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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

#51

Post by skybrian »

onetimeuse92304 wrote: post #44

People don't realise how easy it is to get to top 1% in most fields, if you are sufficiently intelligent (say 110-120). Most intelligent people don't get there because they are either not willing to do the work or don't know how honest work looks like or they put artificial barriers before themselves. And even if you are less intelligent you still can get there, you will just have to put in more work. I think of thos…

You're using the word "easy" but I think what you describe only seems easy when you have the right attitude and few distractions. For many people, this is actually hard.

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

#52

Post by berkle4455 »

gavinhoward wrote: post #6

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…

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

#53

Post by wiseowise »

gavinhoward wrote: post #6

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…

Standing out doesn't mean you'll get a job.

Judging by your description and comment you certainly stand out, but is that enough to get a job? I can't tell unless I have an interview with you.

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

#54

Post by LilBytes »

berkle4455 wrote: post #52
gavinhoward wrote: post #6

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…

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

#55

Post by wiseowise »

ahartmetz wrote: post #41
robbywashere_ wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point in the job finding/interviewing process are you having trouble with? If you don’t mind me asking?

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

Jesus Christ.

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

#56

Post by onetimeuse92304 »

skybrian wrote: post #51
onetimeuse92304 wrote: post #44

People don't realise how easy it is to get to top 1% in most fields, if you are sufficiently intelligent (say 110-120). Most intelligent people don't get there because they are either not willing to do the work or don't know how honest work looks like or they put artificial barriers before themselves. And even if you are less intelligent you still can get there, you will just have to put in more work. I think of thos…

You're using the word "easy" but I think what you describe only seems easy when you have the right attitude and few distractions. For many people, this is actually hard.

"Easy" means it is just your decision whether you want to get it or not (well... most of the time... to get to 1% in most fields).

I know if I can spend enough effort I can learn to reasonably play Irish flute, the only question is am I willing to put in the effort?

Once I decided I really want to get something, the rest is relatively easy -- yes, that means resolve and the right attitude and some amount of consistent effort -- I have not said "easy" means "free".

I have been in the top (say top 3-10) of a number of online games and had a lot of discussions with people who were at the top about what makes them different from all those other people who never reach the top.

Most of the time the difference is people get stuck and they don't know how to unstuck themselves. They are not listening to advice. They are not honestly trying to understand what keeps them stuck, etc. That's a problem of attitude.

I think training your resolve and the attitude is separate problem from achieving your goals, this is something many people would gain a lot from if they focused on it for a bit.

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

#57

Post by dehrmann »

harlanji wrote: post #16

I've mostly always believed this to be true and had some early confirmation in my past, greatest spike being around 2007. But for the past 5 years I've been consistently publishing original work and getting absolutely zero feedback and little engagement. My former personal network doesn't respond to my emails anymore, etc.. Might have to do with some defamation that happened in 2016 by an employer, but that shouldn't…

Took a quick look at your profile.

It's rare that I look at projects when interviewing, but I'd rather see a complete, published open-source project than a dev sandbox. It's a signal that you can stick with something complex and drive it to completion. Alternatively, meaningful PRs to projects can be good because it shows you can work in someone else's codebase and build consensus.

You're selling a notepad app for $30 with the disclaimer "This is the initial release and may contain bugs that lead to data loss, and so frequent backup and careful usage are suggested."

I did a quick Google search for you on LinkedIn but didn't find anything.

Everywhere you say you can take consulting gigs, but I'm not sure why I'd want you as a consultant. What expertise do you bring to the table?

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

#59

Post by kelnos »

ahartmetz wrote: post #41
robbywashere_ wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point in the job finding/interviewing process are you having trouble with? If you don’t mind me asking?

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

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.

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

#60

Post by marcus_holmes »

LouisSayers wrote: post #23
000ooo000 wrote: post #5

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…

Also worked in Aus - Melbourne and Sydney, as well as London. I have zero blogs, and I don't contribute towards open source. My github has random bits of code, a few coding exercises from other companies. What I do have though is a decent CV. When people say you need this or that, what they're actually saying is you need to show somehow that you're technically capable. There are other ways of doing that than just hav…

Agree. Also in Aus. HR doesn't give a shit about creativity. They need to see the TLA's on the CV that the tech nerds said they needed for the role.

Also, is it me, or is this ridiculous? Accountants don't need to do any open-source accounting to prove their bona fides. Lawyers don't need to side-hustle some public defense cases to get respect. Civil Engineers don't build some free bridges to get hired.

The employer working out if I have the technical skills I say I have is literally not my problem. They need to have a technical test or whatever they feel ticks that box for them. I'm happy to jump through whatever hoops they put in front of me (except a "take-home project" that will actually take more than an hour), but they have to put the hoops out.

I'm not against open source, but I don't see that as a qualification either. It's a different thing from writing commercial code, with different skills and conditions. Plus, 90% of "projects" that I see on people's Git*b repos are forks or non-working code. I'm all for having my mistakes in public, but if I was to judge the average coder by their Git*b content I'd never hire any of them.

Same for blogging - the ability to write a coherent, meaningful blog is great, and possibly a useful indication that the author can actually string a sentence together, but it's a different skill from what's required to write commercial code.

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