“Oh, I’m such a big fan of yours…” June 26, 2008
Posted by hardly Job Hunt Process
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Over the course of my career, and more so now that I'm a third-party recruiter, I've had the opportunity to meet and work with a lot of really amazing people. Even a few who are famous or well-known in their sphere of work.
Thing is, if you're a Software Dev candidate (I'm including test and systems in this), sooner or later you're going to run into someone who is well-known in your world, or who you've read, or who created something amazing. And, since you're a human, there's some chance that your behavior will devolve to that of fan-boy or fan-girl. The important thing to remember is that this person across the table from you is a human, too. And though they are well-known, they still face-down the same problems you do: What do I wear today, why can't I lose that fat around my belly, I need to fire my cleaner, my car needs an oil change, jr is spending too much time in front of the Xbox this summer, etc., etc.
Pamela Slim has a great post today on fan behavior, and how to identify it in yourself. It's a great read if you're out doing interviews, just so you have a measure to check against.
Oh, and for you hiring managers out there, remember this applies to you, too. You know, when you meet Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki, Elon Musk, Burt Rutan, Brad Silverberg, Linus Torvalds, Fred Brooks, Patrick Naughton, Bill Joy, Patrick Naughton, Marc Andreeson, David Heinemeier Hansson, etc, etc.
How much Power do you bring to your workout? June 25, 2008
Posted by hardly Uncategorized
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Power is an engineering term used to describe energy used, and the calculation looks something like this:
Power = (Mass x Distance) / Time
Usually, we see Power described by the given measurement system’s term, commonly watts or horsepower.
Over the last several years, we’ve seen an uptick in the use of this measurement to assess the work done in a workout, particularly with rowing machines & bicycles. These measurements are very helpful in assessing one’s performance over time on these machines.
It’s also useful to think about when lifting weights, especially if you’re comparing your workout against someone else’s.
Let’s say you’re doing a pull-up competition with your friend, and you want to create an apples-to-apples comparison. You weigh 200 lbs, and they weigh 150 lbs. Further, let’s say that you have to raise your body 24 inches (2 feet) to get your chin over the bar, and they have to raise their body 18 inches (1.5 ft). Here’s the math for your respective Work loads (Work = Mass * Distance, which is one of the main components in the Power equation, noted above):
Your Work: 200 lbs * 24 inches = 400 ft-lbs
Friend’s Work: 150 lbs & 18 inches = 225 ft-lbs
If your friend can do 20 pull-ups in 1 minute, they use 225 ft-lbs/minute of power. For you to generate more Power than that, you would need to complete your 20 pull-ups in 1:46.1. To convert this all to watts, use the conversion factor of .0226. So, your friend generates 5.085 watts to do their 20 pull-ups in 1 minute. You generate 5.0855 watts.
Kinda puts that 60-watt lightbulb into a clear context?
That was like hard June 25, 2008
Posted by hardly Bar, Dips, Kettlebell, Pullups, Pushups, Row
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Today’s wonderful workout had a couple of components to it that were hard. I like that, and yet…
Warmup:
- 1200 M Row, alternating 200 M at < 20 strokes/minute and 200 M at > 25 strokes per minute
- 50 Wallballs @ 14 kg
Workout:
- 10 sets of:
- 10 Deadlifts @ 100 lbs
- 10 Pullups
- 20 Dips on the rings
- 20 knee-raises on the rings
- As many sets of the following (must complete the set within 2 minutes):
- 10 Double Kettlebell Swings @ 12 kg kettlebells
- 10 Double Kettlebell Cleans @ 12 kg kettlebells
- 10 Double Kettlebell Squats @ 12 kg kettlebells
- 10 push-ups
- Sets completed: 5 (too many as it turns out, next time I move up to 16 kg kettlebells)
On the 10 sets of deadlifts & pullups, it became clear that if I could do the pullups using the infamous kipping maneuver, this would go faster. So, I worked on that a bit - still have more to do on that.
Also, I highly recommend to those of you who are bored w/dips to try doing them on rings instead of a stationary stand. These are decidedly not boring!
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 06/25/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
How do you know when you’ve succeeded? June 25, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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Seth has another rant about customer service today. I love his rants about Customer Service - they are always so spot-on!
A long time ago, in galaxy far away, I ran Customer Service and Technical Support teams. I've been on the opposite side of his frustration, creating the process that should solve customer problems.
The thing that's interesting about Seth's post is that the intense focus on certain metrics in Customer Care end up creating something that actually hinders the Customer Care process, and indeed, actually harms an organization's reputation. This has come about because it's much, much easier to measure costs than it is potential future revenue.
What does this have to do with recruiting you ask?
Simple. What are your measurements for recruiting success? Just because you can measure something doesn't make it meaningful to your business.
How do you know when you’ve found it? June 24, 2008
Posted by hardly Job Hunt Process
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Let's say you're a hiring manager, and you've figured you need to add a new member to your staff. Let's also say that you're pretty savvy on the recruitment process, you've done your research and you know what this person will do (you even wrote up MBOs), and you have a spiffy, new job description. You KNOW what you want.
Flip this around.
Now, let's say you're in job-hunt mode. Yesterday, you came to the conclusion that you've had enough, or that you want to do something new, or a combination of the two. Have you written up what you want to do next?
Most candidates don't take the time to do the write-up. If you don't know what you want to do next, how do you know which job offer to accept?
Back in the saddle June 23, 2008
Posted by hardly Bar, Dumbbell, Kettlebell, Pullups, Row, Tabata
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It’s been a bit since my last entry, mostly owing to a lack of small pieces of paper to record my workouts on at the new gym. I’ve solved that, so….
Warmup:
- 1K Row
- 30 Bodyweight Squats
Workout:
- 60 each of the following:
- Pull-ups
- Deadlifts @ 95 lbs
- DB Benchpress @ 35 lbs
- Time: 14:25
- 60 kettlebell squats
- 30 back extensions
- Tabata row
One slight problem w/today’s workout was that at about the back extensions, I started feeling naseous, and I got 20 of the total reps in before I said, “enough”. Didn’t really want to puke on the nice, new floor. So, I missed the Tabata row. Next time.
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 06/23/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
re: The deluge strategy June 23, 2008
Posted by hardly Job Hunt Process
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"Deluge strategy"
"Shotgunning my resume"
"Applying for everything in sight"
Candidates, particularly if they are getting desperate for a new role, sometimes resort to a mass communication strategy.
Does it work? Sometimes.
But consider all the outcomes:
- You send out a lot of resumes, which requires a lot of time and effort on your part.
- You see a few responses, and fewer interviews.
- You get depressed.
- You repeat the cycle.
See where this leads?
A better strategy is to be targeted in your search. There are two good ways to spend/invest your time:
- Re-energize your network. There's nothing quite so satisfying as inviting at least one (or two or three or ...) former
colleague to coffee or lunch per week. Yes, they actually do want to
see you again and catch up!
- Respond only to those roles that are a close match to what you want to be doing next, or for those roles which have responsibilities that you are passionate about.
Welcoming CTO/CIO Perspectives June 20, 2008
Posted by hardly Weblogs
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One of the things I truly love about my work as a tech recruiter is meeting technologists and hearing what they have to say about their work.
Today, a recent introduction of mine sent me a link to a blog that really rocks: CTO/CIO Perspectives. This blog is written by Peter Kretzman. I read through several of the posts, and said, "Wow. This guy is good, he speaks the truth. My readers need to know about this one." So, I've added CTO/CIO Perspectives to my blogrole.
So, Peter, thanks for the blog. And John, thanks for the intro!
Not sure if this is about recruiting, but it reads good! June 20, 2008
Posted by hardly Career Development
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By way of introduction, I read a number of blogs about writing because much of my work revolves around writing.
Here's a post from Communicatrix, and it rocks. Is it about recruiting or finding a job? You be the judge!
Web Devs Needed! June 19, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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I'm helping a startup in Bellevue find a Web Developer or two. The ideal candidate should be an experienced developer, and and they should have experience working on the LAMP stack technologies in a commercial setting.
If you're interested, or you know someone who might be, email me!
