Comment by paulgrant999 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by paulgrant999 | Hacker News Reader

I can attest to to his point about having a "story"; I have many skillsets (across several fields) and I went in to pitch for a position I could do in my sleep, and did not get the job. The last comment made by the owner of the company was "what job would we put you in?" and I replied, "it doesn't matter I can do every job in your organization." (having done every job prior in a similar organization, and demonstrated as such!).

They literally didn't hire me, because they couldn't figure out where I fit in their organization. Never mind the qualifications; never mind the ability, or the direct experience. They simply boggled, at where they could put me.

And its been repeated over and over. They aren't hiring people, they are hiring cogs. People like me, break their tiny worldviews, and they simply can't handle it. Its fucking retarded.

I had one guy I emailed, reply back "Sorry we're picking someone more qualified; 20 minutes into the work day", to which I replied "be fucking serious. I used to do this in the first 10 minutes of my day. whats the real reason?" He replied back "we don't think we could keep you." i.e. cog for 20 years needed.

When I started my career, I got fired from three temp jobs, for suggesting ways I could automate their entire process, and instead of it taking months, I could do it in under a week.

The whole employment racket, is bloody retarded.

Not every place seeks the jack-of-all-trades types of people. It isn't necessarily because of any dehumanizing train of thought, but more likely because of a more pragmatic one: they might not have the company structure to support people with those profiles and give them room to grow, to contribute in ways that are both nourishing for the company's and the employee's goals.

I find myself often drained by the type of situation you mention encountering (although I seem tot lack the self-confidence you are pushing there), but a recent experience has allowed me to see that some structures might theoretically want my profile but practically not be ready to embrace it. In a way, the interviews you encountered might be at places that are more realistic with their own skills and needs.

I do wish you the best in trying to find the right fit.

https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=18211529&goto=threads%...

> Not every place seeks the jack-of-all-trades types of people.

I'm not a jack of all trades. I'm a master of several. Difference.

And I pick up fields, psycho-quick. At expert levels.

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I put out a full resume for a bit, and no calls. So I asked to sit down with one of the HR people, and go through the resume. About 10 seconds in I realize what the problem is. They thought I was lying on my resume (like people do this?).

So I suggested we go through it one-by-one and I could explain the circumstances behind each one. Which we did. At the end of it, they acknowledged it was all true after I gave them details on each one. :) Didn't get me the job. They hired h1b's.

> but more likely because of a more pragmatic one: they might not have the company structure to support people with those profiles and give them room to grow, to contribute in ways that are both nourishing for the company's and the employee's goals.

I've been autonomous on every job I've ever worked. And a direct report to the c-suite within weeks to a month. And I get shit done.

Most of the time I'm just filling in the CEO on what I did, where I'm going next, what possible problems there might be, and what dangerous situations I've encountered along the way (things that require executive attention). Also some business suggestions on where the company needs to go (once I clear out the low lying fruit). Whatever job title they hire me for is irrelevant.

> I find myself often drained by the type of situation you mention encountering (although I seem tot lack the self-confidence you are pushing there),

Eh. You get old enough, you know the score. Personally I consider it a plus to get rejected from a shit company. I'm skilled enough to want to work with the best, on the hardest problems.

> In a way, the interviews you encountered might be at places that are more realistic with their own skills and needs.

First company I worked for was a temp agency doing data entry. CEO of a 20 SBU international conglomerate came down to my desk (as a 17 year old) to ask me how I did my work (short story: I uncovered a catastrophic problem that would have killed their business in months). Been like that on almost every job I've been to.

It don't matter what industry you're in; it don't matter what your business is; it don't matter what your corporate culture is. I fix it. So long as your serious about your business (its not your personal piggy bank/fiefdom) i.e. you show up to work, same as me.

> I do wish you the best in trying to find the right fit.

Well thank you for your best wishes. :)

What kind of job would you and the parent poster recommend jack-of-all-trades people who just want to get things done apply to? Sales in some environments is ideal for this but for introverts?

I've found that the umbrella term "DevOps" carries a lot more than what most people might realize, creating an interesting space to solve problems that are about logistics, technicalities, human behaviour, communication, planning and execution of projects, etc.

YMMV, but I find that any "good" engineer can learn to excel where the need is, provided the structure is there to support and encourage such behaviour (which is easier said than done, and most often what you will get to judge when interviewing).

Perhaps you should start your own business if you can do every job.

Startup spooling no problem. But every business, needs capitalization proportionate to the scale. Therein lies the problem. I'm not hooked up with the right people, just the shit financiers. So looking at doing it off of positive cashflow (takes longer, since the working capitol comes out of the till).

Right now I'm doing consulting, but the service model, sucks (multipliers too high relative to the stagnant "wage growth"). Not a lot of people trying to grow their businesses (that have the cashflow to invest in their co's).

To be blunt, I'm actually looking at the weed market. They're going legal, investments minimal. But the price of weed is crashing, and theirs a supply glut coming down from Canada (where all the fin money is going). Short term its dead (fin money is basically capitalizing foreign producers due to the quasi-legal status), long-term its got excellent growth potential.

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