[tpm] I have dropped the ball - need help

[Olaf Alders]

Dave doesn't remember this, but I had actually told him I'd schedule talks for Oct/Nov so he could focus on parenting.  Apparently his pregnancy brain prevented him from remembering this. Hence his apology, which I accept without reservation. ;)

I've scheduled the next meet up for this Wednesday (Oct 29 -- 2 days from now) at OANDA.  I'll be speaking on "Landing the Tech Job You Don't Despise".  All details at http://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Perl-Mongers/events/216057432/ 

The synopsis:

***

Let's face it, the "Landing the ____ job you love" thing is totally overused. And who every said you had to be in love with your job anyway? But I digress. This talk is a summary of all I have learned and maybe in some cases haven't learned about the hiring process.

What qualifies me to give this kind of a talk? I've been on both sides of the interview table. I've helped write job ads and been puzzled by reading job ads. I've interviewed for jobs in Canada, the US and in the EU. I've done onsite interviews and video interviews. I've taken and given technical phone screens. On some occasions I've been offered the job that I've interviewed for, but I've also failed miserably. And really, do you want to learn from the person who never gets it wrong? Here's a chance to hear about it from someone who has stumbled and occasionally danced through the interview process from start to finish.

We'll touch on many stages of the process.

Deciphering job ads 
Cover letters 
Resumes 
Surviving the phone screen 
(Possibly) nailing the interview AKA "What's the deal with whiteboarding?" 
Negotiating your salary and other negotiables

I'll toss in a few other goodies along the way. Hopefully it'll be a fun ride. Even if you just pick up a few good ideas to apply in your future job searches, it'll be a worthwhile discussion. Just remember, you may not be planning on looking for a job, but that's not to say you won't find yourself hunting for a job in the future anyway. The worst time to prepare for your search is when you're in the middle of it. Think of this as a little bit of future proofing for your career.

***

Hope to see many of you on Wednesday!

Olaf



On Oct 25, 2014, at 12:23 PM, Dave Doyle <dave.s.doyle at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello TPM,
> 
> So, I have officially dropped the ball.  As some of you are aware, my wife gave birth to our second kid on Oct 4 (a boy, Caedan). I'm just not going to be able to attend the meeting on Wednesday. My wifes recovery is a bit slower this time around and I can't spare it.
> 
> I have got Mark Jubenville available to be the shepherd for the venue, but I have no talk and no one provided access to a laptop.  I have two people you may be able to follow up with to see if they are still interested or able to do a talk on Wednesday which I can provide.  Or if any of you are interested in giving a talk on Wednesday, that'd be awesome. 
> 
> So, if any of you can help, I'd SUPER appreciate it.  My time is very limited right now.
> 
> Regards,
> D
> --
> dave.s.doyle at gmail.com
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