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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

#171

Post by aembleton »

fnimick wrote: post #128
fardo wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Some make content for YouTube which gets them work.

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

#172

Post by aembleton »

mattigames wrote: post #64

I have first hand experience of this being false, just a few months ago to stand out for a React open position for a company called Personio, I created a org chart that feel much snappier and friendly using React and CSS3 animations that the one the company is using in their main product (this one if you are curious https://github.com/Ivanca/personio-demo ), I linked it in the cover letter and also tried reaching out…

How is that friendlier? Can I easily search for someone?

Still its a cool demo.

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

#173

Post by lylejantzi3rd »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #89
buro9 wrote: post #86

First they need to look at your application / resume. Then they need to have questions, which triggers curiosity that has them looking for more. Only then does having a piece of content help you. Yes it helps, but it doesn't help as much as having a resume that suggests you're a potentially good match without oversharing why you're not a good match. A good resume raises questions that leads to a conversation. The res…

It could be the other way around: they downloaded your resume after reading your blog post.

Even small companies get hundreds of applications per job posting. How often do you think hiring managers go out hunting for resumes on blogs?

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

#174

Post by xena »

sph wrote: post #115
xena wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do what everyone does for this: make a side blog under a pseudonym.

I thought about it but no. I am OK with who I am, and I don't have any hate speech to share that I need to hide my identity. I just want to show the Internet world a side of me that is not only the stereotypical software engineer, because I'm not. No one is, is the point I'm making. We all have our quirks, and we should celebrate them. I know your blog, I can't say I understand where you're coming from or that I rela…

Yes but really, having a pseudonym that is wholly unrelated to you and letting you get things out on that side blog that way can be invaluable. I have at least two such side blogs. Statistically you've probably read one of those side blog articles without knowing.

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

#176

Post by xena »

notimetorelax wrote: post #14
nitwit005 wrote: post #3

The act of taking a serious look at people's github repos, blogs, or whatever else, appears fairly unusual. I've asked.

GitHub can be faked by taking work of others. When screening there’s no time to investigate each artifact. It’s nice if someone has a github repo, but it’s by no means the deciding factor.

Yeah, I have a fairly prolific GitHub portfolio so the first 5 minutes of most interviews are flipping to a random GitHub repo and asking me what is going on there. Makes me think they're trying to have me prove that I'm the author of it.

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

#177

Post by rewmie »

Ygor wrote: post #133
intellectronica wrote: post #33

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…

Not necessarily disagreeing with this approach - but an interesting other side to this that should be considered: what about candidates who look great on their public profiles - real achievements and credible expertise - because they focus more on their public profile than their main job? Completely anecdotal and probably another extreme of the coin - but I'm curious if folks have some experience with this and how to…

> what about candidates who look great on their public profiles (...) because they focus more on their public profile than their main job?

Not OP, but I'd want to chime in and state the following fact: if you're looking for a job, your goal is to sell yourself as the best choice that your potential employer can make. If you cannot make that case for your employer, why do you think any third party would make it for you?

There are indeed a lot of paper tigers out there. I worked with a couple of them. They can interview better than most. If hiring managers have a limited amount of time to make that call, are you helping them find you by failing to present your case?

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

#178

Post by jeffrallen »

_sojh wrote: post #126
intellectronica wrote: post #33

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…

If you happen to find a job which has a small open source component, the for-pay public work you do for job n can help you land job n+1.

I agree that hundreds of hours of non-paid work is not a reasonable thing to expect of IT workers. But TFA's message has worked for me for landing several jobs.

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

#180

Post by rewmie »

spratzt wrote: post #175

Complete rubbish. Most candidates nowadays are obliged to deal through low grade, poor quality recruiters. Demonstrating creativity to these morons is an absolute waste of time.

Those "poor quality recruiters" only work with the data you give them. If you give them the same stuff everyone else is giving, what leads you to believe that they'll side with you? They naturally tend to go with those who help them justify their decision, and that's where that creativity enters the picture.
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