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How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

blog.vidyard.com

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Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#11

Post by jakejake »

kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

I definitely agree that working for free is a bad idea. But in the software industry we're currently enjoying a shortage of talent (well, that's either positive or negative depending on whether you're employee or employer) I kinda have one foot in the video/film production industry and it is so radically different to see people begging to work for free, having a food service job on the side, etc. While other graduates come out of the same 4-year education with a software degree and they're able to demand high salaries, signing bonuses, stock options, etc.

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#13

Post by hnriot »

kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

Working for free does not mean the work is worthless. This is just an insane idea. Let's say I volunteer building houses for people in the 3rd world, or I give free talks at my daughter's school, or I help some friends get their startup off the ground, none of these means they are worthless. This must be a cultural difference thing, but giving freely of your time for endeavors you believe in should not make you think my work is worthless to you. Compensation comes in many forms. Money is just one of them.

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#14

Post by kami8845 »

hnriot wrote: post #13
kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

Working for free does not mean the work is worthless. This is just an insane idea. Let's say I volunteer building houses for people in the 3rd world, or I give free talks at my daughter's school, or I help some friends get their startup off the ground, none of these means they are worthless. This must be a cultural difference thing, but giving freely of your time for endeavors you believe in should not make you think…

Yeah I agree. But they were trying to hire somebody for a salaried position and in an age where 100k salaries for newgrads are a commodity offering to do that job for 0k really does say a lot about you. I'm not saying OP shouldn't work for free, just that he should try to sound less desperate. The job search is like dating. If I tell my partner on the first or second date that I love them and would do everything for them, that sends the worst signals.

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#15

Post by troels »

kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

I also researched _every_ person who I'd be talking to. Has a lot of PostgreSQL related posts on their blog? "Oh yeah I hate MySQL". Re-tweeted a tweet about a MongoDB bug report? "I prefer traditional databases for serious apps". Has a blog post about Go? "I think the speed advantage that Go can offer is really interesting" And so on and so forth. People like people who are like them, with pretty much everyone exposing their lives and opinions, stuff like this is up for easy pickings.

That doesn't sound very sincere.

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#16

Post by jacalata »

kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

Wow, some really big mistakes... I've similarly been on the job hunt for my first job recently You sound a little over confident of 'the right way to look for a job' for someone who's only just getting your first job now.

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#17

Post by pnathan »

kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

So you're coming off as someone who will say anything to get the job. Not my preferred candidate....

On the other hand, these threads provide me with signals to watch out for. :-)

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#18

Post by danso »

hnriot wrote: post #13
kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

Working for free does not mean the work is worthless. This is just an insane idea. Let's say I volunteer building houses for people in the 3rd world, or I give free talks at my daughter's school, or I help some friends get their startup off the ground, none of these means they are worthless. This must be a cultural difference thing, but giving freely of your time for endeavors you believe in should not make you think…

> Let's say I volunteer building houses for people in the 3rd world, or I give free talks at my daughter's school, or I help some friends get their startup off the ground, none of these means they are worthless.

You're right, but the difference is perspective. In those situations, the "employers" expect the work to be free, because they are "paying" you in non-monetary ways (such as, continued or closer friendship). So someone offering to do work for free is meeting their expectations.

In the case of a stranger approaching a company...An employer is expecting such work to cost money...and if someone unknown offers to do that work for free...then there are multiple ways to interpret that offer, many of them detrimental to the candidate:

1) The candidate is actually not very good or is inexperienced, or else he would know that he could be getting paid good money to do what he is offering to do.

2) The candidate sees the proposed work as trivial. See 1)

3) The candidate is desperate, leading the employer to wonder if either #1 or #2 have something to do with that.

4) The candidate sees the employer as desperate.

5) The candidate is actually very good and is fully confident that his work will knock the employers' socks off.

Sure, #5 is possible. But likely?...

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#19

Post by philsnow »

kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

> I also researched _every_ person who I'd be talking to. Has a lot of PostgreSQL related posts on their blog? "Oh yeah I hate MySQL". Re-tweeted a tweet about a MongoDB bug report? "I prefer traditional databases for serious apps". Has a blog post about Go? "I think the speed advantage that Go can offer is really interesting" And so on and so forth. People like people who are like them, with pretty much everyone exposing their lives and opinions, stuff like this is up for easy pickings.

So, you play the pandering sycophant ? I _can't tell_ from here because you don't include any examples where you disagree with the interviewer's worldview.

If one of your examples had been e.g. "I've used Go quite a bit and it's bitten me in a number of ways, here's a couple: ...", it might look less like you're just researching exactly what you think people will want to hear.

Re: How to hack your way into a hot startup with no experience

#20

Post by kami8845 »

pnathan wrote: post #17
kami8845 wrote: post #5

Wow, some really big mistakes... Explains why it took 5 months to get the final interview. >but I will put in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until I get there. >Vidyard being one of them, even if I work for free. >I'm even willing to work for free for a period of time. Never, ever, ever do this stuff - Free If you say you're willing to work for free, that tells me one thing: You think your work is of no value to me. A…

So you're coming off as someone who will say anything to get the job. Not my preferred candidate.... On the other hand, these threads provide me with signals to watch out for. :-)

No. I will never lie or say something that I do not believe myself. The research above just tells me WHAT to say, if someone has a viewpoint on a certain topic that is 100% opposite from mine, I will simply not bring it up and look for other commonalities.

>Not my preferred candidate....

Well the good thing is if I do my job right, you'll never know :)

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