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1. The photos in that post are really distracting. 2. "We're trying to build a team here, not hire individuals." I can't stress how important this is, and how
by mikece 7y ago
1. The photos in that post are really distracting.
2. "We're trying to build a team here, not hire individuals." I can't stress how important this is, and how many companies SAY this in the interview and then do jack squat to foster a team environment once someone is hired. It's also hard in an industry where individual merits matter so much and we all know that our individual skills are such we can walk and be hired somewhere else immediately: the motivation for individuals to become team players can be lacking, especially when it's not made clear what the benefits of being a team player will be.
- jurassic 7y ago> 1. The photos in that post are really distracting. It says something to me that your top feedback on this piece is about a woman having a visual presence on her own blog.
- ahaferburg 7y agoThe photos have nothing to do with the article. At all. They aren't even memes that try to make the point funny. They're just pointless and distracting. What's next, eating bananas? Edit: Actually, it doesn't even matter. I also block Spolsky's image at the table tennis table. I don't like feeling watched while reading. So I don't like photos of people looking at me. Maybe I'm just weird.
- antisemiotic 7y ago>Actually, it doesn't even matter. I also block Spolsky's image at the table tennis table. That picture isn't even that bad, the one that shows up in firefox's recently viewed, with him making a creepy smile, is way worse.
- shantly 7y ago> I also block Spolsky's image at the table tennis table. Oh wow, that one bugs the hell out of me. Never occurred to me there was a Hating Awkward Kinda-Narcissistic Photos On Blogs movement. Though it was just me.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- ramblerman 7y agoIt says more that you made it about gender. I found them distracting too.
- majkinetor 7y agoStopped reading after 2nd photo. Not only distracting, its intelectually insulting. The premise of entire article is. Must be a chick thing ... :S https://youtu.be/OgmGzpIs-XU?t=100 https://youtu.be/OgmGzpIs-XU?t=100
- dang 7y agoPlease don't post flamebait to HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- majkinetor 7y agoAaargh, I am only human...
- astura 7y agoNo... It's distracting because it doesn't make sense. It's a post about hiring technical staff full of pictures of a woman eating ice cream - it makes no sense. If it was a post about setting up a JavaScript framework filled with pictures of chimpanzees dancing it would be just as distracting. Also the half-eaten one grossed me out.
- irrational 7y agoIt's the ice cream, not the woman. Why so much ice cream? It's creepy.
- commandlinefan 7y ago... and why does she have so many pictures of her eating ice cream? Did she take these pictures just for this blog entry, or does that just happen to be the only pictures she has of herself?
- shantly 7y agoThe implied, broader story of the photos is definitely part of what makes it weird.
- ideonexus 7y agoSince there are multiple complaints about the photos in this thread, I think I should point out that the photos appear to be a metaphor for the hiring process. All of those highly-diverse ice cream cones look dazzlingly yummy, but we can only pick one. It's totally okay if you didn't get the metaphor... there's lot's of symbolism that goes over my head in lots of media, but I don't think it's fair to say the photos aren't relevant to the content.
- _bxg1 7y agoAlso, they're fun and serve to lighten the tone
- throwaway_law 7y ago>I should point out that the photos appear to be a metaphor for the hiring process I took it more along the lines of a metaphor of the power dynamic of the interviewee/hiring manager. Whereas the interviewee may be stressed and concerned about getting a job to put food on the table to feed their family or keep a roof over their head, the person in power doesn't give a shit about you...its all about them and their desire, which happens to be eating ice cream while flexing their power to deny you a job. In the authors own words: >Why take the outcome personally? Yeah why take the outcome of your career and livelihood personally
- gwbas1c 7y agoI've screened a lot of people for technical roles. When I reject someone: It's not about me, it's about your ability to do the job. Getting a technical job is like dating: I had to interview at a lot of different companies before I chose the company that I work at. It took me about 6 weeks, full-time, to find my current role. Software engineering involves some learned skills, but also an aptitude that can not be learned. The same is true for athletics, musicianship, entrepreneurship, ect. If you're frustrated in your job search, it may be time to evaluate both the kind of career you're trying to have, the lifestyle it affords. Sometimes making ends meet means living more frugally with a more appropriate career.
- danieka 7y agoI really like the photos. It reminds me of the internet how I remember it before it was taken over by the mono-culture of social media. Where blogs was a means of personal expression. She (I assume) doesn't care if the photos turns a few people away, because that's the way she choose to write the blog post. I miss people just expressing who they are with all their quirks and originality. I feel that the internet is too bland these days. Or maybe I should just stop frequenting medium.com....
- Erwin 7y agoIt reminds of the days of Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing, when everything was possible and even dogs could build websites: https://philip.greenspun.com/panda/ https://philip.greenspun.com/panda/
- irrational 7y agoThe photos really creeped me out. I like ice cream too, but sometimes there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
- itronitron 7y agoI am under the impression that she eats an ice cream cone when interviewing candidates.
- K0SM0S 7y ago“We found that interviewing at Ben&Jerry's removes most of our circadian bias (a.k.a. how an empty stomach turns us back into evil predators), while reducing candidates anxiety.”
- Juliate 7y agoPerhaps the photos are an unusual way (to you) to convey the same (augmented) message of the text they sideline. Only, you don't know how to read them. And that distracts you. It makes sense/speaks to me, in a reassuring way. And it reminds me how the web was, a few years ago, so free from judgement in how "messages are supposed to look such or such".
- missosoup 7y ago> And it reminds me how the web was, a few years ago The web was never a place where technical blogs included vapid selfies. There'd be a bio pic at the most. What message do the vapid selfies convey on this page? What sense do they make to you that others are missing out on?
- umvi 7y ago> The photos in that post are really distracting. It was as if you were reading along and then every paragraph your coworker would tap you on the shoulder and shout "ice cream!"
- matt_heimer 7y agoMaybe I'm reading to much into it but they seem to be purposefully chosen. * 3-tier ice cream cone - fancy club * vanilla ice cream - looking for scarcity * multi-flavor ice cream cone - assembling a team * giant scope with tons of flavors and toppings - different level * 3 scopes with one on the side - team fit * just a cone - low bar
- flycaliguy 7y agoYou’re hired.