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

simonwillison.net

121–130 of 396 posts

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

#121
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be when they see that https://git.gavinhoward.com/gavin/petty-tyrant-businesses

While I disagree with the stance and tone of that repo, I appreciate that someone stops being a corporate lackey even on their personal websites; we've all become sterile, pleasant representations of the ideal worker just hoping for someone to have the decency to pay us for our programming ability and talent. Maybe be a little careful with the conspiracy theories, but I am quite done with the corporate-friendly perso…

This. I got a very mixed feeling after reading his blog. On one hand it looks like he lacks self-awareness to the point that he didn't realize the blog makes him quite unemployable. On the other hand, I don't want to live in a society where a blog can make you unemployable, and I kinda admire his audacity to keep it on.

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

#122

Unlike another top poster, this doesn't ring true for me. I have a blog with 170-ish posts. About half are technical. Three or four have gone viral on HN. The other half are personal, but I live in a place where people generally share the same values, so those other posts shouldn't be a problem. I've got a personal project. It's used in production and ships as part of the base install with FreeBSD and Mac OSX. It dem…

Your blog post: > Got another programming job. Got fired for "performance." I think the reason wasn’t good, but I also have a hard time building a theory of mind, which means I can’t read code written by others. If you can't read code written by others, that's going to be a big concern for companies that require you to read and modify other people's code. Perhaps you need to be a contractor, not an employee.

Yikes!

https://gavinhoward.com/2023/04/rust-is-dead-to-me/

> Rust the language is dead to me.

> why?

> Because, quite literally, the Rust Foundation wants to make people like me unwelcome in any Rust event, not just official ones.

> Don’t believe me?

> Look at the draft Rust Trademark Policy that the Rust Foundation is asking for comments on and go to page 12:

> > We will consider requests to use the Marks on a case by case basis, but at a minimum, would expect events and conferences using the Marks to…prohibit the carrying of firearms…

> I have a concealed carry permit. I have firearms and other weapons. I know how to use them, and I will use them in defense of my wife and myself.

> And you can bet I carry them into places I consider dangerous if it is legal to.

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

#124
post #95
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny, because posting that list of businesses is... also pretty petty. As is refusing to wear a mask during a global pandemic. I bet this guy also gets pissed off at the "no shoes, no shirt, no service" signs some businesses have. I know if I was hiring for something and found that post, that'd be an instant no-hire from me.

> It's funny, because posting that list of businesses is... also pretty petty. People boycott things all the time for all kinds of reasons. Some people boycott Israeli businesses due to the Israel/Palestine conflict, other people boycott MyPillow, and others boycott Chik-Fil-A, or more recently Budweiser. The outrage here on HN is a bit annoying, considering this used to be a fairly balanced platform. As a consumer,…

They’re boycotting business for complying with government regulations. It’s petty and it’s stupid.

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

#125

IME in Aus, it's mostly recruiters, the kind who ask if I have experience with 'Jasons', who do the initial screening. I'm not sure I'd have much more luck getting past them with a substantial online presence behind me. On the other hand, I was recently referred by a friend for a role with the state gov. The HR person said my lack of experience with X hurt my chances. I passed this on to my friend and said thanks any…

> The HR person said my lack of experience with X hurt my chances.

The HR person probably also wrote the job spec with "at least 10 years experience with programming language that is 1 year old" or "minimum 5 years managing a team of more than 20 people and revenue over $100mil - entry level starting salary $30,000"

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

#126

100%. Especially in a tough, competitive job market like today's, having a credible portfolio of work, published content, and external validation makes a huge difference. It can take a good candidate to the top of the list, and when that list is a few dozen great applications, that's critical. As a hiring manager I weigh a candidate's public presence at 10~15% of my initial decision, even more if it's exceptionally i…

This may be the uncommon opinion, but hell no.

Companies already want us working an amount of hours well beyond what our salaries should cover, being on-call, and often working well into the night for deadlines, and sometimes the entire night into the next work day when incidents arise.

Then, when we need a job, we need to custom write a compelling “cover letter” that sucks the dick of some corporate entity in order to “tell us why you’d love to work for us” in a unique way that gets someone’s eyeballs in the 5 seconds of time your resume has to get attention or shredded.

Why do I want to work for your company? Because I need to eat to survive and you’re hiring. That’s why. There may be more about your company I like, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t apply to work there if I didn’t need to in order to survive.

Now, we need to be spending all of our time off, which if you work for a startup isn’t as much as you’d think, developing a blog with highly technical and relevant posts in an industry where all tech is a moving target with fads that move fast, Maintain open source projects that should not be “simple” in nature, speak at conferences, etc. That’s in addition to the never ending time commitment to continued learning we already have to do in order to stay somewhat relevant, while also trying to focus on specific tech enough to become a senior level expert or industry leader.

No. Enough. Corporate America gets enough of our lives. The interview process from applying to offer is already a shit show circus of having to market yourself hoping you get picked to not become homeless, all while dealing with multiple rounds of lengthy calls with people on power trips who can often actually be threatened by an impressive portfolio and not recommend you for hire in order to secure their own role and status.

If I work on open source it will be for me and not for a potential job (that won’t look at it or care anyway unless they can use you for it).

You know what gets people offer letters? Word of mouth referrals coming from highly revered coworkers. If you have solid connections out there that are badass engineers who can vouch to their eng managers that you too are a badass engineer, the interview is essentially a formality.

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

#127
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I disagree with the stance and tone of that repo, I appreciate that someone stops being a corporate lackey even on their personal websites; we've all become sterile, pleasant representations of the ideal worker just hoping for someone to have the decency to pay us for our programming ability and talent. Maybe be a little careful with the conspiracy theories, but I am quite done with the corporate-friendly perso…

This. I got a very mixed feeling after reading his blog. On one hand it looks like he lacks self-awareness to the point that he didn't realize the blog makes him quite unemployable. On the other hand, I don't want to live in a society where a blog can make you unemployable, and I kinda admire his audacity to keep it on.

Your blog is literally you, unless it’s some kind of made up alter ego.

You don’t want to live in a world where people won’t hire you because they don’t like you? You’re in for a rough ride.

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

#128
post #111
post #101

It shouldn't take any. This hiring attitude discriminates against (not an exclusive list) parents, people with caring responsibilities, and those that find "public creativity" difficult due to personality traits or medical issues. It cements the "tech bro" culture. It stifles diversity. Just hire people that can do the job you're paying them for. I don't ask my plumber to show me their blog posts.

> I don't ask my plumber to show me their blog posts. Yes, but you probably read his reviews online, compared his quotes with competitors in the space to pick one with a good reputation, and otherwise sought signals of competence. Blog posts are the very same thing, quickly verifiable, albeit potentially wrong, signals of skill and competence. > Just hire people that can do the job you're paying them for Speaking blu…

I didn't know being a plumber that gets good reviews involves putting in a substantial amount of unpaid work.

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

#129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I got a very mixed feeling after reading his blog. On one hand it looks like he lacks self-awareness to the point that he didn't realize the blog makes him quite unemployable. On the other hand, I don't want to live in a society where a blog can make you unemployable, and I kinda admire his audacity to keep it on.

Your blog is literally you, unless it’s some kind of made up alter ego. You don’t want to live in a world where people won’t hire you because they don’t like you? You’re in for a rough ride.

My gender and race are me too, and I don't want to live in a world where my gender and race can significantly affect the chance that I get hired.

Actually my gender and race are much more "me" than my blog, cause I might change my opinions and my blog no longer reflects my internal "states".

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

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your blog is literally you, unless it’s some kind of made up alter ego. You don’t want to live in a world where people won’t hire you because they don’t like you? You’re in for a rough ride.

My gender and race are me too, and I don't want to live in a world where my gender and race can significantly affect the chance that I get hired. Actually my gender and race are much more "me" than my blog, cause I might change my opinions and my blog no longer reflects my internal "states".

That’s a different matter. What I meant is your blog is an extension of your personality.

You can’t discriminate based on sex or race, you can based on personality.

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