10 ms·

My college professor once said - 'If you are not facing constant rejections, then you are not aiming high enough'

yobbo 5y ago
A counter point; because simple jobs/positions can be filled by almost anyone, they have many applicants and are usually reserved for the network. Aiming higher means fewer candidates, and fewer competitors.
- ChuckNorris89 5y ago
  >Aiming higher means fewer candidates, and fewer competitors. Aiming higher also means fewer opportunities, which means competition is tougher, as many people are also trying to move higher. Kind of like a game of music chairs.
  - yobbo 5y ago
    The game of musical chairs exists at all levels, but at lower levels one has to leverage network, whereas at higher levels it is possible to leverage competence. The advice stays the same, everyone should aim high, but rejection letters are not a meaningful signal.
tombert 5y ago
I had a job where the CTO of the company said "obviously none of us want to be woken up at three in the morning for a production issue, but if we're never being paged then we're probably moving too slow." He was very big on the "it's ok to break production, just don't make same mistake twice" mantra, which I like.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  "if we're never being paged then we're probably moving too slow" Or you are at a company that respects your time at home and doesn't wake you at 3am. I personally might not even hear the phone.
machiaweliczny 5y ago
I’ve got rejected from DeepMind, OpenAI and Tesla. At least aiming high ;) Gotta fund something on my own I guess.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  While I know these are large companies, why do you think that is aiming high? Is it salary only? Do they treat folks better than other places? Is it just that they are a large company?
  - applgo443 5y ago
    These are companies with probably the best AI talent. I don't think he's going for the highest salary here.

A counter point; because simple jobs/positions can be filled by almost anyone, they have many applicants and are usually reserved for the network. Aiming higher means fewer candidates, and fewer competitors.

ChuckNorris89 5y ago
>Aiming higher means fewer candidates, and fewer competitors. Aiming higher also means fewer opportunities, which means competition is tougher, as many people are also trying to move higher. Kind of like a game of music chairs.
- yobbo 5y ago
  The game of musical chairs exists at all levels, but at lower levels one has to leverage network, whereas at higher levels it is possible to leverage competence. The advice stays the same, everyone should aim high, but rejection letters are not a meaningful signal.

tombert 5y ago

I had a job where the CTO of the company said "obviously none of us want to be woken up at three in the morning for a production issue, but if we're never being paged then we're probably moving too slow." He was very big on the "it's ok to break production, just don't make same mistake twice" mantra, which I like.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
"if we're never being paged then we're probably moving too slow" Or you are at a company that respects your time at home and doesn't wake you at 3am. I personally might not even hear the phone.

machiaweliczny 5y ago

I’ve got rejected from DeepMind, OpenAI and Tesla. At least aiming high ;) Gotta fund something on my own I guess.

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
While I know these are large companies, why do you think that is aiming high? Is it salary only? Do they treat folks better than other places? Is it just that they are a large company?
- applgo443 5y ago
  These are companies with probably the best AI talent. I don't think he's going for the highest salary here.