Ben1d ago

Edit! A lot of people engaged with this and it's clear many are in the same/similar positions. I therefore thought it might be useful for me to share that Open University offer quite a few free online certified training courses - www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses

There is also a wealth of (free) training material (for learners and teachers) available from MIT at ocw.mit.edu and (free) certified online courses at openlearning.mit.edu/courses-programs/mitx-courses

Everything from HR and management to neurodivergence, aerodynamics and astrophysics, Python, genetics, diversity and inclusion, infosec, STEM, law, Black-centric courses, research methods, languages and education, Scottish Parliament, etc. 😊

If, like me, you've been actively seeking a job recently, you will likely be aware of the impact Ai has had on the job market. Virtually every other day is a msm news story about qualified and/or experienced people making hundreds of applications without getting anywhere.

Personally, although I've had a few interviews that didn't quite land (one I didn't really have enough experience, the others were pulled or lost funding), I've now applied for over 300 jobs over the past year. At this stage I'm quite philosophical about it and recognise it's not a reflection of my value.

Along with all the other current crises, there is now a looming employment and skills crisis. This is being framed as a benefits culture led by overdiagnosis of neurodivergence. Which makes me so very very cross it's difficult to put into words. I know that's not true. You know that's not true. *They* know that's not true. It's just a convenient demographic to throw under the bus to detract from the catastrophic damage being wrought by this new gold rush.

Urgh.

I've started typing this out a few times recently and always deleted. It's not something I feel very comfortable talking about. But I am really struggling with this and I figure that if I am there might be others. And I believe in visibility and not suffering in silence - been there and it was awful.

I know things will change at some point. And I know I've spoken to some of you separately irl about this (and thank you so much for your support), but just wanted to fire a beam out across Fedi to anyone else in this shitty situation. You are not alone. Always happy to chat offline if this is kicking your ass as much as it is mine! X

#jobs
#employment

Show threadMay Likes Toronto1d ago

@TheBreadmonkey The job search process sucks and it's a battle of the AIs on both sides. Meanwhile, the non AI users are getting hit in the crossfire.

It's shit all around. You're a lovely human and I hope that you don't get consumed by the process.

Show threadThe Doctor21h ago

@mayintoronto @TheBreadmonkey In the few interviews I've gotten, I've been told to "do something unexpected" to prove I'm organic while on a call.

Probably not surprisingly, the interviews don't go very far after that.

Show threadMay Likes Toronto21h ago

@drwho When I'm interviewing people, I look for 2 things:
- Can you do the job?
- Do I want to work with you?

Prep stories about how you've done similar jobs, or solved problems about scenarios A/B/C.

Be curious about my work and the people on the team. I'll probably want to work with you if you're not an asshole and are curious.

It's not generally that hard. Unfortunately, you're also up against other people. Keep practicing! You only need to get 1 job every time you go through this!

@TheBreadmonkey

Show threadwall-e

@mayintoronto @drwho @TheBreadmonkey

"Prep stories about how you've done similar jobs, or solved problems about scenarios A/B/C."

I'm always baffled when interviews want this. Isn't that completely useless as a metric?

In the past I'd expect you'd at least mostly get stories/scenarios the interviewee was involved with in some capacity, although you as an interviewer would have a pretty hard time judging to what extent.

Now I'd expect people just ask an LLM to make up some credible scenarios for them, complete with technical walkthrough to answer these kinds of questions.

11:30amWeb
Show threadMay Likes Toronto3h ago

@wall_e @drwho @TheBreadmonkey I mean, sure, if you take the story at face value. You ask questions about the story. Dig deeper about the aspects you care about.

Unless you're interviewing for the government. Then you follow the script.