[AdamSpeight2008]

Let me I've been on the "rock n roll" (dole) for about 2 years. I did all the things they (Job Centre) ask and recommend to do. Naff all. Bump into an old mate on Friday, Ring me on Monday come in for an Interview Tomorrow. By Tuesday afternoon I have a Job. (CV was only a skim read).


So is it who you know? or what you know?

This post has been edited by AdamSpeight2008: 09 August 2011 - 03:32 PM

[NeoTifa]

My ex's dad is my deputy branch chief. Case closed.

[AdamSpeight2008]

I forget the third option.

What you can potentially blackmail them with?

[xclite]

Who you know seems so much more important than it should be. I taught half of my class Java, and was watching them all pull off ridiculous internships while I had twice the GPA. I worked at Burger King until my senior year when I was able to get an internship type deal... because I knew somebody who recommended me.

[modi123_1]

Can I get a translation for the gibberish of the thread's title and first post?

[xclite]

It took me longer than it should have to parse it.

[Sergio Tapia]

It's 100% who you know no matter what some neckbeards might say.

Example: I was working with a small company for mediocre pay for about three weeks, no contract, no nothing. Just as a trial (according to them).

Last wednesday got a text message, "Sergio there's a position here, <int> salary +benefits, MVC3 job." Started working there that same week with tech I love and working conditions that would make most people salivate.

It's all about who you know.

Another example, for our application we need some flash animation and assets drawn up. Did we look for someone through a head hunter or something? Nope. I recommended a friend and now he has a freelance job he can work on from home. Fantastic.

Make connections people, it's 150% worth it.

[NeoTifa]

Why do you think I volunteer on all the picnic/party committees and sign up for all volunteer work? Well, besides the fact that I'm just a good person, but now even the Colonels in front office know who I am and wink at me when they see me (though Col H. was grabbing his junk every 5 mins while playing kickball.... ). Networking is awesome, especially when you're networking at a volunteer opportunity. Bitches love volunteers.

[no2pencil]

My experience is 'what you know'. I just have to change something on my resume to reflect 'change' & re-save it on Monster or Career Builder, & suddenly my phone is wringing. I've always figured it to be a mixture of experience in years & diverse technologies.

Plus (as with the case w/ calvinthedestroyer) I've helped a few friends change technology fields by hand editing their resume for them. Never once did I introduce them to any people, just simply made them appear more attractive to those whom make the hiring decisions.

[Lemur]

It's a combination and it's neither at the same time. What it comes down to is how well you convince people of what you know, or even what you don't know.

Most people assume I'm a technological genius because of how I hold myself and the basic tasks I do in very little time like repairs. This leads to them making me into a god of sorts. If people start heralding you at that level, especially teachers in some cases, you have one heck of a shot at most anything.

[Programmist]

both who and what. Who you know can get you in front of the right people and what you know can get you hired. If you're not building a professional network throughout your career then you are behind the curve before you even start your next job search.

[Nightfish]

I got my current job without any connections whatsoever. Still, in a pinch, I'd take "who you know" over "what you know". That's just how the world works, like it or not.

[Nykc]

It is definitely a Who you know, then what you know type world out there, sometimes reversed but usually if you know somebody, you can get in for an interview a lot easier.

Also HR people are complete morons. For some reason they think Java and Javascript are one in the same and CSS 2.1 is so drastically different than CSS.

One of my favorite past times is looking at HR written job descriptions especially for web developers:
ie

Candidate must have Bachelors Degree or equivalent
4 years industry experience with proven track record.
5+ years experience with CSS3 standards
XHTML/HTML proficient as well as working knowledge of HTML5
2 years Java Experience
2 years C++ or C#
2 years XML
2 years Python
4 years actively developing ColdFusion apps
** Candidate must also be proficient with Dreamweaver

you think I am kidding go look. lol, I also love the Dreamweaver and the reference to Java when half the time they are referring to Javascript

[Curtis Rutland]

modi123_1, on 09 August 2011 - 07:26 PM, said:

Can I get a translation for the gibberish of the thread's title and first post?

Let me try:

Quote

Let me I've been on the "rock n roll" (dole) for about 2 years. I did all the things they (Job Centre) ask and recommend to do. Naff all. Bump into an old mate on Friday, Ring me on Monday come in for an Interview Tomorrow. By Tuesday afternoon I have a Job. (CV was only a skim read).

Becomes

Quote

"I've been unemployed and receiving unemployment benefits for almost two years. I've done all of the things that the Job Center told me to do. Nobody employed me. I ran into an old friend on Friday. He told me to call him on Monday, which I did, to set up an interview for Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, I had a job. He barely had to skim my résumé before hiring me."

[lordofduct]

Every job I've ever had was due to knowing someone (except for a telemarketing job I had, and quite 4 hours into). Everyone I know got their first big breaks in their industries predominately by who they knew (though keep in mind those people we knew suggested us because we are good and those people respect our skills). Starting out the gate, who you know is really all you have because you lack experience.

As I've heard the general consensus of college is that it's less about learning something and more about networking with people. (note that's a generalization, not specific to computer science)