How I got fired from my job, and what I learned • Hacker News Board

Re: How I got fired from my job, and what I learned

#21

Post by thelynchmob1 » Wed, Mar 30, 2016, 5:56 PM UTC

invaliddata wrote: post #11

We all have shortcomings. It is hard to work with people who refuse to acknowledge their shortcomings and then try to remediate or at least work around them. Even worse are those who seek to blame others for their circumstances or and arr not willing to admit anything personally embarassing. I applaud the author and although I'm not in a position to hire anyone, I'd be more likely to hire him (ceteres paribus) becaus…

Author of this article here: thanks, that means a lot to me. I completely agree with you -- I'd much rather work with someone who acknowledges and admits their issues, so we can find a way to work around them, or make them non-issues. That's much easier than working with people who ignore problems, or try to patch over them, or try to mitigate all of their weaknesses without ever focusing on maximising their strengths.

Re: How I got fired from my job, and what I learned

#22

Post by thelynchmob1 » Wed, Mar 30, 2016, 5:59 PM UTC

ChrisDutrow wrote: post #12

He was set up to fail in this scenario. Lack of oversight and prompt feedback when he started slipping caused this situation to snowball. Some personality types can handle this amount of autonomy, but most people cannot. Most people need more structure than what existed here. I also think highly creative people are even more likely to slip. This is a reason why startups are so hard, it's really hard to put together a…

Author of the article here -- I think you're right to some extent, but if you can't handle that amount of autonomy, you shouldn't be working in a remote role at a startup. Also, I did a pretty good job of performing just at the level where I wouldn't get fired (in the short-term), but that I wouldn't have to work that hard either.

Re: How I got fired from my job, and what I learned

#23

Post by thelynchmob1 » Wed, Mar 30, 2016, 6:07 PM UTC

ArkyBeagle wrote: post #15

Cartwright2 wrote: post #2

It's a crazy world we live in where someone would post such a candid article about their own under-performance. This article is embarrassing to the individual, and more importantly, to the company that fired him. I think people need to think more carefully about what they post online especially when using real names. This is permanent now. Any potential employer who searches this man on the internet will see this and…

I think the guy's shed any ... people who would think his lack of candor is a defect. You would not believe the amount of time this will save you in the long run. Look, if you enjoy dysfunction have at it. But my experience is that you have to defend yourself from it, and the best defense is simply identifying it rather loudly. There are many, many, MANY more people for whom you do not want to work than that you do w…

I hope you're right -- that's one of the reasons I wrote this. Since when is self-awareness a bad thing?

I mean, generally speaking the type of people who think this post is a bad idea are the type of people who, when asked in an interview what their biggest weakness is, will say things like "I'm a perfectionist" or "I work too hard".

Those are ridiculous platitudes that anyone can see past. I'm much more impressed by the person who admits a real issue, how they identified it, and what they're doing to mitigate it.

Re: How I got fired from my job, and what I learned

#24

Post by ArkyBeagle » Wed, Mar 30, 2016, 10:46 PM UTC

thelynchmob1 wrote: post #19

ChrisDutrow wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a really good point. When I think of the people who I've worked with who are successful without structure are usually a little bit paranoid/neurotic. Even if no one has checked on them for months, in the back of their head, they are still concerned about the repercussions of slacking off. I should note that people without this personality trait can be successful too. But in their case, the repercussions for s…

You're totally right. You pretty much nailed it. I'm not one of those paranoid/neurotic people at all. Funnily enough, this is why I've been a lot better at freelancing: I get instant feedback from the client if they're not happy, and I get instant rewards (payment) when I finish a job to a good standard.

I think it can be developed as habits. Really, it comes down to just another checklist, but it may be a checklist you have to sort of muse about now and again - "is that really done?"