Internal headhunters?

You can't talk to a recruiter about the actual details of the jobs. They don't realize the similarities and differences of the classes of coding you're eluding to.

Just like the time a recruiter wanted to send me for an interview because the company needed someone that could do DataGeneral Assembler and I had x86 Assembler on my resume. This guy thought "Assembler is Assembler"! Many recruiters only see the words and don't really know what they mean (not to offend a few friends of mine who are recruiters).

Patrick

Since I omitted it in the which is in there fore brevity, to clarify you are refering to job recruiters. In my experience I have come across a couple of really good ones and a lot of really bad ones. The ones that I think were good were not pushy and actually took the time to figure out if you and the position were right for each other. Once that all parties decided that things were a good fit, then they acted more as an intermediary making sure that everything happened in an orderly fashion.

There do seem to be some strange creatures living in the headhunting world. Here's two experiences of mine, from a few years back. Note that I live in Australia: both these were trying to recruit me to the US (I was quite willing to relocate).

1. The prospective employer paid for me to come to the US, stay in a hotel for a week, & interview with them. We liked each other, they made an offer & I accepted (in writing). I returned to Oz, they set the H1-B process in motion. Over the next 6 months, I had several contacts with their lawyers over this, finally getting a letter from the US Consulate here, saying the visa was OK, & please bring in my passport & get it stamped. Before I could respond, I got a phone call from the employer, saying to hold off for a bit: they had a crisis on, & couldn't take me on just yet. That was the last I ever heard from them (the company is still in being).
2. This one also came on very keen, wanted me asap, etc. That Christmas, I happened to visit my brother in the US, & was only 100 miles from the headhunter's location. I offered to come there (at my expense), & interview. You wouldn't see him for dust! "No, no: please don't come just now..." Very odd. Again, I never heard from him more.

Right, I know, but they try to talk to me about it, and it makes me uncomfortable because I'm afraid if we talk about it too much that they will realize that I realize how much they don't know. Then they might become embarrassed, and I don't like to embarrass people without a good reason.

I wish they would simply admit what they don't know and stop pretending. One recruiter did this once. He told me he didn't know all the technical details of a job description and might need my help with some of them. That kind of thing puts me at ease because the discussion can then flow freely.

I like to do this myself when I talk to people. That is, I like to say what I do know while pointing out what I don't know. I find human interaction is more pleasant when people lower their guards and admit their flaws.

This reminds me. Is this a recent trend or something I just noticed, but it seems like I'm surrounded my idiots in positions of perceived authority.

This recruiter is one example, boasting about how his company doesn't hire embedded systems programmers to do the kernel-level work his company does.

A couple years ago, a bitch who worked at Comcast was an example when a comment I made about repeated problems with their cable boxes (buggy software) was met with a firm response that it was "a problem with my line" and that a person would have to be sent out. I know buggy software when I see it, by behavior. I'm sure cable boxes are loaded with it, rushed out because quality doesn't matter to monopolies like Comcast or whoever makes their boxes especially when delivering consumer products.

Today, a girl working behind the counter at my car dealership's service center was an example. One of my tires was low, so I took it in to have it checked. I thought they'd tell me if there was a leak or not and if not simply fill it with air. The answer I got was that the tire tread was worn down because it was driven on while low and needed to be replaced. I don't know much about cars, so I bought the explanation, but I got curious and asked a little later if the tire actually had a leak (wondering if air simply drains from tires on its own). Okay, don't hate me because that might be a stupid question. The point is, it was a question, a simple "yes" or "no" question, and the answer I got from the girl was the same robot answer again about the tire tread being worn because I had driven on it.

I use the word "idiot" not because these people lack knowledge. I lack knowledge. I lack tons of knowledge, but it's important to acknowledge what one knows and doesn't know. These people all piss me off because they either don't know or don't understand and either simply say the wrong thing or leave their minds turned off and repeat the same stock answer over and over without thinking.

It makes me sick. This is what humanity has become? Unthinking, unquestioning, careening more and more out of control year after year.

I know, if these people were smart they wouldn't have the jobs they have. So, why do they have the jobs they have? Why do their jobs exist? Can't the people with some appreciation for the real work also have time left over to do their menial job? If there isn't enough real work, do these people not have hobbies in which they occupy their minds? They're still human. Why can't they either think or admit their ignorance? I'm put at such ease when I hear someone say "I don't know". That raises other issues, but at least the sincerity is nice for a change.

Maybe I'm stupid to take my car to the dealer, but the dealer still has mechanics. They're the ones who actually fix the car. My complaint here is basically the same as with the headhunters and even real "recruiters". Why are these the people with whom I'm mainly or initially allowed to speak? Why are the actual engineers, mechanics, or other skilled people hidden from us? They may not know everything, but there is a much better chance they know. Why are we delivered these distorted messages from their incapable representatives, these glorified (or sometimes even unglorified) secretaries?

Why are you trying to cut out your pimp ??

A recruiter is just a pimp, he/she gets a cut on anything you get.

Why is this so strange ?

The worlds oldest profession has been updated for the new millinum.

donald

Sky TV in the UK supply satellite "set top boxes" here, which often crash in various ways. A couple of years ago I was frequently having to report a fault, and to get instructions on how to reset the box.

The first thing to try was always to unplug the mains supply, but it was stressed that this had to be *at the box*, not at the wall.

When I commented that this made no sense to me, I was told that only unplugging at the wall was no good because "the static had to drain away".

re PHB see:

Nothing new here ... ;-)

-- Michael N. Moran (h) 770 516 7918

"So often times it happens, that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key." The Eagles, "Already Gone"

The Beatles were wrong: 1 & 1 & 1 is 1

Is that meant to be ironic? I hate pimps. It's in my nature to hate pimps. I have a problem with authority.

Dilbert's pretty new. I need to see a comic from say 500 years ago.

I think God is a pimp. That's one of my issues with traditional Christianity.

I think it'd be easier to accept the idea of a pimp if I was dumber. This is something I thought of back at my old job. Before science became involved in industry in the last couple centuries, wasn't it true that the boss was always more educated than the workers? So, it made sense for him to direct and command them. Now, we the workers are engineers who are smarter than many of our bosses in matters of actually doing the work. The bosses mainly have their ass-kissing people/business skills on which to rely. We've become the bosses, and they've become the secretaries, yet they still control the money. It's upside down.

Well, to answer your question: you probably didn't have a leak, but tire pressure goes down in the winter (it's cold) and if you don't pay attention, you could easily be running on tires that are ten PSI underinflated. And yes, that'll markedly speed up tire wear. And you really can't tell tire pressure just by looking, especially on cars with low-profile (like 50s and lower) tires.

All tires have "wear bars" across the tread. Look at the tread; you'll see a slightly-raised bit of rubber that goes across. (You may see a mark on the sidewall that indicates where the tread-wear indicator lives.) When that bit is the same height as tread, your tire's done.

Hope this helps!

-a

This was only one tire, the right front one, that was lower than the tire on the other side, the left front. If it was the cold, wouldn't every tire have been affected?

To answer the question, I'd like the pimp to spend some of his own time on his knees.

How come when a worker isn't pulling his weight, the other workers get pissed at him, but when an administrator isn't pulling his weight no one says anything? Why do paper leaders exist? Why do gods exist?

Its a brave new world.

Farming and foraging is no longer necessary.

In the age of money and credit, these new skills are necessary.

And kind of hard labor will come second to the "bosses".

Time to update your skill set.

donald

Now your getting scary !

Always, but I'm concentrating on the skills that will let my spirit survive the death of my body, which tend to be the opposite of the skills required in business and management.