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All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

80000hours.org

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Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#51

Post by robertwiblin »

thenobsta wrote: post #37
sshykes wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please get rid of the annoying "this will only take a second" popup, I was reading but closed the window immediately when that shit started.

I understand the pop up. However, the sign-up should not take me away from the article. I mean, putting in my email took me to another page in the same tab (not a new one). Also, The landing page post-giving-you-my-email gave me another sign-up pop up. Both these things are super annoying. Content is good though.

Hey thenobsta, that's a good point about it redirecting you to another page. I'll discuss it with our tech guy tomorrow.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#52

Post by BenjaminTodd »

thenobsta wrote: post #37
sshykes wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please get rid of the annoying "this will only take a second" popup, I was reading but closed the window immediately when that shit started.

I understand the pop up. However, the sign-up should not take me away from the article. I mean, putting in my email took me to another page in the same tab (not a new one). Also, The landing page post-giving-you-my-email gave me another sign-up pop up. Both these things are super annoying. Content is good though.

Ug, we've been having a lot of problems with our new popup plugin. Once you're signed up, it should turn off all popups. Maybe you're blocking cookies, or it didn't take effect yet.

I agree it would be better to take you back to where you were reading, it's a lot more complex to set up though.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#53

Post by BenjaminTodd »

robertwiblin wrote: post #44
tbirdz wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why don't you offer the content all at once instead of dividing it into 9 weeks of 15-minute chunks once a week? I'd rather spend the 2 hours to read all of it at once, instead of having to wait 9 weeks to read it.

Hey tbirdz, sorry if this was unclear but you can read the whole thing whenever you like by starting here and just going through: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/ Or you can watch the whole thing starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VRL-ByuQuo&list=PL-BRtcBm4Y... Most people don't have time all at once and report wanting to do it in a few sessions. Where on the site wasn't sufficiently direct about tha…

We'll also add a free ebook at some point.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#54

Post by vonmoltke »

derekp7 wrote: post #43
vonmoltke wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or attend user group meetings and give presentations. You realize the article specifically highlighted that as one of the bad pieces of advice proffered on the Internet.

I don't see that in there -- I see where it mentions about writing blog posts is bad advice, so this may be similar. However, I don't think they are saying it is bad per se, just that it won't magically land you a job. However, presenting in front of a peer group does do a couple things. First, you have to prepare, which helps you realize what skill you actually have. Secondly you end up building a lot of self confid…

> I don't see that in there -- I see where it mentions about writing blog posts is bad advice, so this may be similar. However, I don't think they are saying it is bad per se, just that it won't magically land you a job.

Sorry, you're right. I read that bit in the linked article about getting a job with no connections.[1]

> However, presenting in front of a peer group does do a couple things. First, you have to prepare, which helps you realize what skill you actually have. Secondly you end up building a lot of self confidence, especially on the topics that you are presenting on.

I think you are definitely right on that. The more experience you get explaining things to strangers, the better you will do in interviews. I took the "free work" section of the article as being more focused on audition than practice, though.

[1] http://cultivatedculture.com/how-to-get-a-job-anywhere-no-co...

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#56

Post by 50CNT »

sqeaky wrote: post #28

> since people need to engage over several months to get value out of the advice This is false. > I find popups annoying too I do not believe you, if you did you would know that often the first response to popup annoyance is to close the window. What do your analytics actually say happens when that popup shows? It will show that I was reading your article up until that appeared, then I entered garbage for an email an…

I assume if you have that email at @yourself.com, you'd get the newsletter.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#57

Post by Phlarp »

bewatson wrote: post #45
oppositelock wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's illegal to work for free today, unless you're a Congressional intern, since they exempted themselves from the law. Lots of "my grandfather..." stories are illegal in today's US, land of freedom and such.

As a recent graduate, I know many people who used the "free work for a short term" method to get in the door for a new job. It isn't going to work at very large companies, but at startups and agencies, absolutely. "Illegal" sure, but a smart manager wouldn't turn down a chance to get a great look at a potential employee

A smart manager would know better than to open their company up to potential employment litigation.

Unpaid wages are one of the few offenses that can "pierce the corporate veil" and leave founders/owners personally liable.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#58

Post by mhurron »

random_rr wrote: post #35
sqeaky wrote: post #28

> since people need to engage over several months to get value out of the advice This is false. > I find popups annoying too I do not believe you, if you did you would know that often the first response to popup annoyance is to close the window. What do your analytics actually say happens when that popup shows? It will show that I was reading your article up until that appeared, then I entered garbage for an email an…

calm down. Newsletters drive Internet business. If you don't know this... Don't walk outside, it's an even scarier place out there. Don't like pop ups? Close tab, move on. Or... Throw a childish hissy fit on HN over free content. You know, whichever sounds better to you.

When the content owners of something that is annoying you show up in the same thread your in, it is appropriate to voice your complaints to them.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#59

Post by tostitos1979 »

merpnderp wrote: post #15

One thing in this article that really caught my eye was "Do free work". When I was a young kid I remember my grandfather, who was about to retire from a long career at the power utility having been head of the union, and much beloved by all his coworkers and managers, told me about how he got that job. He had been laid off at a grain mill, and was getting by as a butcher. But a friend of his got him in the door to se…

Apart from the legal issues that others have pointed out, I would strongly discourage my students from working for free. Canada seems to have a lot of this crap going on - maybe because the labour market in CS isn't that great. Just say no.

Re: All the best advice we could find on how to get a job

#60

Post by st3v3r »

oppositelock wrote: post #22
merpnderp wrote: post #15

One thing in this article that really caught my eye was "Do free work". When I was a young kid I remember my grandfather, who was about to retire from a long career at the power utility having been head of the union, and much beloved by all his coworkers and managers, told me about how he got that job. He had been laid off at a grain mill, and was getting by as a butcher. But a friend of his got him in the door to se…

It's illegal to work for free today, unless you're a Congressional intern, since they exempted themselves from the law. Lots of "my grandfather..." stories are illegal in today's US, land of freedom and such.

For very good reason. For every "my grandfather" story, there are probably 5 more whom were simply taken advantage of, with the hiring person having absolutely no intention of hiring them.
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