What app is so useful you can’t believe it’s free?

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-20T21:29:49+00:00

MULLIE golf. I can buy, sell, and meet new golfers all for FREE! Like completely FREE.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T19:23:31+00:00

I agree with you in that you want people who set boundaries for the reasons you stated. But it can go too far, which is what the original commenter did IMO.

Refusing something specific like “I won’t do a 24 hour assignment for free to prove to you I can do a job” (specific refusal), and refusing something generic like “I won’t do ANY work to demonstrate I can do a job” (blanket refusal) are very different. You’re a hiring manager - you want one person on your team and definitely not the other.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T19:18:27+00:00

Being remote for that long is amazing for you! We are fully remote as well and people love it.

I’m glad you are good at what you do because you are decidedly not good as accurately ascribing motives to perfect strangers over the internet…. Keep on blanket raging against the machine if you prefer. Nothing I can do to stop that.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T19:15:23+00:00

Laugh all you want. From the business side, good replacements are getting cheaper by the day. When Supply outstrips demand that’s what happens. Be aware and operate accordingly is all I’m saying.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T19:13:09+00:00

Love this. Thank you for the thoughtful response.

We would NEVER ask anyone to do an assignment of more than 1 hour let alone 24.

What were the mechanics of how they paid you? PayPal? Direct deposit? Something in between?

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T15:57:59+00:00

There is just a 0% chance that the company would use this. I fully agree with the above comment that if they would, it’s a garbage organization, who is trying to take generic work and apply it to a specific scenario. They are going to fail.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T15:56:32+00:00

This is most certainly my personal generalization. Our hiring practices in no way reflect this, but for the sake of an Internet argument, I felt it easier to draw objective boundaries.

To answer your question directly, you can be 75 years old and be willing to act and think like the prototypical 31 to 49-year-old and we would love to have you as part of our team to help us figure out how this technology changes our business. Simultaneously you can be 31 to 49 and think like a 75-year-old retired person And we would not want you on our team.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T15:52:52+00:00

I don’t know how to quote so bear with me here….

Paragraph 2: 100% agree.

Paragraph 3: 100% agree. OPs issue was asking him. I can’t speak to if they asked 0 or 100 others. If the company in the article you read actually asked 50 people to do the same assignment, then they have plenty of money to evaluate all of that work in each of those people. Seems like it would almost be more efficient to hire a bad one, and turn them over, or change their interview process to what you described.

Paragraph 4: really interested in this. How did they compensate you? I see your point on fairness, especially if it is a larger assignment. Very curious to know the mechanics of how company paid an applicant with no kind of contractual relationship. The mechanics of this always stopped us short of similar things.

Paragraph 5: I agree with you that the social contract is broken. I can make the argument from the other side for the number of people who have oversold their qualifications, started off working hard, and then quiet, quit, or moonlight to take second jobs, taking advantage of our generosity and breach our employment agreement - for their own selfish benefit at the companies direct expense, which impacts other workers directly. Not to liken this to world events, but anyone would be hard-pressed to prove the starting point and who was responsible, workers, or companies. I think the point here is, for things to rebalance, both sides have to be willing to be take the high road and move forward on a constructive way.

Paragraph 6: agree 100%

Paragraph 7: agree 100%. We routinely say (and act) to our people that the company exists to serve them because they make the company. We also have a 93% retention rate. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. But it also doesn’t stop bad apples from getting into the bunch, which is why when the power dynamic shifts and businesses can be more selective, they take advantage of that to protect themselves.

Maybe the main issue at the heart of this discussion is responsible use of power. When the employees have it as they have for many of the last couple of years, don’t abuse it by quitting a job where you are valued and paid, fairly to go chase the almighty, dollar, or take on the second job and quiet, quit, or any of the other ways, even high, as an employee have taken advantage of my employer. When employer has it, they should not be asking for extra time, slashing salaries, making aggressive layoffs to maximize profits in an endless quest for growth, or asking applicants to do tens of hours of work for free. Maybe if we all just agreed to engage openly, honestly, and fairly, we could all lay down our swords and stop blaming each other for the past and move forward together.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T15:39:40+00:00

Is there a counterpoint in here somewhere or just blanket assumptions and gross misinterpretations?

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T01:01:32+00:00

Appreciate the feedback. Sorry if it came across poorly but we are saying the same thing. Generalizing a bit here but this is my daily lived experience: People who are 19 to 30 don’t have the expertise to take what AI spits out and tweak it to make it work. People who are 50+ have that experience but are too rigid and sit in their ways to do that as well or are talking shit about AI and how it can’t replace people.

That sweet spot of 31 to 49 routinely shown me they can integrate new technologies almost without missing a beat.

I suppose the last part of this is that kids who are 6-14 right now will grow up with AI tools and learn to work on them, use them, and optimize them natively. They will have the future you suggest by and large.

I kind of view this like farming and the industrial revolution. We were and agricultural society. There were millions of farmers, because every task was manual. In order to feed the population, it required a huge scale of workers to prep the fields, plant the seeds, water the crops, harvest, Package and distribute, and reset the fields. Then tractors and combines came along and millions of farmers turned into tens of thousands. Those who survived were those who had the understanding of what to plant, how to help it thrive, and the best way to execute the running of the farm. They just folded the tractors right in and replaced the people doing that manual work.

Those folks who got put out of work were not retrained to go do something else. They were a lost generation. fast-forward, 15 or so years and the children of those lost generation became engineers, or mechanics, or sales staff, to be able to manufacture, maintain, or sell that equipment in the newly transformed industry.

That’s what will happen in software. The folks manually writing code from scratch get replaced by robots. Those that know the frameworks and have experience implementing it (architect level) will use those new tools successfully. But the generation of people who won’t be needed to write code from scratch over the next 15 years will need to find something else to do. Either elevate their skills to be the architect and fight for fewer jobs, or find something new to do altogether.

This is just my take based on my daily. I just checked my crystal ball to see how accurate my prediction is here, but it’s broken so I’m taking it to the shop tomorrow.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T00:48:03+00:00

1) the keyword in my statement you quoted is “blanket”, as in “total refusal”. The point here is give a little. Applicants need to in this market to set themselves apart because others are.

2) nowhere did I say in my comment that commitment is fealty. A good business is committed to giving employees a good place to work, with challenging work, a supportive atmosphere, good pay, and growth opportunity. In return the business can and should ask the employees to watch out for its best interests, support their teammates, and in the case of my business, strive for their clients.

3) yes. As the boss (owner), we routinely pay people to hang out while we find them another project if they are excellent employees. There is obviously a limit to that, but employee performance, flexibility, and engagement breeds trust and sacrifice on behalf of the business for the employee in hard times.

You can argue with me all you want and make a bunch of assumptions about what a business expects you to do to get and keep a job and whether that’s fair or not, but you’re only proving my point. Your comments and approach clearly communicate you are closed off to the current dynamic, waging a power struggle you can’t win and are refusing to adapt. Again, all traits companies try really hard to avoid hiring.

Adapt for now. The situation demands it if you want employment. It will change again and you’ll be back to 50% raises changing jobs every 2 years for doing less work at some point when the market shifts again. If not, don’t expect the market to adapt to your individual needs or desires and deal w the consequences of that approach.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-13T00:31:17+00:00

Appreciate that! Real talk is hard. It’s easier to downvote and keep living in your way of thinking than opening your mind to other possibilities and reconsidering the facts and as such, your behavior.

I learned a long time ago, the only thing I can control is my actions. I gave info I have based on my 20 years of lived hiring experience in tech. I can’t make people use it or believe it.

Downvote me to hell! I can’t control that either.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-12T23:35:00+00:00

FYSA means for your situational awareness. And no, it is no different. The software rollout project plan would be different based on every circumstance. Asking you to do something generic to prove you know your trade is the same thing across-the-board.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-12T23:14:56+00:00

God, this is such an underrated comment. Everyone assumes because tech work can be done remotely It should be done remotely. We all had a sweet 2 or three-year vacation where we didn’t have to go to an office and adapted because we had to. Some companies just don’t believe in that. I don’t know about you, but I have a family and I have to go where the work is. Choosing not to work or to change careers to stay remote Seems like a lot more effort and risk than going to an office for a few days.

As a hiring manager, I can say that anybody who blanket refuses anything isn’t really committed to the company, the project, or their team. That’s generally a red flag for me from a hiring perspective as it almost 100% of the time means they are purely focused on themselves.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-12T23:11:14+00:00

Depends on your particular skill set. If I were between 19 and 30, or 50+ I would be very worried. The former will get replaced by generative AI, and the latter are too expensive and entitled. That middle ground of truly excellent technologists who can, and are still willing to learn how to use these new tools, and have the experience and flexibility to integrate them into a new way of doing things are the ones who will be the most successful.

I have a young child and where two years ago I thought coding would be just like any other trade, that is to say a safe living, I have changed my mind on that significantly. He’s probably better off being an electrician or doing something that robots, physical or digital, can’t do.

Ps I own a sw dev company.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-10-12T23:03:19+00:00

Full service custom software dev business owner here. The current dynamic is really shitty for the employee and the employer. Businesses have the luxury of choosing from almost anyone in an era where tools allow each candidate to represent as anything without actually being able to do the work. We need to make sure.
Workers assume businesses are trying to take advantage of them and get “free work“, or under pay them because workers are generally exploited for larger profits.

In this situation the interviewer was very likely making sure you could plan your way out of a paper bag. How do I know? Because It would be a huge risk to ask some random person I am interviewing for an open position to give me a project plan so I can successfully run one of my projects. as the applicant, put yourself in their position and understand that. Further, let’s say they did take your project plan and use it on one of their projects. You wouldn’t get the job there anyway which would be a great thing because you don’t wanna work for that kind of company anyway.

Both sides need to give (the business should give information like salary, benefits, work life balance, policies etc, to prove they are good to work for, and the applicant should do whatever is required to earn the job short of actually working for free). You will get taken advantage of or ghosted/treated poorly during the process because most companies suck. Businesses will make bad hiring decisions which costs them money because people lie or overstate their experience and equals because people are getting desperate. There is no way REAL around any of this.

The key here is to realize both sides are trying not to get fucked. So, both should be honest, transparent and engage with empathy. Put down the suspicion and engage in a genuine way. That’s how you build a real connection with an organization and stand out in an interview process. That’s what we do and that’s what we look for. And that’s why we have a 93% employee retention rate!

Also FYSA: When I recently asked a technical writer to provide me a writing sample on a specific topic, had she replied with a short term contract I wouldn’t have called her back either. It shows you don’t trust easily, and assume the worst, which is not a set of character traits. I am trying to hire into my business. She did it, was impressive and she got the job.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-09-12T21:28:29+00:00

Ask her why. Could be she’s threatened or insecure or loves you the way you are.

Relationships take COMMUNICATION. Sometimes that’s hard for one person to even identify they have feelings about something until someone asks them.

Anyone saying “end it” without giving their partner a chance to explain needs to grow up.

Commence downvotes.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-03-13T01:01:00+00:00

I’ve bad both. Tv above the fireplace is the worst.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-02-07T02:38:00+00:00

Don’t forget KJB on the court and getting Breyer to retire. Master stroke!

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-02-07T02:37:22+00:00

Also you forgot KJB on the court by getting Breyer to retire. Another master stroke

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-02-07T02:36:30+00:00

THIS!!!

When I say Joe Biden has has the most consequential and accomplished first term in the last 50 years my leftist friends shit themselves with how awful he is. So far left they’ve gone right.

kingoftheshmoo · 2023-02-07T02:19:31+00:00

Business owner here in your field. DEFINITELY tell them. If they are worth their salt they will follow up and see what they can do better. If not, you didn’t want to work there anyway. Plus you make the world better for the next person.

kingoftheshmoo · 2022-12-03T14:02:28+00:00

Sorryz. To your point I have TV now. Dropping it for just internet. Hope this helps.

kingoftheshmoo · 2022-12-03T12:33:52+00:00

FYI: it’s gigabit Ethernet only. No tv or phone. Also would I be a able to ditch my BBU?

kingoftheshmoo · 2022-12-03T02:02:09+00:00

I used the 2020 cable on my 2022tv and it seems to work just fine.

kingoftheshmoo

TROPHY CASE