[rescue] FrameMaker FYI

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Thu, 25 Mar 2004 @ 15:23 -0500, Phil Stracchino said:

> On Thu, Mar 25, 2004 at 02:54:44PM -0500, Mike F wrote:
> > I don't think this is restricted to the world of computing - I 
> > think that in every industry there are people doing jobs who 
> > have no business doing so. Somehow they're able to fool most
> > people into thinking they know what they're doing and keep
> > their jobs.  - Mike
> 
> Yes.
> 
> And honestly, every time I flunk another job interview, or reject
> applying for a job because I know I don't have the skills for it, I
> can't keep myself from wondering if I'm one of them.

I know the feeling.

Part of it is the buzzword analysis they put you through.

My attitude used to be "I can do anything, that's what I trained for",
but with one rejection after another because my buzzwords don't match
theirs, you start wondering.

Even when I see people that I think I am better than, I wonder because
they have the position to list on their resume and I don't.

DBA work for example.  I've met few DBAs that really knew what they were
doing, and I've helped a few of them do things I needed to get done.

But when I see a job posting for a DBA, I have a hard time bringing
myself to apply for it, because it has never been "my job", and I
have no "real" training.

I know I would have a learning curve, and I know that so many companies
want "instant programmer" when they hire.

> I used to have confidence in my abilities.  Now, I increasingly doubt
> my own competence.

It's easy to feel that way.

I have to fight that all the time.  It's easy to let it stop you from
trying, put off projects, etc.

You start wondering, "I only have a fraction of the skills needed in
recent use.  All these people must be a whole lot better than I am."

The hiring people are foxued on buzzwords, not raw skill.  They also
have this brainwashed idea that an IT person can only do one job.

Recently a lot of places have been rejecting my resume because I've
applied for different jobs.  Two have told me point blank that there
is no way someone can know two different skills.  Just for example,
in December I applied for two jobs at one shop.  One was for a C
programmer, the other was for a Perl programmer.  They told me I could
only apply for one of the jobs, not both.  I asked why and they said,
"Well, you can't know both languages.  Perl is not like C.  Do you know
Perl or C?"

Another one two weeks ago rejected my "Programmer III" application
because they found an application from me for a "Database Programmer II"
position.  Both positions were nearly identical!

Getting past HR to a hiring manager, especially a technical manager, is
a black art.



-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["The determined programmer can write a
FORTRAN program in any language." ]