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It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

simonwillison.net

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Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#221

Post by baliex »

no_time wrote: post #202

I always wanted to have a public gh and website that has my name on it... My only problem is that most of my non work related projects are either a). Reverese engineering projects that may or may not be legal. I don't care at all but I wouldn't put it next to my name. Most of my projects fall under this category b). So personal that it's very unlikely that anyone would find it useful. c). Can only be used or even dem…

Do it. Even if you can only publish parts of them...

a) you could write-up just the parts that aren't (borderline) illegal b) I think you'd be surprised at what people find useful and interesting c) maybe you could apply a little bit of (a) to this one but even if you have to not publish about this, you'll still have something from (a) and (b)

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#222

Post by sdevonoes »

puppet-master wrote: post #204
trhoad wrote: post #187

You'll miss out on a whole range of engineers that have a life outside of work (which also brings some balance and maturity to the job), and therefore have no time (or inclination) to groom a public presence on the internet. Raising a family, going cycling, volunteering, reading books - these are all more valuable insights into a candidate for me, more so than your retweets.

Folk post this on every thread as if denying the effect somehow makes it go away. As both a candidate and hiring manager, the effect is very real and it is folly to ignore it. As a candidate, I landed a FANG job early in my career almost exclusively on the basis of my (poor quality) tech blog attracting the attention of a recruiter. As a hiring manager, I've dumped all resumes for a position and practically begged an…

> while presenting the appearance of being passionate about what you do during work

Why would anyone want this? It's fake. Let's try to keep the IT world free of as much BS as we can please. Don't follow this nonsense trends.

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#223

Post by jon-wood »

raverbashing wrote: post #152
booi wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most FAANG companies do actual coding now instead of whiteboarding :(

Great to know, an editor is much easier than a whiteboard I'd much prefer it rather than scribbling in a whiteboard with an eraser that doesn't work and trying to put together the solution Whiteboard does work for higher level discussions, not for anything resembling code Lest they ask you to whiteboard FizzBuzz, that makes me want to leave the interview immediately.

I’ve had a couple of interviews where I was asked to either whiteboard FizzBuzz, or answer 00s era Google brain teasers. From a big company that would be a swift exit from the interview process for me, but in both cases it happened to me I was interviewing as the first engineer at startups - I did the tasks, and then had a conversation about how if I were hired I’d remove them from the interview process.

In both cases I got the job, then stuck around for 5+ years, so I’m going to say it worked out ;)

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#224

Post by vanviegen »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #219
z3t4 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are over qualified, like having published several games on your own, it's not like they don't think you can do they job, they might think you will get bored and miserable.

I've personally come across this dilemma when hiring people. My own take is that's none of my goddamn business and if the person is the most qualified for the job then it's theirs for the taking.

Or you could perhaps discuss your concerns with the candidate... They may have a good reason for applying to this specific job.

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#225

Post by sokoloff »

brailsafe wrote: post #123
ganafagol wrote: post #113

> Build a small personal project and put the code on GitHub. This has lost its effect and partially turned it upside down. In school people seem to be instructed "have a github with personal project" to improve hiring chances so now everybody an their mother has an account with a bunch of meaningless crap projects that they have 0 intetest in but put it there to try to boost interview chances. Don't. Whenever I scree…

Why would you give people negative points for trying anything they can do to compete in a fucking ridiculous job market? I mean, suggest alternatives if your genuine intention is to help people find work, rather than just saying that you actively look down on people for trying something. You get negative points for being a dick. Of course, I'm making assumptions, which you should never do.

If what you do comes across as manipulative, and specifically trying to manipulate me into believing you are more qualified, then it’s entirely rational for me to compensate for that by assigning negative points.

The job market is indeed ridiculous right now. Companies need more qualified SWEs than they can find. That causes wages to rise. Rising wages, buzz, and large numbers of openings attract more people to the field to compete for these jobs. Unfortunately, a lot of the people newly attracted aren’t fully qualified SWEs. People not qualified are rarely selected and so keep applying and interviewing. To inject some sanity, companies look for more ways to filter the incoming stream to find the signal in the noise. Applicants look for ways to make their application look more like signal. And the wheel in the sky keeps turning…

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#226

Post by watwut »

trhway wrote: post #191
carnitine wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Binary search? I would never hire anyone who couldn’t implement it from scratch. There’s no complex idea or trick to remember, it’s the most basic algorithmic around.

a guess - you're young and have short industry experience, just enough to make very sure of yourself, so probably the age is between 25-30 with the experience between 5-10 years?

I am older then that and still don't fond that question extraordinary hard?

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#227

Post by dkdbejwi383 »

sevagh wrote: post #195
trhoad wrote: post #187

You'll miss out on a whole range of engineers that have a life outside of work (which also brings some balance and maturity to the job), and therefore have no time (or inclination) to groom a public presence on the internet. Raising a family, going cycling, volunteering, reading books - these are all more valuable insights into a candidate for me, more so than your retweets.

"Why would you make a good candidate for this position?" "I actually wrote a popular open-source app that-" "Shh... do you ride a bicycle? And do you raise children?"

I think this is a bit of an obtuse take. Doing non-coding things can give one skills that are useful in a software engineering role. Soft-skills like writing or public speaking, organisational skills, etc.

Having an outlet that's not related to your job helps keep your mind sharp and fresh when it comes to work, too. Less chance of burnout if programming isn't 100% of what you do within and outwith work.

If you deal with end-users, having a social life that involves non-technical people is a bonus too. Helps one to maintain an open-mind.

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#228

Post by obedm »

z3t4 wrote: post #200
SlowAndCalm wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am similar (putting my WebGL games on my portfolio) and I've found it's actually a pretty good filter of employers for me. If they bring it up and are willing to have a discussion about it, it's always a good sign. There's a wide range of topics to talk about that can relate to the possibly more boring requirements of the job. If they are dismissive of them, it tends to be an early sign that they are unable to thin…

If you are over qualified, like having published several games on your own, it's not like they don't think you can do they job, they might think you will get bored and miserable.

Being a good engineer goes beyond being good at coding.

Many great coders suck at communication or are just not nice to be around.

I've seen amazing "coders" not being hired because they can't have a good conversation during the interview. I'm sure they're the same ones that complain about interviews being too hard.

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#229

Post by obedm »

sdevonoes wrote: post #222
puppet-master wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Folk post this on every thread as if denying the effect somehow makes it go away. As both a candidate and hiring manager, the effect is very real and it is folly to ignore it. As a candidate, I landed a FANG job early in my career almost exclusively on the basis of my (poor quality) tech blog attracting the attention of a recruiter. As a hiring manager, I've dumped all resumes for a position and practically begged an…

> while presenting the appearance of being passionate about what you do during work Why would anyone want this? It's fake. Let's try to keep the IT world free of as much BS as we can please. Don't follow this nonsense trends.

Why? You don't need to be passionate about your work to be a great employee.

Many days I don't feel like working and I'm not motivated. But I still do (I think) a great job and try my best.

Passion is bullshit. Passion is useful in some cases, but it's not requirement to do a great job.

Re: It doesn't take much public creativity to stand out as a job candidate

#230

Post by angarg12 »

> You will jump straight to the top of the hiring manager’s mental list, maybe without them even noticing.

That sounds like an unconscious bias that you should fight rather than indulge.

I've interviewed hundreds of candidates for FAANG and I intentionally don't look at their CV to avoid biases. Personal projects can help with the interview if they are relevant, but I'm conscious about not "punishing" candidates who don't have any of those.

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