"Always be smart enough to realize you don't know everything"

Which is my mantra as a software engineer, as I have stated before.  

That came into focus again today, at a job interview.  I was led into a conference room, which had an entire whiteboard wall where the hiring managers write programming questions for the candidates. On the wall from the previous interview, was a problem involving finding the set of integers in two different arrays that are closest together- for example:

A: {5, 10, 15, 20}

B: {10, 15, 20, 21}

The answer is the fourth element in the arrays, because 21 is the closest to it's counterpart 20.  Someone had written the solution function's signature underneath:

int[] ClosestIntsInArray(int[] a, int[] b)

At first, I thought it was not in C# because Arrays are fixed size.  Then, I realized that it was in C#.  "But", I thought to myself, "can you pass Arrays as arguments or have a function return them?"  I looked it up on my smartphone- when I saw that you can, I realized "Why would you not be able to pass arrays this way?  They are being passed / returned by reference; as long as the calling code passes the parameters as a fixed array, and as long as the array returned is defined within the function, this is good C# code."  So basically, it boils down to this:  I have been a C# programmer for almost four years, and I did not realize this.

I know it sounds strange that I was not aware of this, but I have worked with collections of objects a lot more than arrays, especially in terms of function parameters and return types.  As you can see, because I am blogging about this, I am not ashamed to admit that "I don't know".  

So, programmers:  Always be smart enough to realize (and admit) you don't know everything.  Ask your fellow programmers.  Google it.  Check stackoverflow.com through Google- I invariably find good information there.  If you are a role-player (or even if you aren't), RPG.Net has a really good Coders and Programmers forum: http://forum.rpg.net/forumdisplay.php?154-Programmers-and-Coders (you can post there as a guest, but it would be better to create a user account).  

And hiring managers:  Remember, Experience != Ability.  A junior-level programmer with an eagerness to learn new techniques and a willingness to do what it takes to solve a problem is better than a senior-level programmer who is fixed in his/her ways.

5 Things IT Recruiters need to stop doing

A recent experience with a particular IT recruiter prompted this post, but it was inspired by my experience with recruiters in general.  Most of my experience has been positive, but there have been some less-than-pleasant encounters.  This entry is strictly from a candidate perspective, but I think it is still relevant.

5.  Going on at length about irrelevant contacts

This happened with a recruiter I contacted earlier in my job search- I was speaking on the phone to him, and he launched into a spiel about his contacts and contracts with great companies.  Now, I understand that recruiters want to show their credentials, but going on at length about contracts that have nothing to do with us or that we are not qualified for does not help us- as a matter of fact, it discourages us.  If you go to a car dealership, the car salesmen doesn't waste your time with all the cars he has sold to other people; he tries to sell you a car right now.  

4.  Pitching us jobs we are unqualified for

Really, this one should be obvious- if you do this, you are wasting your time, our time, AND the client's time.  We all have certain skill sets, and we are not going to lie to you or the company to get a job that we can't handle, or that we will be fired from eventually.

3.  'Alphabet Soup' skill lists for job requirements

In my job search, I often come across job listings that have skill requirements that I do not possess (my mantra as a software engineer is:  "Always be smart enough to know you don't know everything"). Sometimes, though, I see skill requirements that are so long, or have so many esoteric and/or obsolete skill sets, that I think only Bill Gates or Commodore Grace Hopper should even apply.  (If you don't know who Grace Hopper is, please look it up:  Among other things, she developed COBOL).  To be fair, this may be the work of an overeager and uninformed hiring manager- in this case, IT recruiters:  please discourage them from doing this.  

2.  Submitting us without prior contact or approval

This happened to me a few days ago, and it made me angry.  I was in contact with an IT recruiter who told me about a job with a major corporation at their data center.  Not permanent, but it's fairly close to my house and besides- when you are unemployed you don't say no to any good opportunity.  I said OK, and she submitted me after I signed a 'Right to Represent' form (which basically says that the candidate will not use another recruiter to be submitted to the same job / company). Great. Then, the next day, a recruiter whom I had been working with earlier sends me an email stating that he had submitted me yesterday for the same job.  The same day that I had signed the Right to Represent form.  I immediately called the first recruiter and explained the situation to her- one email forwarded to the client company later, and everything was OK.  But that could have really made me look dishonest or downright stupid- and it's probably illegal as well.  Moral:  Recruiters, contact FIRST before you submit us for a job.

1.  Not being available or calling back to follow up

We all understand as candidates that a recruiter has a lot of candidates; besides, we are all busy.  But not answering your phone calls or emails will undermine our faith in your commitment to finding us a job.  Worse, not following up in a timely manner makes us think we are just slabs of meat or dollar signs to you.  Now, again we understand that we are one fish in your ocean, but please- at least a quick email with a status update would be very helpful.  Not being available makes it worse, because we can't contact you either.

-3D: The Negative Three D's of the Job Search to avoid

You've applied for dozens of jobs, gone to several networking groups, even cold-called- but after several weeks, still nothing.  The few interviews you scored did not pan out- a bad match, the job was put on hold, or whatever.  This is when the -3Ds begin...

Depression

After a few weeks is when the depression and frustration start to set in. You will feel like all the effort is futile, and you will want to give up.  You just want to sleep late, or watch TV and veg out.  After all, why bother? Nothing you do is having any effect.

Solution

The simplest solution may sound cliche, but it's true- don't give up. Keep plugging along. Do something to distract your attention that is not related to the job search- talk to someone, check your email, work a puzzle.  Just make sure you get back to the search.

Distraction

Doing the job search from home is very convenient, especially since you don't have to pay for gas.  But there is so much else to do around the house, like cleaning the garage or caulking the shower.  Your spouse or significant other is there, and so are you, so why not spend some quality time together?  You won't have this opportunity again, so take advantage of it.

Solution

Set a quiet place where you can call / send emails or resumes with little or no interruption. Make sure to reinforce the importance of finding a job, quickly, to your SO or roommate. Keep the radio turned off (or tuned to classical music) and limit your Internet browsing.

Disorganization

With the tedium of sending out dozens of resumes and emailing so many recruiters and network contacts, it is easy to lose track of who's who and where's where.  The company names all start to seem the same- Did I already apply to TechCo?  Or was it TechNet? Which recruiter sent me the job information?

Solution

Keep a spreadsheet of your job calls, contacts, and resumes sent. Organize your email into folders to help keep track of them.  

Three Weeks Out...

It's been three weeks since I left my last position, and no job so far.  This blog is to let me collect and air my thoughts on my current job search, my career, and anything tangentially related.