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> The solution we came up with was to invite people to work on projects for a weekend at no cost other than their time. As in working for you for free, and on

> The solution we came up with was to invite people to work on projects for a weekend at no cost other than their time. As in working for you for free, and on a WE to boot? For a student or someone who is unemployed, that might work. For someone with a job and a family life, I don't think so. Especially if that person can command a $120k+ salary.

danielweber 12y ago
Dude, they get to contribute to the company for free.
- hnnewguy 12y ago
  I almost spit out my coffee when the OP stated "for free", as if not having to pay anything but time, my most valuable asset, was some perk. I'm sure the OP means well, and it may have been a success for them, but I don't know anyone in my circle who would participate in something like this, unless they were utterly desperate for a job. I thought there was a serious talent crunch? Who is courting whom? I wonder what sort of engineers self-select in a process like this?
  - fibbery 12y ago
    Ones that are young enough not to know any better. This is a double-win for a company that only wants to hire 22 year olds anyway, as it avoids having to hide under the hazy fog of "culture fit", and they get free work out of the deal to boot.
  - vonnik 12y ago
    One reason why engineers and companies have trouble discussing the job market is that talented people who know how to craft their resumes don't imagine that any other kind of candidate exists. Unemployed people have lots of time. Understand that and you'll understand why a weekend like this makes sense. One reason they're unemployed is that they don't know how to demonstrate their value. A lot of engineers are actually poor at communicating, and not that great at resumes. This weekend was for them.
- angersock 12y ago
  You can't put a price on that!
- vonnik 12y ago
  See above. We didn't ask them to work for us.
vonnik 12y ago
No. As in working for the common good for free. We invited people to come up with ways to improve the job market, which is clearly broken. Some chose to do that, while others had their own apps already in mind. One group made contactr.io, an extension for Google Chrome that shows you the email addresses of the founders of the company website you're visiting. Another group is working on a project called livelyhood, which will be a sort of LinkedIn 2.0 where candidates can share their work easily. The participants worked for themselves, helped each other, and walked away with a larger network of people who recognized their qualities. This weekend was specifically designed for people whose resumes would not automatically "command" a $120K salary. They were the ones languishing in the slush pile. We held the event on a weekend so that people who already had jobs, albeit jobs they were unhappy with, could join us. If you like your weekends more than good work, then it definitely would not have been the right fit.
- BSousa 12y ago
  > If you like your weekends more than good work, then it definitely would not have been the right fit. Seriously????
LordHumungous 12y ago
So you'd rather do a five hour technical interview than work on a toy project for five hours? Personally I'd rather do the latter.

danielweber 12y ago

Dude, they get to contribute to the company for free.

hnnewguy 12y ago
I almost spit out my coffee when the OP stated "for free", as if not having to pay anything but time, my most valuable asset, was some perk. I'm sure the OP means well, and it may have been a success for them, but I don't know anyone in my circle who would participate in something like this, unless they were utterly desperate for a job. I thought there was a serious talent crunch? Who is courting whom? I wonder what sort of engineers self-select in a process like this?
- fibbery 12y ago
  Ones that are young enough not to know any better. This is a double-win for a company that only wants to hire 22 year olds anyway, as it avoids having to hide under the hazy fog of "culture fit", and they get free work out of the deal to boot.
- vonnik 12y ago
  One reason why engineers and companies have trouble discussing the job market is that talented people who know how to craft their resumes don't imagine that any other kind of candidate exists. Unemployed people have lots of time. Understand that and you'll understand why a weekend like this makes sense. One reason they're unemployed is that they don't know how to demonstrate their value. A lot of engineers are actually poor at communicating, and not that great at resumes. This weekend was for them.
angersock 12y ago
You can't put a price on that!
vonnik 12y ago
See above. We didn't ask them to work for us.

vonnik 12y ago

No. As in working for the common good for free. We invited people to come up with ways to improve the job market, which is clearly broken. Some chose to do that, while others had their own apps already in mind. One group made contactr.io, an extension for Google Chrome that shows you the email addresses of the founders of the company website you're visiting. Another group is working on a project called livelyhood, which will be a sort of LinkedIn 2.0 where candidates can share their work easily. The participants worked for themselves, helped each other, and walked away with a larger network of people who recognized their qualities. This weekend was specifically designed for people whose resumes would not automatically "command" a $120K salary. They were the ones languishing in the slush pile. We held the event on a weekend so that people who already had jobs, albeit jobs they were unhappy with, could join us. If you like your weekends more than good work, then it definitely would not have been the right fit.

BSousa 12y ago
> If you like your weekends more than good work, then it definitely would not have been the right fit. Seriously????

LordHumungous 12y ago

So you'd rather do a five hour technical interview than work on a toy project for five hours? Personally I'd rather do the latter.