% discount on our services if they could beat Joe from accounting at ping pong. He did it as a bit of a running joke, and to see how people reacted to the offer. What our clients didn't know was that Joe was terrible at ping pong. But that didn't matter -…

I'm always wary of a Sir Gawain and Greenknight sort of situation. And sure you'll say it's only ping pong: But that's how they get you.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#76
post #3

I admire resume liars. The job market isn't fair and you should do anything you can to get ahead. (Employers are going to pull tricks like this, so why not? Just be smart about it)

Tech recruiter here. Firms on average are more dishonest than jobseekers. The reason is simple: If you do something often enough, you get sloppy. For instance, if you start going to the gym, at first, your exercise execution is perfect but after some weeks you get sloppier and sloppier. Same here, firms that are hiring constantly tend to get fatigued. Jobseekers, however, are "active" for some weeks until they switch…

> Firms on average are more dishonest than jobseekers.

This. It happened to me to receive CVs for a position and the actual candidate was completely clueless. Yet the recruiting firm was really pushing that as "a very good candidate albeit a bit junior".

OTOH, it happened to me that I had an interview with a consulting firm. They would basically forward my CV to the actual client and only hire me if the client "accepted" to "hire me" through them. The thing is, this firm asked me for my cc in ms word format, so that they could add their own logos and stuff, make it appear like I was on their payroll and more importantly remove all the contacts (as if it was any meaningful in the age of LinkedIn). I have no way to tell if they inflated my CV in any way.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#77
> That way, when candidates were pitched to us with "X years of MOVA experience", we knew that somebody was full of it.

I'd put my money on the recruiter. I once had an excruciatingly awkward interview at a company on an industrial estate in the middle of nowhereland with no train station nearby that took me bloody ages to get to… which was actually going well until they asked me about my long experience with Exchange 2000. I had no experience with Exchange 2000, so I told them, and watched their faces drop.

That was specifically why they wanted to speak to me. The recruiter had inserted it onto the copy of the CV he sent to them. I'm surprised I'm not still doing time for murder.

What I'm not surprised about though is why they do it. I've been to plenty of interviews where my CV hasn't been given more than a glance. At moments like those I feel a deep sense of pessimism. The whole recruitment process seems broken from end to end and has been for a while.

Re: We created a fake language to root out resume liars

#79

It baffles me why anyone would lie about the languages they know. Why. Always tell half truths, never whole lies. I live in a country where companies distrust former startup founders regardless of exit. So when a good opportunity cones around - people pretend to have been merely working for said startup instead of the guy running it. Thats a good lie.

Why does South Africa mistrust startup founders? Denmark mistrusts people who've been consultants applying for full time employment, in my experience.

It's a deep mistrust of enterprising individuals. A recruiter told me that companies want people with an employee mindset.

I didn't know whether to be disgusted or roll on the floor laughing.

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