Re: Employment history low points

[Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

--- "Mike O." <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

> Who is talking about hacking web servers? I'm talking about
> adaptive re-use of existing fields in public web forms I have
> been invited to use. I want to make sure their process works for
> my maximum benefit; what's wrong with that? 

There is nothing "wrong" with it. I was merely pointing out that some people
will see through such tricks and won't be impressed. So, the tricks you're
suggesting could do more harm than good. 

> > It makes no logical sense for an employer to needlessly throw
> > out potentially qualified people.
> The process doesn't get the most qualified people. It only gets
> people who are buzzword-compliant. And I have no faith they are
> even screening for the right buzzwords, either. If somebody
> wants me to document a C API, do you really thing "C" is the
> first buzzword they should be looking for? (maybe you do). 

Maybe that is what they want to hire? A buzzword-complaint person. 

If this bothers you deeply, then start your own business and ensure that such
practices are never used. 

It never ceases to amaze me how bent out of shape people get when they feel a
company isn't doing things according to some universal rule book. Companies can
do just about anything they want when it comes to hiring. And if you honestly
believe that the hiring process is "fair" then I have numerous bridges in the
New York area for you buy. It isn't fair. There is nothing "fair" about looking
for a job. Its totally unfair and the odds are against you. 

I am all for tipping the odds in your favor to get a job, but I think you have
to be more subtle than dropping 90K of searchbait into a web form. That is a
rather crude mechanism to getting around the gatekeepers. 

"Nudge, don't push." That's what I tell my engineers. You get a lot farther in
life when you gently nudge people into agreeing with you. You get nowhere when
you try to push people. Most people when pushed, push back. And then you're in
a war with another person. And personality wars have no winners. 

> Andrew, look at your previous posts on the qualities a tech
> writer should have (which I usually agree with, by the way) and
> tell me if you think recruiters are actually screening for those
> qualities.

No, I think recruiters are gasping for life and will do just about anything to
close a deal. So, avoid recruiters. Work your own contacts. 
 
> See Matloff http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html (yeah I
> know it's a few years old but the points are still valid. And
> no, I don't buy into the anti-H1B angle, but I otherwise agree
> with the analysis).

Yawn...unionist propaganda. The reason most people don't get interviewed for
jobs is not because of some global conspiracy to oppress the little guy but
because those people are TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED for the job. 

Moreover, that study is nothing but a laughable outgrowth of late dot.com
anger. There was this whole pissed off subculture of young folk that got
bounced out of some dot.com early and were having trouble finding work. Rather
than apply themselves and keep trying, they just receded into bitterness and
wanted somebody to blame. Some of them went off on the H1Bs, others went after
the managers, and then some just became gun-nuts. 

Also, the entire recruiter infrastructure of the dot.com days has been largely
dismantled. There are very few recruiters left. They all dried up and went
under. Or in my case abandoned the business and retooled into something
profitable.

> And sometimes counter-measures are necessary. Sauce for the
> goose, gander, etc. The only conclusion I can make is that
> automated recruitment or job-hunting generally cheapens the
> employment experience for all parties. 

So why particpate? If I don't like the rules of a game, I don't play. If you
don't like the web form then go elsewhere. Nobody is FORCING you to apply for
these jobs. 

> In reality though, the odds of getting a job through a national
> database are probably lower than getting hit by lightning. The
> best way to use them is for intelligence-gathering: If you
> cross-reference all the multiple postings, you can usually
> triangulate enough information to find out which companies have
> active IT projects and who is really hiring. The job postings
> are sometimes created by cut-and-pasting the raw req from the
> client! And the juniors who call back have no real stake; so
> they will sometimes give out info if you probe them.  Then you
> can set your personal network in motion to try to get the job.

Well, again this isn't ideal advice for the newbie. These things you're talking
about Mike take a certain amount of guile and moxie to make them work. You
can't just start calling up people and pounding them for info. Well trained
recruiters are not going to just hand you the data you want. Moreover, its not
fair to use recruiters as your own personal marketing department and
information gathering group. They have a right to protect their clients. And
recruiters don't take kindly to people going around them. You can get yourself
into trouble doing that. 

Again, the best bet as has been mentioned many times is to network with
decision makers and completely circumnavigate the entire recruiter/HR maze. 

Andrew Plato 


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