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[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] RE: Things are not what they seem - was RE: Urgently n eeda r
 Just to clear any confusions, by "I really don't think that the numerous projects which you have been involved in will make a big impact on your job search" I meant negative impact as you have been worried about it. Ilya -----Original Message----- From: Sterin, Ilya To: 'Bullard, Claude L (Len) '; '''xml-dev@l... ' ' ' Sent: 9/21/01 10:01 AM Subject: RE: Things are not what they seem - was RE: Urgently n eed a reality check on the job market for XML development Jerry, this is in response to your private email as well as some more opinions... Definitely as many have pointed out, your hobbies and what you do outside of work is a great concern to many employers. Sure anyone can put on a one hour act at the interview and most can do it for 8 hours a day, though everyone wants to know what you do outside of that. First by showing that you are involved in some projects outside of work (like open source development, etc...) you are showing them that you enjoy your job and you are not doing in for one sole purpose of gaining finances. That's a great plus. If you are not currently involved in anything outside of work, maybe you should investigate and get involved, see www.sf.net for some projects. Also stating that you enjoy reading, researching, etc..., about your line of work, in this case IT, also won't hurt you. Definitely the problem is and has been, that most of the people who do the hiring are not developers themselves and never have been. They rely either on other standards which are not relevant to IT, or go by something they've been told or have briefly encountered while reading. I think this is a problem for IT folks as well as companies that are involved in any IT development, since it decreases the quality of an employee since they haven't been adequately tested. I can only recall a few interview where an interviewer actually asked me technical (low level) questions to test my development skills. Others stay on a high level project overview, which is easily conquered by any candidate who has common sense and is willing to prepare for the interview. Again, I really don't think that the numerous projects which you have been involved in will make a big impact on your job search. But if you still believe it does, you might want to include some outside project that you have been involved in or any research which has been long term. A good example would be if you are interested in XML and is a regular on the list for the past so many years and constantly follow the new proposals, etc..., this can definitely be included in the hobbies section. Ilya -----Original Message----- From: Bullard, Claude L (Len) To: Sterin, Ilya; ''xml-dev@l... ' ' Sent: 9/21/01 9:35 AM Subject: RE: Things are not what they seem - was RE: Urgently n eed a reality check on the job market for XML development For sure. Problem is, some systems are never "done", they change with requirements, platform and infrastructure. We need people who understand that and can live with it. Even this isn't the problem. There are domains in which the hard expertise is the subject matter expertise. Not how to program, but "what". Given overlapping responsibilities, an employer might favor someone who can demonstrate both technical skills, fast learning, good ability to analyze previously unfamiliar material, and so on. And some jobs are not challenging. There are probably more opportunities for grunt programming than exciting innovative work. Someone with a low boredom threshhold is not a good candidate for those jobs. But Bray has the rules of thumb down pretty well, particularly, what do you do in your spare time. I'm interested in knowing that a bad day at the office can be undone by a good night at the <insert your hobby here>. Mental health... Len http://www.mp3.com/LenBullard Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti. Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h -----Original Message----- From: Sterin, Ilya [mailto:Isterin@c...] Sent: Friday, September 21, 2001 9:59 AM To: Bullard, Claude L (Len); ''xml-dev@l... ' ' Subject: RE: Things are not what they seem - was RE: Urgently n eed a reality check on the job market for XML development Well actually you learn as you work, so you'll get way more than six months of work out of me or anyone else in this case. Most companies that start IT project, first hire a team of developers to complete, which is rarely over two years, though of course depends on finances, etc... Most of the developers are later let go and only a few remain for system maintenance, etc..., which I don't really consider development. It includes making minor changes as well as bug fixes. So sitting there and waiting for something to break or for someone to approve a small change, is not my kind of excitement. I work on projects that challenge me, so after the challenge is conquered it's time to move on, or face not liking your job after a while. Now I understand if you work for a software company, which initiates new projects all the time, then yes, you can probably work there all your life, since challenges will always come. Again I never said anything about leaving before the job is done, but rather leaving when your services are no longer ***really*** needed. Though most prefer to sit and wait until they are laid off while acting as if they are working on something. Seen it plenty of times. Even have seen developers initiating a different project just to keep their job, although the project was not needed nor challenging to anyone. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/ To subscribe or unsubscribe from this elist use the subscription manager: <http://lists.xml.org/ob/adm.pl> 
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