Comments on: It can’t be that hard to not like me, despite my title

By: Darren James Harkness

Darren James Harkness — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:27:15 +0000

PROTIP: Don’t include the phrase “I think of myself more as a tribal executioner” in your cover letter.

By: Darren James Harkness

Darren James Harkness — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:34:43 +0000

Funnily enough, controlling stuff and being left alone to get shit done pretty much describes my life, with the exception that I get to tell OTHER people what to do, which is AWESOME.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:59:43 +0000

@DJH Shit, dude, I’m talking to you when I’m next looking for work (which hopefully won’t be for quite a while).

Personally, I’d hate to be a PM. I like to control my own stuff and be left alone to get shit done. This usually works out as I’m often the only DBA.

By: Darren James Harkness

Darren James Harkness — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:28:27 +0000

Work promoted me from a friendly neighbourhood web developer to a full-fledged project manager with a budget and everything, then threw me on a bunch of hiring committees – next week will be 7th position I’ve sat on in the last four months). I’ve spent the last five months doing just about nothing but writing project documentation, forming advisory committees, and looking through resumes. Since I work at a university, we do everything by committee, even hiring. Last hiring committee I was on, we had 5 members in on the interview (usually we just have 3). That being said, I’m on an amazing project that will have some really interesting side projects spin out of it, and luuuuurve my job — even if I’m exhausted at the end of the day.

I will say too that it’s hugely enlightening to be sitting on the other side of the hiring table. That alone has taught me far more about being a successful candidate than all of the interviews I’ve been in as a prospective employee.

By: Derek K. Miller

Derek K. Miller — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:41:55 +0000

Gillian, you’re one of the nerdiest people I know, and I mean that in best possible, nerd-to-nerd way.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:31:36 +0000

@DJH Strangely I missed Cooper’s typo, perhaps because I wish so much that someone would want me as a sibling. And why are you on hiring committees, don’t you have a real job or something?

(Says the person who’s supposed to hire a second DBA at work)

By: Darren James Harkness

Darren James Harkness — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:45:05 +0000

@gill – ok, re-reading that, it came out way creepy and wrong – I meant short-list sister in terms of your thoughts on personality surveys etc, and it was a lame, half-assed joke on Cooper’s typo. I’ve apparently been sitting on too many hiring committees (and have been dealing with long and short lists of applicants).

tl;dr: Ignore me, I’m a bit nutty from all the project work I’ve been doing.

By: Jeremy B

Jeremy B — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:30:36 +0000

These personality survey’s suddenly make sense when you equate them to Spock, Kirk, Uhura and Scotty. I was talking this dude on Sunday. He kept telling me he was Kirk and then would say how he banged all these girls (remember to always divide by three) and all I could think of was I wanted to be like the new Spock and bang…well you know.

By: Cooper

Cooper — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:42:58 +0000

@Gillian No no, it’s good to have a long-lost sister, and know she’s in Canada.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:46:01 +0000

@Cooper I’m so sorry.

@DJH Shortlist for what?

@Clamb If I didn’t laugh I’d cry.