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qhat
Jul 6, 2015


The solution is to interview somewhere at least every six months, even if you don't have any intention of accepting. Keeps your head in the game.

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Shaman Linavi
Apr 3, 2012

what's a good protocol to use when applying to jobs that don't seem to have any place to attach a cover letter?
sometimes i will put it in a pdf with my resume, but usually i just pout a little after spending time writing it and leave it off

qhat
Jul 6, 2015


Shaman Linavi posted:

what's a good protocol to use when applying to jobs that don't seem to have any place to attach a cover letter?
sometimes i will put it in a pdf with my resume, but usually i just pout a little after spending time writing it and leave it off

Nobody reads the cover letter even when there is space for it. Put it on the last page if you must but don't worry so much about it.

champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

Shaman Linavi posted:

what's a good protocol to use when applying to jobs that don't seem to have any place to attach a cover letter?
sometimes i will put it in a pdf with my resume, but usually i just pout a little after spending time writing it and leave it off

they might not want it

Bored Online
May 25, 2009

We don't need Rome telling us what to do.

PokeJoe posted:

i had to interview another dude today and it was a phone screen. he kinda rambled a lot on questions he didn't understand, kinda like a book report on a book you only skimmed. he also was obviously googling some answers lol

would it be better to admit you dont know the answer in this case or to obviously fake it but make it

PokeJoe
Aug 24, 2004

hail cgatan


better to tell me the truth than to lie to me poorly

e:

me: do you know anything about x, and if so please describe it
them: yes
*long pause*
me: hello
them: yes, hello
*longer pause*
*they start reading me the wikipedia article*

Valeyard
Mar 30, 2012


Grimey Drawer
i dont think ive ever applied to anywhere that asked for a cover letter

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

the cover letter is the body of the email you're sending with your resume attached

HoboMan
Nov 4, 2010

yesterday i applied for a job and a recruiter emailed me within 5 minutes to set up a call for today, but never called me

PIZZA.BAT
Nov 12, 2016


:cheers:


Dongslayer. posted:

would it be better to admit you dont know the answer in this case or to obviously fake it but make it

ALWAYS admit that you don't know the answer. There's nothing wrong with not knowing something. Someone who has too much pride to never admit they don't know something is someone I absolutely do not want on my team

PokeJoe
Aug 24, 2004

hail cgatan


Rex-Goliath posted:

ALWAYS admit that you don't know the answer. There's nothing wrong with not knowing something. Someone who has too much pride to never admit they don't know something is someone I absolutely do not want on my team

yeah this. i ask a good number of questions about things that aren't really hard to learn but get used often to gauge familiarity. I want someone who will admit their shortcomings and be honest about their work, not someone who just says the most agreeable thing and stumbles through everything

Shaman Linavi
Apr 3, 2012

thx 4 cover letter info, i will just keep on not sending them most of the time
fwiw i think i've only seen 1 place that specifically said something about a cover letter being required

also another lol

qhat
Jul 6, 2015


I lol every time I see a cover letter than is longer than like 300 words. Like I've seen essays for the cover letter. Someone put in probably several days perfecting it and guess what, I didn't read past the first two words.

Trimson Grondag 3
Jul 1, 2007

Clapping Larry
yeah unless the company has a requirement to address specific selection requirements then don’t bother.

most cover letters boil down to “despite the evidence in my resume to the contrary, this is why you should hire me”

Trimson Grondag 3 fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Mar 7, 2018

champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

HoboMan posted:

yesterday i applied for a job and a recruiter emailed me within 5 minutes to set up a call for today, but never called me

I’ve yet to meet a recruiter who can tell time

big shtick energy
May 27, 2004


when we were hiring people at my last company I skimmed through the cover letter before looking through the resume. it was handy because sometimes there was some experience mentioned in the cover letter that didn't really stand out in the resume, and also because there were a couple of crazies that filled their cover letter with red flags.

HoboMan
Nov 4, 2010

if i provide a cover letter it is usually a paragraph highlighting experience that doesn't really fit in my resume that is relevant to the posting

champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

yesterday was a ride. went in for a cup of coffee with the head of a section. drank cortado on his dime and went out with an offer in hand


that’s my success story

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


got an email from the hiring manager for the company that i ultimately canceled the offer acceptance for asking for deets on what made me change my mind as part of "collecting data on our interview process". is this something i should respond truthfully to, or at all?

jesus WEP
Oct 17, 2004


just do whatever it doesn’t matter at all

feedmegin
Jul 30, 2008

DuckConference posted:

and also because there were a couple of crazies that filled their cover letter with red flags.

Like what? I'm curious now. 'I am looking forward to working at DuckCorp where I really feel my experience in skinning co-workers and wearing them as a hat will shine through!'

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

Pollyanna posted:

got an email from the hiring manager for the company that i ultimately canceled the offer acceptance for asking for deets on what made me change my mind as part of "collecting data on our interview process". is this something i should respond truthfully to, or at all?

he’s trying to find out if/how hr hosed up or if he can leverage your feedback for more money for the position

can’t hurt so long as you’re very business like. never know when they could become your manager

HoboMan
Nov 4, 2010

a recruiter ghosted me??? what is real anymore?

champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

HoboMan posted:

a recruiter ghosted me??? what is real anymore?

they didn’t, recruiters can’t tell time

Valeyard
Mar 30, 2012


Grimey Drawer
rip, my team is getting moved dto another org

my only reason for working here (being part of the larger tgeam here) is gone

PokeJoe
Aug 24, 2004

hail cgatan


my team is also moving to another org. :(

PokeJoe
Aug 24, 2004

hail cgatan


anybody in seattle need an android dev

ADINSX
Sep 9, 2003

Wanna run with my crew huh? Rule cyberspace and crunch numbers like I do?

We might be hiring but I don't know much about the android team

FMguru
Sep 10, 2003

peed on;
sexually

ADINSX posted:

I don't know much about the android team
there is only one thing you need to know about the android team

it is this:

lol

Progressive JPEG
Feb 19, 2003

FMguru posted:

there is only one thing you need to know about the android team

it is this:

lol

HoboMan
Nov 4, 2010

oh, we can ask about openings? anyone looking for a developer who has done a little bit of everything in the twin cities?

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

you'll have to define "everything" there

ADINSX
Sep 9, 2003

Wanna run with my crew huh? Rule cyberspace and crunch numbers like I do?

FMguru posted:

there is only one thing you need to know about the android team

it is this:

lol

Well we have plenty of that so

The MUMPSorceress
Jan 6, 2012


^SHTPSTS

Gary’s Answer

hobbesmaster posted:

you'll have to define "everything" there

The list starts with the Saskatoon Sandwich Splitter and gets worse from there.

Shaman Linavi
Apr 3, 2012

HoboMan posted:

oh, we can ask about openings? anyone looking for a developer who has done a little bit of everything in the twin cities?

:same: except socal

Pollyanna
Mar 5, 2005

Milk's on them.


was talking about life and poo poo re: getting rejected from companies with someone recently, and we got to thinking about how companies really really hate telling people the reasons why they were rejected, or are really cagey about it

which leads me to ask: has anyone here been in the position to hire people and rejected anyone? if so, what kinds of reasons have you decided against hiring them? what kinds of things can people at large work on and improve in order to better their odds?

Mao Zedong Thot
Oct 16, 2008


Pollyanna posted:

was talking about life and poo poo re: getting rejected from companies with someone recently, and we got to thinking about how companies really really hate telling people the reasons why they were rejected, or are really cagey about it

which leads me to ask: has anyone here been in the position to hire people and rejected anyone? if so, what kinds of reasons have you decided against hiring them? what kinds of things can people at large work on and improve in order to better their odds?

hiring basically boils down to three things:

1) is this person a well adjusted human being that i could work with? [i.e. is an adult]
2) does this person know about the things theyll be working with? [i.e. has experience]
3) can this person figure out the things that they might not know, that theyll encounter [i.e. is smart]

(obviously the balance of importance varies depending on the position)

so the things you can do to improve your odds are

1) be a more well adjusted human being that can work with other people
2) know about the things that you will be working with
3) be good at figuring out the things that you might not know but will encounter
4) be the first person we talk to that has the above three characteristics

if you are okay at those things, its still a numbers game. you will not get plenty of jobs because of random reasons

qhat
Jul 6, 2015


Interviews are a crapshoot. If you did great you might still lose to someone who was better.

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

Pollyanna posted:

was talking about life and poo poo re: getting rejected from companies with someone recently, and we got to thinking about how companies really really hate telling people the reasons why they were rejected, or are really cagey about it

which leads me to ask: has anyone here been in the position to hire people and rejected anyone? if so, what kinds of reasons have you decided against hiring them? what kinds of things can people at large work on and improve in order to better their odds?

remember it’s not that they’re rejecting you per se it’s that they’re choosing someone else. even if you’d have been perfect for the job, if someone else is also “perfect” then someone is going to lose the coin flip through no fault of their own

HR won’t tell you why because they probably don’t know. even if they did know, their job is to protect the company and the safest thing to say is nothing

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Notorious b.s.d.
Jan 25, 2003

by Reene

Mao Zedong Thot posted:

1) be a more well adjusted human being that can work with other people
2) know about the things that you will be working with

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