March 3rd, 2009, No Comments »
A colleague who runs an online business is looking for a developer for a project. Here’s the brief, admittedly vague spec:
Our site is programmed in PHP and we use MySQL for our database. We currently have an inhouse developed shopping cart which uses two payment gateways, one that tracks credit card info for recurring members and one that processes the payments. The one that processes the payments now offers a service that tracks recurring, making the former redundant. So we are looking for a programmer that can implement the transition from one gateway to the other.
If you’re interested, send me an email at darren at darrenbarefoot dot com. I’ll forward the email on to my colleague, and he’ll get back to you if the’s interested. I really must get that Jobs page up and running on this site.
Note to future searchers who find this page: Please note the date on this post. If it’s later than April 1, 2009, it’s too late, so please don’t email me.
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February 17th, 2009, 10 Comments »
Early in my professional career, I did a lot of informational interviews. I did an internship program after university, so that required that I talk to a lot of potential employers. Those conversations focused my mind on what I did and did not want to do in my career.
In the past few years, I’ve been able to return the favour, and answer questions about the worlds of marketing, software and so forth. When possible, I try to make introductions to other folks the interviewer might find helpful. I guess I do an interview every two or three months.
I’ve had enough experience with information interviews, then, to make some recommendations on how to complete a great one.
- Prepare your questions in advance. This forces you to think about the meeting ahead of time, and demonstrates to the interviewee that you respect their time.
- Make your questions as specific as possible. Specific answers are probably more useful than general ones–they’re also easier to answer. If you’re just kicking the tires on a career, then try to get your broad questions answered by other means (books, the web, industry events, and so forth).
- Be friendly and personable. You want to put the other person at ease. If they’re relaxed, they’re likelier to speak frankly, which will prove invaluable in the long run.
- Don’t ask for a job.
- Don’t ask how much the interviewee makes. Again, the internet is your friend for estimating salary ranges.
- Tell your story. You should listen more than you talk, but it’s important that the interviewee gets a sense of who you are.
- Ask what the interviewee loves and hates about their job. These questions, I think, can be particularly illuminating.
- At the end of the interview, always ask “is there somebody else you think I should talk to?” There probably is, and the wider you cast your net, the likelier you are to find the job that best suits you.
- Send a thank-you card. An email is acceptable, but a card is extra classy.
As for being the interviewee, I think the most important thing to do is to be encouraging but honest. If you think the market for blimp pilots is pretty flat, for example, then say so. You’re doing the interviewer a disservice if you just tell them what they want to hear.
I was reminded to write up because my most recent informational interview experience was particularly kick ass (thanks to the interviewer, not me).
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May 18th, 2007, 10 Comments »
Over at Capulet, we get a few job-related enquiries each month. Most of them are random resume submissions. Yesterday, I received the most original employment query that I’ve seen in a long time. With Lori’s permission, I’m reposting it here:
Which is why you need someone like me working for you. I’m an administrative and planning genious. I have a resume and references to this effect, but your little text box here doesn’t allow me the needed space for that. I love the kind of work your company does, I love your location, and if I have to work “for the man” being a part of the projects you create and dealing with the kind of clients you have is something that I would love to be a part of.
I’ve been a lot of things in my adult life, and finding the right kind of enviroment to use my skills to the fullest is difficult. Your company seems to be the right balance. I’m an event planner, researcher, information and referral resource person, legal assistant, fundraiser, receptionist, travel and itinerary organizational goddess, and fun at parties.
I want to talk with you, just once. I will try to make myself indespensible to you and your company.
Now that’s a purple cow (er, sorry about that) of a job enquiry. Of course, we’re in Malta, so we can’t really retain her services at the moment.
If you’re in need of such a person, feel free to drop me an email and I’ll put you in touch with Lori.
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