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Doing the bare minimum at work isn’t “not trying” in your life. It’s not even “not trying” at work. It’s just trying the agreed upon amount.

sokoloff 2y ago
Thought experiment: tell the interviewer you “plan to do the bare minimum at work”. If that harms your chance to be hired, that’s evidence that the status quo agreement isn’t that.
- ToxicMegacolon 2y ago
  I tell the interviewer that "I will go above and beyond to fulfill my duties". For me "Above and beyond" means that I will try to show up for work and will at least pretend to be interested.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  “Oh yes, we value work-life balance. We’re like a family here!” Both parties lie in an interview. It’s a dance.
  - smugma 2y ago
    I often hear and also tell people “take vacation when you want, we will work around it. Don’t work on vacation.” That’s the bare minimum, no gold star for that. But also “working the weekends should be the exception, not the norm.” This seems normal at most FANGs/big companies. People also have a lot of choice around when to come in, leave, and have a hybrid in office policy. Where are the lies?
- lm28469 2y ago
  As if companies were straight with you lol, they're experiencing their own poison
- paulcole 2y ago
  A job interview isn’t an exchange of true statements. It’s a game with each player having different goals. Whichever side you’re on, your goal is to win.
  - thfuran 2y ago
    And as an interviewer, winning means not hiring the sort of person who's going to do the absolute bare minimum, because then you'd have to suffer through working with them.
    - paulcole 2y ago
      Yes and your goal also isn’t to hire a person who’s so ambitious and such a go-getter that they’ll hate your dysfunctional organization and leave super fast.
    - greenyoda 2y ago
      Hiring someone who works competently and efficiently for eight hours a day could be better for the company than hiring someone who works twice as long but is not as competent or focused.
      - sokoloff 2y ago
        Of course! My experience is people who have the attitude of doing the bare minimum do not have “works competently and efficiently for eight hours a day” as a target in mind when they say that. For a lot of engineering work, competent and diligent for 30 hours per week could easily out-perform 40.

sokoloff 2y ago

Thought experiment: tell the interviewer you “plan to do the bare minimum at work”. If that harms your chance to be hired, that’s evidence that the status quo agreement isn’t that.

ToxicMegacolon 2y ago
I tell the interviewer that "I will go above and beyond to fulfill my duties". For me "Above and beyond" means that I will try to show up for work and will at least pretend to be interested.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ceejayoz 2y ago
“Oh yes, we value work-life balance. We’re like a family here!” Both parties lie in an interview. It’s a dance.
- smugma 2y ago
  I often hear and also tell people “take vacation when you want, we will work around it. Don’t work on vacation.” That’s the bare minimum, no gold star for that. But also “working the weekends should be the exception, not the norm.” This seems normal at most FANGs/big companies. People also have a lot of choice around when to come in, leave, and have a hybrid in office policy. Where are the lies?
lm28469 2y ago
As if companies were straight with you lol, they're experiencing their own poison
paulcole 2y ago
A job interview isn’t an exchange of true statements. It’s a game with each player having different goals. Whichever side you’re on, your goal is to win.
- thfuran 2y ago
  And as an interviewer, winning means not hiring the sort of person who's going to do the absolute bare minimum, because then you'd have to suffer through working with them.
  - paulcole 2y ago
    Yes and your goal also isn’t to hire a person who’s so ambitious and such a go-getter that they’ll hate your dysfunctional organization and leave super fast.
  - greenyoda 2y ago
    Hiring someone who works competently and efficiently for eight hours a day could be better for the company than hiring someone who works twice as long but is not as competent or focused.
    - sokoloff 2y ago
      Of course! My experience is people who have the attitude of doing the bare minimum do not have “works competently and efficiently for eight hours a day” as a target in mind when they say that. For a lot of engineering work, competent and diligent for 30 hours per week could easily out-perform 40.