Re: [9fans] rc mystery

[Skip Tavakkolian <9nut@9netics.com>]

> fine. But you know, it really shits me that even to get a crap job, you have to
> act like a performing monkey.

I view it as respecting my craft enough to fully understand
the tools I have and how they work.

> What happened to the dignity of labour?

I can only refer to your own earliest experience in an interview,
which you recounted previously.

Here is an extreme (but true) example.

For one senior C/C++ developer position at a company I worked for, we
brought in several candidates, some from out of the area.  One fellow
looked very impressive on his resume.  The company paid for his
airfare and hotel to come up from California for this interview.  I
was the second person to talk with him (the first was the HR manager).
After our initial getting acquainted chat -- during which he asked if
it was true that the CEO personally interviewed the candidates as
well, which was true at that time -- we moved on to the technical
questions.  He failed the C questions, but from what I could judge,
was very smart and a good problem solver.  A total of six people
talked with him over the course of the day, all pretty much the same
impression.  He was very agitated when we told him we couldn't
consider him because his C and C++ skills were lacking.  He demanded
to see the CEO anyway.  His purpose for wanting the interview?  He
wanted to pitch a business proposal to the CEO, (copies of his
Business Plan in hand).  If he had received an offer he would have
turned it down, I have no doubt.  He was there (at that company's
expense) to make a sales pitch.