Posts

Showing posts from July, 2006

The Internet amazes once more

Image
I think I was wrong about the internet. I'm only posting right now because I found out about something, and thought I should make a post... In the 60s, kids across the world tuned their radios to listen to a constant beeping emitted by Sputnik, as it hurtled across the sky at incredible speeds. Then they'd rush outside to see a tiny dot streak across the sky. In the 70s, they watched launching's on TV. Nothing much happened in the 80s, except there was lots of hair. In the 90s the world lost interest in outer space, and was more interested in the possibility that Michael Jackson was from Mars. But then the internet came, and the world got closer...and so did space. Suddenly, we can now watch what's going on in space and in the shuttles. We can listen to Mission Control talk to the Discovery crew. We can see Earth, from space, as the astronauts are seeing it. We can see sides of the ship, constantly firing little jets to realign. We can listen to Mission control play wak
Read more

Mentos and Diet Coke?!

Image
Have you heard about the mentos and Diet coke craze that's been going on around the internet lately? I for one have just heard about it, which is remarkable considering the amount of time I spend looking for random stuff. This mentos thing is pretty weird though. The way it works is this: Take a 2L bottle of Diet coke (I'm not sure why it's Diet...it doesn't really need to be, I imagine) and drop about 4 or 5 mentos inside the diet coke bottle...and stand back. You'll suddenly have an eruption of coke. And I'm not talking a baking soda and vinegar overflow...I'm talking Old Faithful, geyser still. It will probably shoot up in the air about 10 feet. If you heave the bottle at the ground, the bottle itself will shoot up in the air. I kid not, just google up Diet Coke and Mentos and you'll see what I mean. You may be wondering why this happens. Chemical reaction perhaps? Wrong. I did a little research and found that this occurs actually by a physical proces
Read more

Popular

Let's Clear Up The Ambiguity!

Image
Job seeking is hard - especially when you factor the ambiguity around expectations, the lack of transparency and consistency around process. It's frustrating dealing with the sheer subjectivity of everyone's opinions. Just think of even the basics: How long should your resume really be? Traditional black and white, or modern? Should you include a headshot? Oh - and cover letters - are those needed? Is anyone actually reading the cover letter? What are they looking for? Is there a bias for people with a more traditional background? Worst of all: The dreaded typo  that you catch only after applying to your dream job.  Are typos really going to cost you the opportunity??? To help bring some clarity to the process, I surveyed a bunch of hiring managers. The results were really interesting, and very illuminating.     If you're on the job hunt, I hope this information helps out! One final note: My recent post,  7 Steps to Writing an Amazing Resume , factors a lot of this feedba
Read more

Work Experience vs Professional Experience

Image
In reviewing a bunch of resumes this week, I noticed quite a lot of resumes with a  "Work Experience"  section. In each of those resumes, people had de-valuing some very valuable  experience - and I write that with no exaggeration. The problem is people were looking at their experience purely through the "Job Title/Relevancy" lens and had reduced their experience down to a list of discrete, random, disconnected jobs. No interconnectedness, no narrative thread weaving through it all. As much as you may feel some jobs have no way of being connected, the reality is  you   are always the connection . To not connect them on your resume is to lose all that growth, knowledge, skills, impact, value, and trajectory. In other words - you lose the " You " in the resume. I recommended they start with a small change. Reword "Work Experience" to "Professional Experience" because, ultimately, every single job they had was in service of building their
Read more

FAQs for a Software Engineering Hiring Manager

Image
Technical Interviews have evolved a lot since the early I transitioned from being a Software Engineer to an Engineering Manager. Particularly in the post-Covid era, there's been a greater emphasis on the person, which I think is an important and welcome change. Over the decade of interviewing hundreds of coders, I've also had the pleasure of working with various bootcamps, colleges, and hundreds of individual job seekers on LinkedIn. Across all the changes over the past years, across the various locations and mediums, something remained consistent throughout: The questions I get asked.  With that in mind, I thought - why not make a FAQ from my perspective as a hiring manager? While this is my perspective, it's based off years of observation and supporting data. But that being said, advice is not fact. You may disagree with certain points, and that's OK. Opinions we disagree with allow us to better understand our own views. At best, I hope these responses help you
Read more

7 Steps to Writing an Amazing Resume

Image
  Since sharing my resume template  I've received plenty of feedback from job seekers, HR and hiring managers - all of whom value its purpose. Two (now former!) jobseekers even shared that as soon as they used my template, they were getting calls. Something about this template works, and given the traction it's getting others, I wanted to share - in more detail - why  this approach works so well.  Before continuing, let me give an important disclaimer: This resume isn't a miracle cure that's going to land anyone their dream job. Unless they're filled with lies, resumes are only as good as the candidate themselves. But they can also be a whole lot worse. This template and approach are all about maximizing the potential candidates have by highlighting and summarizing key areas.  Last point before beginning: If you don't know me, it's worth stating this advice comes from more than a decade of having hiring a broad range of coders: straight out of college, high
Read more

7 Steps to Building your Portfolio MVP

Image
Often when I suggest to coders that they build a portfolio, I'll hear back: "I don't need one..." "With all the effort it takes to apply, where will I find the time?" Simply put, having a portfolio's never going to hurt your chances at landing a job - it can only help. That second question is where a lot of struggle - because applying to jobs can be time consuming. Especially if you're wrapping up a bootcamp, or having to manually type in your resume info after uploading your resume. That's why I made these 7 steps which, when done correctly, can really help you stand out with a hiring manager. And, the best part is, it should only take you 2 days. Being the Agile-Obsessive that I am, it's all about maximizing value while minimizing effort. Fix links to your Resume, GitHub, LinkedIn, etc. at the top where they're always accessible. Link to everything here - and then remove all other links on your Resume except your Portfolio link . It sa
Read more