Comment by kstrauser

Comment by kstrauser 3 days ago

One:

You talk about bad situations, not bad people. “Shifting financial realities meant we had to pivot our product deep into the deployment process.” That’s not anyone’s fault. It just happens sometimes. Talk about how your team struggled to deliver success despite a challenging external speed bump.

Two:

Talk kindly about people you can't stand. Your coworker wasn't an asshole. He was an assertive person with a different perspective than yours, and you worked to find common ground so that you could succeed despite your competing visions. Bonus points if you can internalize this mindset and start seeing said assholes as people you merely impersonally disagree with. This makes life much happier.

Don’t lean into the negative. Lean into the positive results you managed to scavenge even with those obstacles. That's what a new boss wants to hear that you're capable of.

Smithalicious 3 days ago

I'd pivot my face deep into an industrial vat of sulfuric acid long before my financial reality can shift enough to make me start talking like that.

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hotdogscout 3 days ago

Pass me the cyanide, these people are ghoulish.

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Y_Y 3 days ago

> Shifting financial realities meant we had to pivot our product deep into the deployment process.

Fwiw, I hate working with people who talk like this, and would much prefer:

"We ended up changing the product at the last minute because we needed the money".

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kstrauser 3 days ago

You've gotta know your audience. Fellow IC techs? Your version. Managers? Demonstrate your ability and willingness to use their jargon.
One isn't better than the other. They're just used by different groups.

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- hotdogscout 3 days ago
  
  Seriously why the silly insuffer theater, demonstrating willingness to perform ritualistic sodomy of your ego?
  
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  kstrauser 2 days ago
  
  Why try to communicate with the people you're asking to pay you a salary using language they're familiar with? Great point. I can't think of a single reason to do that. It’s a great hill to die on.
  
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oarsinsync 2 days ago

You’re saying the same thing that the GP is recommending, just phrasing it differently.
The GP is suggesting to talk about the problem, rather than “the owner blew all the cash on blackjack and hookers, screwing the rest of us in the process.”
The recommendation isn’t corporate speak, the recommendation is to focus on talking about the problem, not the people responsible for the problem.

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- kstrauser 2 days ago
  
  Right. Interviewers do not want to hear blame during the session.
  They very much might want to hear the unedited version afterward once you're their coworker.
  
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mancerayder 3 days ago

As an interviewee, good advice and examples.

As an interviewer, I love open smart people with balanced perspectives. I start half-listening when it sounds like pseudo-positive sales speak. Then again I'm not in California, which may impact the attitude here.

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sshine 3 days ago

Yeah, kill them with kindness.

Moving forward from a bad experience can be difficult, but feeling the need to badmouth means something is holding you back from being great right now, and you’re the one paying the price.

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