This is really cool! It might come in handy when house or property hunting. Here is another, similar tool I have found helpful for gardening. https://www.suncalc.org/
Absolutely! I remember looking at some houses on the south side of Donner Lake and somebody said the nickname for that area in the winter was "Siberia", because it spends a lot of time in the shade. I bought the suncalc app on the spot to double check -- and sure enough, they were right.
This tool does a much better job of telling the story. I wish it would've existed at the time!
I do lots of hiring. Here are some things I watch out for.
- Multiple, short stints at different companies. Sometimes things happen but if you have a track record of jumping from one place to another I am pretty confident you won't stay around very long if I hire you.
- Multiple pages. A long resume is not impressive. Typically it is just annoying because it makes it harder to find key information. It shows a lack of ability to communicate in a concise manner. I have worked for several companies, completed three degrees, have worked in multiple functions, lead a wide variety of teams, and am still able to keep my resume to a single page. If you need more than one page, fine, but if you need several you are doing something wrong. If there are multiple candidates for an opening your resume is going to the bottom of the pile.
- Keyword stuffing. This typically means the candidate is writing their resume for a search engine. They aren't really looking for the right job...just "a" job. It also shows a lack of ability to communicate effectively.
- "Creative Resumes". Don't be cute. Don't use alternate layouts, photos, background colors, interesting fonts, or graphics. It doesn't get you noticed. At least not in the way you want to get noticed. Stand out by being concise and organized. Show you that you can identify the most important aspects of your career and communicate them effectively.
- Buzz words. Be a human and communicate like a human.
- Lack of precision. Don't just say "Improved application speed" say "Improved application throughput by 50%". When you lack precision my conclusion is either a) You are hiding something or b) You don't know how to communicate effectively.
- Objective statements. These aren't a red flag. They are just a waste of space. Nobody looks at them. They clutter the resume and make it longer than it needs to be.
That's good information! One thing I don't really agree with is:
> Keyword stuffing. This typically means the candidate is writing their resume for a search engine.
If you're applying to a larger company, your CV is likely to be imported into their internal system, often semi-automatically. Sometimes the keywords are not for the public search engine, but for the initial HR's sorting.
If you are dependent on submitting your resume to an applicant tracking system and hoping it will stand out to someone in HR, you're doing it wrong (tm).
I haven't blindly submitted a resume in the 20 years I've been working. I've always used recruiters or an inside contact.
These are all good points. However, I think these occur because the skillsets in our field don't fit the "traditional" resume outline. We almost need a different, common outline for tech jobs. Instead of listing the company and timeframe, list the projects you worked on over time, what was used (lightly, no word salad), how you contributed, etc. I would be more impressed with the big projects you worked on at a startup than the small contributions made at a Fortune 500.
"Multiple pages" point, definitely agree. Ive been a software dev for over 20 years and my CV is two pages of A4 and I dont expect most people to even read page 2 (hint: most wont).
Your raptorsaur logo is pretty cool and the name is catchy. Are you actively doing anything with the site? I doesn't look like there is a lot of activity on it.
Thanks! The website itself is not really active, we put it up just for fun. But the community is active. We have a slack channel where we chat, share work, ideas, and support. And we plan happy hours and events. If anyone is interested in working with us feel free to send portfolios. Here's our linkedIn project page, though only a few of us connected our accounts to it so far. https://www.behance.net/Raptorsaur/members
Many of today's most popular business books are written in this fashion. I believe the style is called "business parable". A couple popular titles from recent years are "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" and "Who Moved My Cheese". I would not be so worried about the actual source of the story. The principles are still the same. At one point in my life I was very much like this individual but not now...while the story may be fiction my life is not :)
I wonder how this works when you need input from a coworker whose number one focus is different than your own. If this coworker, in turn, is reliant on input from you for something that is not your number one focus then you are deadlocked...each waiting for the other to finish but unable to finish until the other has time.
Easy, escalate to a boss who's only focus is making sure you both get your work done. I'm also sure trades and bribes and a informal form of corporate currency changes hands
"I'll purposefully and intentionally reduce my focus from 100% to 99.999% this year by helping you out IF in exchange you'll do something that improves my efficiency in my remaining 99.999% of the time by around a factor of one ten-thousandth"
Its a market driven approach. Plenty of game theory behind it, too.
