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Ha, this reminds me of my own track record in applying for jobs... I must have possibly the widest number of rejections by many of the most prestigious compani

Ha, this reminds me of my own track record in applying for jobs... I must have possibly the widest number of rejections by many of the most prestigious companies, NGOs and government institutions in the world. Prestigious names like Google, Apple, Facebook, McKinsey, Stripe, The Guardian, BBC, UN, Amnesty International, Christian Aid, Shell, Statoil, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, US Embassy London, UK Labour Party, UK Foreign Office, Stroz Freidberg, Billiter, Mandiant, Portland PR, KPMG, Deloitte - that's just a sample! After awhile I decided I was just better off setting up my own company - and haven't looked back since. Now some of them work with and have to hire my company instead. :) If anyone feels bored and wants to add your name to such an illustrious list, drop me an email with a job description, I'll make a fake application and you too can reject with the stars... :)

bshimmin 11y ago
That's quite a list! I can't really compete at all, apart from to say that I too was rejected by Deloitte, in somewhat amusing circumstances - having negotiated the necessary hoops to get to a final interview, the very nice lady interviewing me asked what should, really, have been a very simple question: "Why do you want to become an accountant?" Sadly some sort of terrible realisation hit me at this point and I froze, looked at her in horror, paused for an eternity before finally answering, "Well, I've always liked numbers!" She looked baffled. I started laughing. She started laughing too (probably, in retrospect, nervously). That was the end of my fledgling career as an accountant.
- gohrt 11y ago
  On the one hand, that's a bizarre reason to block an applicant. On the other hand, if a trivial setback is enough to make you give up the career, better to get it early. What was the terrible realisation? That you don't want to become an accountant?
  - bshimmin 11y ago
    Yeah. I applied for Deloitte because a big-4 accountancy firm ticked the right sort of boxes for someone who'd been to a good school, a good university, got good grades, and was looking for a reasonably prestigious job with decent perks (and had no real idea what they wanted to do). I'm not sure the reality of having to spend the next 30 years going into an office and scheming around Sarbanes-Oxley had really occurred to me right until she asked that question. I should note I have absolutely nothing against accountants!
- encoderer 11y ago
  What is the appropriate answer, for the aspiring accountants among us?
  - princeb 11y ago
    haha. "Let's take a hypothetical view and say, in 7 to 10 years, when I make partner, there might be an opportunity for me to work on an account - a company with an unusual structure, with a novel, ground-breaking business, and unorthodox cashflows arrangements and asset valuations, and as an accountant I am going to write the story to highlight the strengths of the business while being fully cognizant of the risks, and the investors, the stakeholders, business management will appreciate the effort and hard-thinking we put in to make the story relevant and whole. And I want that to happen in my life. but until that time, I know I have to put in the punishing work of auditing [or whatever dept you are applying to]. And I may not find it very enjoyable. Yet if I never take the first step, that end goal I just spoke about will never materialize." you can talk about whatever is cool at that time. nowadays accounting for tech companies is all the rage and the methods for accounting for manufacturing or retail companies are not very relevant. back when I was just wrapping up my degree the Kraft-Nestle merger was the talk of the town. Also don't take my suggestion too seriously - I am not an accountant.
  - patrickmclaren 11y ago
    I wouldn't bother with a direct answer to that question.
  - tenismyanswer 11y ago
    I love money
    - tomw1808 11y ago
      and Panama.
      - tenismyanswer 11y ago
        And a man, a plan, a canal
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- eyeownyde 11y ago
  As someone who had a similar (but less climactic) realization, this is amazing.
nxzero 11y ago
How does Umbrella compare to EFF's SSD content: https://ssd.eff.org/en https://ssd.eff.org/en (And yeah, likely have more rejections, but I automated generating custom resumes, submissions, etc. for some research on how resumes work.)
- secfirstmd 11y ago
  Clever idea to automate the process! Umbrella actually uses some of the awesome EFF SSD content for some of our digital security stuff. Clearly we've broken a lot of stuff down to make it work in an app. Probably the major big difference is that Umbrella has a huge amount of stuff on physical and operational security. Along with psychosocial issues like dealing with PTSD in the field. Our content (like EFF SSD) is CC so available here: https://github.com/securityfirst/Umbrella_content https://github.com/securityfirst/Umbrella_content
- emilburzo 11y ago
  Any particular findings you'd like to share? I'm directly interested as I'm putting together my first resume.
  - nxzero 11y ago
    Every applicant and receiver is different. Point of a resume is to get an invite for an interview. Generally speaking that you'll get/create the most value by knowing as much as possible about the job, company, staff, etc. - and if possible speaking with the hiring manager before providing a resume; it's rare that a company won't want a resume at all. By delaying handing over a resume though, you have the most opportunity to match it to their expectations. Main key is to realize how important your first jobs are to your future success and put a lot of effort into finding the best opportunities possible. Good luck!

bshimmin 11y ago

That's quite a list! I can't really compete at all, apart from to say that I too was rejected by Deloitte, in somewhat amusing circumstances - having negotiated the necessary hoops to get to a final interview, the very nice lady interviewing me asked what should, really, have been a very simple question: "Why do you want to become an accountant?" Sadly some sort of terrible realisation hit me at this point and I froze, looked at her in horror, paused for an eternity before finally answering, "Well, I've always liked numbers!" She looked baffled. I started laughing. She started laughing too (probably, in retrospect, nervously). That was the end of my fledgling career as an accountant.

gohrt 11y ago
On the one hand, that's a bizarre reason to block an applicant. On the other hand, if a trivial setback is enough to make you give up the career, better to get it early. What was the terrible realisation? That you don't want to become an accountant?
- bshimmin 11y ago
  Yeah. I applied for Deloitte because a big-4 accountancy firm ticked the right sort of boxes for someone who'd been to a good school, a good university, got good grades, and was looking for a reasonably prestigious job with decent perks (and had no real idea what they wanted to do). I'm not sure the reality of having to spend the next 30 years going into an office and scheming around Sarbanes-Oxley had really occurred to me right until she asked that question. I should note I have absolutely nothing against accountants!
encoderer 11y ago
What is the appropriate answer, for the aspiring accountants among us?
- princeb 11y ago
  haha. "Let's take a hypothetical view and say, in 7 to 10 years, when I make partner, there might be an opportunity for me to work on an account - a company with an unusual structure, with a novel, ground-breaking business, and unorthodox cashflows arrangements and asset valuations, and as an accountant I am going to write the story to highlight the strengths of the business while being fully cognizant of the risks, and the investors, the stakeholders, business management will appreciate the effort and hard-thinking we put in to make the story relevant and whole. And I want that to happen in my life. but until that time, I know I have to put in the punishing work of auditing [or whatever dept you are applying to]. And I may not find it very enjoyable. Yet if I never take the first step, that end goal I just spoke about will never materialize." you can talk about whatever is cool at that time. nowadays accounting for tech companies is all the rage and the methods for accounting for manufacturing or retail companies are not very relevant. back when I was just wrapping up my degree the Kraft-Nestle merger was the talk of the town. Also don't take my suggestion too seriously - I am not an accountant.
- patrickmclaren 11y ago
  I wouldn't bother with a direct answer to that question.
- tenismyanswer 11y ago
  I love money
  - tomw1808 11y ago
    and Panama.
    - tenismyanswer 11y ago
      And a man, a plan, a canal
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
eyeownyde 11y ago
As someone who had a similar (but less climactic) realization, this is amazing.

nxzero 11y ago

How does Umbrella compare to EFF's SSD content: https://ssd.eff.org/en https://ssd.eff.org/en (And yeah, likely have more rejections, but I automated generating custom resumes, submissions, etc. for some research on how resumes work.)

secfirstmd 11y ago
Clever idea to automate the process! Umbrella actually uses some of the awesome EFF SSD content for some of our digital security stuff. Clearly we've broken a lot of stuff down to make it work in an app. Probably the major big difference is that Umbrella has a huge amount of stuff on physical and operational security. Along with psychosocial issues like dealing with PTSD in the field. Our content (like EFF SSD) is CC so available here: https://github.com/securityfirst/Umbrella_content https://github.com/securityfirst/Umbrella_content
emilburzo 11y ago
Any particular findings you'd like to share? I'm directly interested as I'm putting together my first resume.
- nxzero 11y ago
  Every applicant and receiver is different. Point of a resume is to get an invite for an interview. Generally speaking that you'll get/create the most value by knowing as much as possible about the job, company, staff, etc. - and if possible speaking with the hiring manager before providing a resume; it's rare that a company won't want a resume at all. By delaying handing over a resume though, you have the most opportunity to match it to their expectations. Main key is to realize how important your first jobs are to your future success and put a lot of effort into finding the best opportunities possible. Good luck!