8 ms·

Well, there are some foolish companies out there that trust in 'social proof' as you put it, so it is possible to get jobs that way. By beholden I mean that if

Well, there are some foolish companies out there that trust in 'social proof' as you put it, so it is possible to get jobs that way. By beholden I mean that if the only reason you able to keep a job is on the word of another low level employee, then you are in a perilous position politically. No one except your connection believes your social proof because there are a lot of expert beginner people full of shit in technology. If they leave the company you are screwed and would probably have to go find another job. Yes, it is more difficult to get a job relying on skills and marketing, but it is better in the long term.

xt00 11y ago
Yea I got jobs because people at the other companies said "hey that guy knows a lot about this area you should interview him", and when I interviewed everybody I talked to gave their approval to hire me based upon a technical interview, so in my area it was not possible to get a job based upon simply telling somebody you are good, you actually have to do well in the technical interview. I was a principal level hardware engineer, so not too low level. Maybe some people are getting jobs based upon just a simple recommendation, but I thought based upon the OP's data science area its more applicable to discuss the typical situation where the recommendation is followed by a technical interview. I don't know of a situation where anybody I worked with who got interviewed because their friend recommended them that the friend left then the other guy lost his job after that. But maybe that could happen if that person was really not interviewed well and the hiring manager was kinda clueless as to how bad the guy was..
HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
This attitude is unproductive. As a general rule, if someone hands your resume to a hiring manager, or says "I know that guy; he's good" that carries a hell of a lot more weight than you evidently think it does. Yes, of course you need to know what you're doing. The point is that knowing someone at the firm you're applying to, or knowing someone who know someone there is useful. Like it or not, we are social animals and we respond to that stuff.
- codeonfire 11y ago
  No it's not unproductive. It's better and more realistic. What will happen is that your hiring manager goes away after three months because managers are always trying to reorg and hire people beneath them to save their ass. You friend that handed your resume can be fired or quits to go work somewhere else. Suddenly there is no reason that you should have a job at that company and lots of other people are handing resumes to your new manager for people that they are trying to give your job to. Maybe you can stretch it for 9-12 months. It's far better for job security to just have the credentials and background to get a job without going the social route.

xt00 11y ago

Yea I got jobs because people at the other companies said "hey that guy knows a lot about this area you should interview him", and when I interviewed everybody I talked to gave their approval to hire me based upon a technical interview, so in my area it was not possible to get a job based upon simply telling somebody you are good, you actually have to do well in the technical interview. I was a principal level hardware engineer, so not too low level. Maybe some people are getting jobs based upon just a simple recommendation, but I thought based upon the OP's data science area its more applicable to discuss the typical situation where the recommendation is followed by a technical interview. I don't know of a situation where anybody I worked with who got interviewed because their friend recommended them that the friend left then the other guy lost his job after that. But maybe that could happen if that person was really not interviewed well and the hiring manager was kinda clueless as to how bad the guy was..

HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago

This attitude is unproductive. As a general rule, if someone hands your resume to a hiring manager, or says "I know that guy; he's good" that carries a hell of a lot more weight than you evidently think it does. Yes, of course you need to know what you're doing. The point is that knowing someone at the firm you're applying to, or knowing someone who know someone there is useful. Like it or not, we are social animals and we respond to that stuff.

codeonfire 11y ago
No it's not unproductive. It's better and more realistic. What will happen is that your hiring manager goes away after three months because managers are always trying to reorg and hire people beneath them to save their ass. You friend that handed your resume can be fired or quits to go work somewhere else. Suddenly there is no reason that you should have a job at that company and lots of other people are handing resumes to your new manager for people that they are trying to give your job to. Maybe you can stretch it for 9-12 months. It's far better for job security to just have the credentials and background to get a job without going the social route.