telebone_man

I speak from my experience as a contractor in the telco domain, whereby there I would work in some industries I had no clue about. For example, I once worked in health and had no idea about the amount of regulations they had to adhere to.

However I realised they had accepted me because I was an expert in telco, not health. Similarly, I suspect you were hired because of technical skills and not because of your lack of experience in their domain.

As such, I learned the skill of saying "Can you just explain xyz, please?" in a direct and confident way. Context matters, of course. I wouldn't interrupt a meeting. But there's a time and a place.

Hope that gives you something to think about.

Are efforts to illegally download a TV series being censored?

We were selling a product to outbound telemarketers. So I bought a bunch of secondary phones for our sales guys, and pumped those numbers into every data list we could find... prize draws... surveys... etc.

They were flooded with telemarketers. And if they spotted an issue (bad quality audio... big gaps at the beginning of call.. and so on) they would open up and insist the telemarketer help them get in touch with a manager so they could help improve things.

We had a spike of sales during that period, before the chaos of managing these phones meant we had to stop. :)

Yes! For me, it's because it's easy to assume that the interviewer knows more than me, and is therefore in some sort of position of power.

But I try to rationalise that. Throughout my career, I've worked with people smarter than me. I'm not intimidated by them, so why should I be during an interview?

With that in mind, I assume they know more until proven otherwise. And if they do know more, I treat them the same I would outside of the interview.

As I'm sure you expect, there's a lot you can learn when it comes to 'cold intros'. So here's a list of things that first come to mind that may help.

- Set appropriate expectations. In my experience, getting a positive response to more than 10% of the businesses reached is very very good. Even if everyone on the list seems absolutely perfect.

- Businesses will refuse to speak to you for various reasons, and annoyingly most won't tell you why! But if it feels like you're unlikely to proceed, the most value you can get is to take your chances and ask. I wouldn't lead with politely trying to understand how their business works. In their eyes, you should know that already!

- Get an understanding of who is the best person to speak to in a business in the first place. If it's a small business, go as high up as you can.. directors... Cxx's... (as it's likely they're quite hands on). As opposed to bigger businesses where that's not always appropriate - they may have a 'procurement department' or this sort of thing is handled by department heads.

- Get an understanding of the best method of the first contact. I don't use social media very much, and I'd hope that was clear by my lack of activity. I brush off most first points of contact via SM because it doesn't feel natural. But I use my phone a lot, so happily speak to someone for a minute or two if they cold call me as it feels natural. I know people who hate technology and have responded well to physically arriving at the front desk around lunch time, offering biscuits for a 10-minute meeting.

- Personally, I avoid probing questions in the first place. Some call them 'open questions' (those that can't naturally have a yes/no answer). Firstly, by asking questions like this you might come across as naive to their industry and secondly, it can make the listener feel uncomfortable. If they naturally want to say no, let them. You have a big list of leads to get through!

- That doesn't necessarily mean you should ask closed ended questions such as "Do you have 5 minutes to speak about x?" or "Do you know about regulation x?"...

- ...I prefer the approach of pretending the customer is repeating "What's in it for me?" whenever I say something. This more a natural attitude than a scripted approach (like emphasising on whether a question is open or closed).

But to answer your questions specifically..

How would you go about getting contact information - depends on the method of contact. Phone number - look in company publications, call up reception and ask outright for it. Email - guess (format.. first.last@... first_initial.last@...).

introductions Travel back in time and meet someone who can introduce you. :) If the target attends social gatherings, go there.

meetings Remember they're asking "what's in it for me?". Offer something to incentivise them. Aside from biscuits, you want 10 minutes of their time to talk about how you can benefit them.

...and eventually sales? Let us all know when you find out ;)

Hope this helps in some way!

Like a lot of products, it's great if it solves a problem that you just happen to have.

I currently have a Fitbit charge 2. I've used Fitbit for a few years now.

For me, it offers otherwise hidden insights into my state of health. We're not all totally self-aware spiritualists who can meditate and smoothie our way to good health. Sometimes I rely on my smart watch informing my sleeping has gotten worse, or my resting heart raise has gone up, to indicate I'm going through a stressful time and need to fix it.

Otherwise, it reminds me when I've been sitting still for a long time. Easy to do when you're 'in the zone'.

There's some other stuff I think is specific to Fitbit. Namely, the community side of things? Where you can join a group where you all compete to have the most steps in a given period. The interface to that is great, I think.

Forgive the slightly lazy response and lack of sources but - I remember there was a crowd source delivery service in the UK. Whereby you could bid for the opportunity to deliver something from one place to another.

Can't help with security specific stuff, but the following helped me better understand ML (note: I am 'technical'. But I think it's an approachable explanation of the topic)

http://www.r2d3.us/visual-intro-to-machine-learning-part-1/

For me, I drink a pint of water before bed.

And then I balance a pint of water on my phone/alarm, which forces me to drink that when I wake up.

How to learn how to learn!

Personally, I used to find it tough to learn things I couldn't immediately apply. That's because I would try and commit them to memory in a way I could immediately retrieve them if required. So spawned a path of memory learning techniques... flash cards... ugh...

Then I was watching a Derren Brown show (a British 'mentalist') who taught a guy to memorise hundreds of books so that on command he could read out the content of any given book, any given page and any given number.

The individual would read the books in a particular way (picture dragging your fingers down in a v shape across the page). When asked to reiterate the content, it was very important that he just trusted his gut. And he got it right every time.

The key takeaway for me was that it's equally important to learn how to retrieve knowledge.

Slight tangent here, I also remember reading about how Steve Jobs was able to 'think outside the box' and come up with seemingly new ideas. And the suggestion was he was just good at retrieving knowledge through a confidence of confidence in himself and a non-pressured environment.

Hope that gives you something to think about!

I would suggest you look at some of the LinkedIN profiles of software developers at the kinds of businesses you want to work in. And observe the kinds of roles and businesses they started out in. You could even try reaching out to them and asking directly.

Good luck!

I won't copy paste the terms, but they say any employee can do what they like, as long as it doesn't utilise the resources of the business (which are defined as equipment, offices, money, time etc.).

And if it does, then the business operates a 'first-refusal' policy. In cases where the business has decided to utilise the side-project, this is normally combined with financial compensation in some form (a salary raise, a bonus, something like that).

FYI, I'm in the UK (midlands). I think this is quite a liberal approach compared to most. But it seems to motivate staff to think outside the box in the interests of the business.

The only thing I can think of, that you don't get by staying at a business for a long amount of time (that does treat you well.. raises.. career progression.. etc.) is lack of exposure to how other businesses operate.

Some businesses operate in a bubble, and it's common for them to only explore what they need to. And by doing this, they're in danger of limiting their possibilities. I'm talking in terms of things as rudimentary as how one business manages their recruitment process vs another to the tools used in a development department vs another and why.

So if you are happy where you are, and plan to stay they for the indefinite future (and there's nothing wrong with that), I would just advise you to explore avenues outside of work that gives you exposure to the wider industry.

If you're an engineer that might be meetups.. talks.. perhaps courses.. If you're in an operational role, then maybe similar activities, but perhaps also ask your employer to allow you to explore other businesses with the intention of learning.

This doesn't seem too serious, and I would treat it as such. Relax. Take a deep breath!

For example, they say "the potentially infringing or misappropriated content available on [your] Website". Keyword there - 'potentially'.

Earlier on in the letter, they say your content 'may' infringe on theirs.

It seems their motivation for contacting you is because you expressed some displeasure in the recent acquisition and that this has motivated you to steal their IP and become a competitor. Whilst its fair for this to motivate you to become a competitor, it isn't fair to assume you would steal their IP in order to do so. "...the recent acquisition by Pluralsight of Smarterer and your displeasure at the subsequent change in services and products offered by Smarterer, the extent and context of your activities establish that any infringement or misappropriation is willful..."

They have only asked to remove infringing content - not to shut down. "rights. Pluralsight is hopeful that the similarities between the Website and Pluralsight’s Intellectual Property were inadvertent and that you were unaware of the obligations placed on you by agreeing to Smarterer’s Terms and Conditions. Under the circumstances, Pluralsight would like to resolve this matter amicably."

Therefore, I would politely invite them to clarify which of your content they believe infringes on their IP, and make sure you inform them that by inviting them to clarify what content is infringing on their IP, that you aren't admitting that it is indeed infringing.

I think one of the barriers to 'networking' is there is just so much to cover... Worse still, some of what is considered 'networking' is proprietary technology catered to an environment that uses a particular vendor.

That makes the resources that aren't proprietary extremely detailed and muddy, to cover things the proprietary tech shines up at a high level.

Therefore, my suggestion for 'learning networking' is to just do it. Set up a LAN at home. Solve the problems as you come across them.

Someone at my place of work took this approach, and I thought it made me smile when he said he had this great idea about how he could automatically distribute IP addresses to terminals instead of manually setting them up. I told him about DHCP! Learning by going through the motions.

Incidentally, I picked up a copy of a CCNA study guide and the concept of DHCP wasn't covered until 1/3 through the book, after OSI was covered and other low-level topics.

Any opportunity to post an XKCD comic...

https://xkcd.com/303/

I would say you can have a constructive conversation in both a negative and positive frame of mind!

I have two siblings who are autistic. One is currently studying Artificial Intelligence and the other writes software for media environments (mainly TV). Both struggle with communication skills (empathy... they take EVERYTHING literally... they don't know when someone is disinterested...). One is 24 the other 31. Both are 'aware' of their Autism.

As both write software as part of their pursuits, I asked them what got them into software.

They referred to one single experience that started them on their paths. Funny as they have a large generation gap and went to different schools.

They told me about this robot they had in school. You would program steps (move forward 1 step... turn left 90 degrees.. move forward 10 steps.. etc.) and it would action them. They both became obsessed with it because in their eyes they were communicating with something and it was responding in a predictable and literal way. Both stated they found the predictability of software comforting.

I asked about software, and they said they would still recommend physical toys. Their reasoning was, even though they struggle with social skills, learning from apps would have further forced them to remain indoors.. reclusive.. Having a physical toy meant they were forced to interact with other people and learn from it.

You have Autistic son, so you'll understand his personality better than me. But if he shares the same traits as my siblings, then perhaps getting one of those toys will help.

Lastly, it warms my heart that you're taking his situation into account. It's controversial, but Autism can become a disability. But it can also become a trait which benefits someone in a way non-autistic people could ever attain. Apologies if this is patronising, but having an autistic child can be difficult, but it sounds like you're on a better than worse path. :)

I know. What I'm trying to say is, you're not asking them to change the contract for you. You're asking them to change the contract for both of them.

If you ask a prospective employer to remove any clauses that say "Any work done during employment is ours" then why should they bother? They put this clause in to a) avoid being the funder for work that doesn't benefit them and b) Ensure you don't steal other company resources.

If you suggested "Can we please add a clause that states any work done outside of contracted hours using resources not directly owned by the employer shall remain the property of the employee" that would seem much more reasonable.

I do this with my dog. I pretend she asks "Can you describe the steps to recreate the issue".

And then she just gets in an endless loop of asking "Why?", until I can't explain 'why' any more.

It's at that point I've probably found my issue.

Added bonus. She's happy to sit there and blankly stare at me in confusion whilst I chat away. Good dog!

I would say there's a difference between being able to read a contract and negotiate one.

For example, one common clause that 'offends' a developer might be something starting any work done whilst under their employment remains the IP of the employer.

It's one thing to tell the recruiter something offends you, but another to negotiate an alternative.

For that's what negotiation is. Understanding why the employer requested what they did, and suggesting something that achieves that reasoning but satisfies your concern too.

I appreciate what you're saying, and agree this could be an opportunity for not only OP to grow as a professional and also educate multiple team members...

But in my opinion, OP appears to be asking for a justification to leave the role, not for advice on how to get the most out of their situation.

In order to offer some advice on how to get the most out of their situation, I feel I need to first explain why it's an opportunity in the first place.

In a saturated industry, there will be someone else who would ask "I've found myself in a lead position, in a team of underdeveloped engineers, how can I be more effective in my capacity as a lead?". So why bother converting OPs viewpoint? If they've got into a lead position, they've probably been working a while.

Therefore, it would benefit OP to move to another role they're happier with, and also open up an opportunity for someone else who could better benefit the employer.

Do them a favour and quit, so they can get someone up to the challenge in.

Brilliant! That was it! Cheers

Something other than what you've done 1000 times?

I remember reading a 'lessons from a developer' type e-book a few years back.

And he said something like...

1. Don't underestimate the time you can waste on Hacker News

2. Don't underestimate the value you can get from using Hacker News

In answer to your questions..

- Don't care what tech stack you've used

I would argue that most companies aren't too concerned about your tech-stack. You're applying to businesses with dev's who like you appreciate development skills are transferable to other stacks and languages.

HOWEVER, if you are one of 10 applicants, of which 2 just happen to have experience in their tech-stack, then they will get preference over you. This is a logical route for them to go down.

- Have a large enough tech team to tolerate a greater ramp-up time for new hires

If this was the case, they'd be looking for 'juniors'. If you're applying for anything other than that, assume that they don't have the capability to tolerate a slow learning curve.

- Worked on-and-off. I never had another job lined up when I left/laid off from the old one.

If I see a CV with noticeable gaps in employment, I will put it to the bottom of the pile. I suggest you fill in those gaps with something.. personal projects.. volunteering.. you must have been doing something other than looking for your next job?

- Years in the field mean less to them because they can just hire and place someone where it's appropriate

Again I think the majority of businesses don't care too much about years, as such. Context matters. Again, if you're one 10 applicants, and the other 9 have 5 more years than you, then they'll preference them.

Can I suggest you reconsider your approach to applying? 1000 applications in 3 years are almost 1 a day. That's crazy. Your CV must be all over the place, and that isn't always a good thing (for example, if you've adjusted it over time, it may look like you were lying before).

Have you considered sending a portfolio with your applications?

I remember reading about a guy who had a scheduled task run at 5 pm. It would check if he was still logged on, and if he was, it would automatically send an SMS to his wife to explain he would be home a little bit late. It would also check if he had logged in by 8am, and if he hadn't it would automatically send an e-mail to relevant parties saying he was running late.

If you're suggesting your certificate quest is more about learning than the certificate, then I would suggest you keep books in mind too. The reason being, certificate courses are normally aimed at teaching you enough info to pass a specific exam. Whilst books will typically be broader.

And for what it's worth, in my experience, certificates (in the context of recruitment) are more often used as a gatekeeper.. aside from a few exceptions, such as some of the Cisco certs.

Are you trying to imply something?