3 ms·

I'll get down voted to hell for this but this post reeks of someone young who hasn't built a lasting business. Fine if you want to IPO and disappear but not so

I'll get down voted to hell for this but this post reeks of someone young who hasn't built a lasting business. Fine if you want to IPO and disappear but not so fine if you want to stick around, take care of your employees and customers. To each their own but if I was interviewing someone who was already talking about how they really want to go work somewhere else - I'd say exactly what he said. Go apply there. Bringing someone into a sustainable business is an investment. They aren't going to show up and be a rock star on day 1, it doesn't work that way. They are going to show up and have to learn how things work at that company and figure out how to fit in and make a difference in that context. That takes time. Learn the code, learn the process, learn the people, learn the customers. Who does that in a day? Nobody. A new employee is maybe useful in a year or so in the world I know. As a hiring manager I know I'm going to use up a year or so of salary before I get any return on my investment. I don't expect people to stay around forever but I want them to stay around long enough that it works out for everyone. This guy didn't sound like a good investment. Just my opinion but I'm running an 18 year old company and my people have been here for at least 8 years, that may have skewed my view of things.

chrisbennet 11y ago
Heaven forbid that you ask for advice before making a major life decision...
- luckydude 11y ago
  Asking advice is fine. Asking if you should have a relationship with this girl because you really want a hotter girl, that's not going to end well when you do it in front of the less hot girl. Commitment is a thing. Even if it is just for now, it's a thing. If you don't get that, oh, well. All the CEO was asking was that the guy committed to his job offer. He didn't, it went away. Right call in my opinion. Yes, hiring is hard, getting good people is hard, I get all of that. I also get the other side of it. Figuring out who to hire is hard. This guy made that choice easy.
  - coryl 11y ago
    What do you mean by this: Commitment is a thing. Even if it is just for now, it's a thing. All the CEO was asking was that the guy committed to his job offer. How do you "commit" to a job offer other than accepting it? Doesn't make much sense.
    - luckydude 11y ago
      You commit. You say I like what you are doing, or you say I like what you are trying to do, and I can help. I'm here to help and I'm going to help. That guy didn't do that, he was thinking about his next job. As a hiring manager what I'd say is don't be that guy. I get that you want more than what I can give you. That's fine. But I'm giving you a job. You need to give back. If you can't get that, you are weird and I don't want to hire you and pretty much everyone doesn't want to hire you.
      - coryl 11y ago
        Huh? Thinking about his next job? Of course he was, what else would he be thinking of? He had offers for both Uber and Zenefits and didn't know which one to take. What are you even saying? If you can't get that, you are weird and I don't want to hire you and pretty much everyone doesn't want to hire you. Are you like trolling or something?
        luckydude 11y ago
        He was thinking about the job after the one he was about to take.
        gknoy 11y ago
        Thinking about the future of one's career seems like one of those things that Everyone has been telling us to think about, in some manner, for our entire lives: - "Keep fresh on skills, because future career needs will arise (at this job or the next)" - "Keep interviewing skills sharp, because we have little control over company loyalty/success" - "Most companies have little loyalty to the cogs within, and it's foolish to expect them to be" Obviously, exceptions exist for such things, but it certainly seems to be the conventional wisdom. Asking which company would be better for one's career, Foo Corp or Bar Inc, seems like the sign of someone who cares about _having_ a career future. Wanting to learn more means that they're critical enough to _care_ about your culture, what they might learn there, etc. This is _especially_ true for someone who does not have personal contacts within those companies. In the hypothetical case where I had an offer from both Google and Facebook at the same time, I'd certainly be trying to find out which would help me grow better as a developer and as a person.

chrisbennet 11y ago

Heaven forbid that you ask for advice before making a major life decision...

luckydude 11y ago
Asking advice is fine. Asking if you should have a relationship with this girl because you really want a hotter girl, that's not going to end well when you do it in front of the less hot girl. Commitment is a thing. Even if it is just for now, it's a thing. If you don't get that, oh, well. All the CEO was asking was that the guy committed to his job offer. He didn't, it went away. Right call in my opinion. Yes, hiring is hard, getting good people is hard, I get all of that. I also get the other side of it. Figuring out who to hire is hard. This guy made that choice easy.
- coryl 11y ago
  What do you mean by this: Commitment is a thing. Even if it is just for now, it's a thing. All the CEO was asking was that the guy committed to his job offer. How do you "commit" to a job offer other than accepting it? Doesn't make much sense.
  - luckydude 11y ago
    You commit. You say I like what you are doing, or you say I like what you are trying to do, and I can help. I'm here to help and I'm going to help. That guy didn't do that, he was thinking about his next job. As a hiring manager what I'd say is don't be that guy. I get that you want more than what I can give you. That's fine. But I'm giving you a job. You need to give back. If you can't get that, you are weird and I don't want to hire you and pretty much everyone doesn't want to hire you.
    - coryl 11y ago
      Huh? Thinking about his next job? Of course he was, what else would he be thinking of? He had offers for both Uber and Zenefits and didn't know which one to take. What are you even saying? If you can't get that, you are weird and I don't want to hire you and pretty much everyone doesn't want to hire you. Are you like trolling or something?
      - luckydude 11y ago
        He was thinking about the job after the one he was about to take.
        gknoy 11y ago
        Thinking about the future of one's career seems like one of those things that Everyone has been telling us to think about, in some manner, for our entire lives: - "Keep fresh on skills, because future career needs will arise (at this job or the next)" - "Keep interviewing skills sharp, because we have little control over company loyalty/success" - "Most companies have little loyalty to the cogs within, and it's foolish to expect them to be" Obviously, exceptions exist for such things, but it certainly seems to be the conventional wisdom. Asking which company would be better for one's career, Foo Corp or Bar Inc, seems like the sign of someone who cares about _having_ a career future. Wanting to learn more means that they're critical enough to _care_ about your culture, what they might learn there, etc. This is _especially_ true for someone who does not have personal contacts within those companies. In the hypothetical case where I had an offer from both Google and Facebook at the same time, I'd certainly be trying to find out which would help me grow better as a developer and as a person.