[geeks] Bad monster. No donut.

[velociraptor]

On 11/9/06, Charles Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com> wrote:
> You forgot:
>
>         d) because the industy has no idea how to hire people.

I will only say that it's very dependent on the organization and hiring manager.

>         e) because your job is offshored.

There are certain types of IT jobs that have been off-shored.  High
level systems administration is not one of them, contrary to popular
belief.  The jobs that are gone are jobs that were scut work in the
first place -- e.g. help desk call centers and the like.

>         f) because companies assume you have no capacity for learning new
>            things.

Again, I have to disagree.  It depends entirely situation.  My new job
is a good example.  I specifically asked if the interviewers thought I
was missing anything, and they said "more cluster and SAN would be
nice," and immediately followed that with, "but you can only work with
what you've been given to work with at your previous employers, you
seem to have the capacity to ramp up quickly, so we're not too worried
about it."

> Certainly in a tough job market, you need to make sure you do your end
> of it.

In a *tough* job market?  Hello! You're *marketing YOURSELF* if you
don't do your end of it, no one else fscking gives a damn.  You are
selling a product and if you don't approach it that way you will
always be dissatisfied.

> For example, if you are a contractor or freelancer, your work record
> will look spotty, so don't put it first. Put your skills section first,
> and even push employment to another page if you can.

These are the types of things I was referring to as being *perceived*
as negative.  It's all about presentation.

If you are a contractor, indicate that you are a *contractor*.  If you
freelance, record your experience as a one big chunk of time in *your
own* company.

> The reality is that HR folks are a big part of the problem, regardless
> of what other problems also exist.
>
> I understand what you are saying, but don't dismiss HR's role.

In my experience, I'm not getting close to HR in 90% of the cases
until after the first phone screen, so honestly, I don't see HR as
having much impact here.  I've had maybe 6 HR people call me in the
last 12 months, and I don't think even that many.  In the last 4-5
months, I can think of exactly 3 hiring company HR people that have
contacted me and 2 of those were by email.

> When you can find work and aren't having trouble, it is also very easy
> to be blinded by that and not realize things can be very different for
> others.

Frankly, you have no idea of what my situation is like.  I looked for
work for about 2 years without any kind of success at all.  I finally
took a job on the east coast and have been here for over 2.5 years to
keep the bills paid and my spouse and I fed and sheltered.  He's
living on the other side of the country because the high cost of
living out here makes the other things we are pursuing for our future
impractical.

I *fully* understand how it feels not to get call backs, much less
find a job, so don't insult me with your "you don't understand" b.s.
There are one or two folks on this list who have very special
circumstances and I feel a great deal of empathy for them and have
offered assistance in as much as I can.  The other people on this list
who regular post about "how bad it is" seem to be of the "keep
repeating what doesn't work" ilk, and I'm tired of their bile being
spewed out to the rest of us.  If you can't get your crap sorted out
to get an IT job, maybe it's time to find a different line of work,
because I'm seeing plenty of "warm bodies" being hired, both here and
in my old stomping grounds in CA.  Hell, I'd make the argument that
close to 50% of the people hired into IT in the DC area qualify as
"warm bodies".

When I started on the geeks and rescue list, there were some spotty
patches of bad attitude, but for the most part people seemed truly
engaged and positive about their hobby and professions.  As time has
gone on it's declined into mostly a bitch-fest, which is unfortunate.
I consider pulling a McGuire on a daily basis.

=Nadine=