Red Canary: Comments on stories by Jessica Lam

Comment Dummy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:23:12 GMT

Hi, I was a plenty of fish user in the UK. I had my profile deleted for reasons that were not given to me. As I am no longer a member of the site I cannot find out what happened and why I was treated in this way. If I had deserved this then I would hold my hands up and plead guilty no problem and disappear. But there is no way of finding out. Im sorry to say that the “moderate” people that are supposed to oversee the running dont want to comment as some other members I know have been muted in the same way.
Thanks

Tim T — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:05:09 GMT

Thanks for the interview, Jess.

There was an iTunes podcast that I thought may be of interest and inspirational to women entrepreneurs and aspiring business leaders. It was an interviewed with Shellye Archambeau (CEO of MetricStream) conducted by the Wharton school of business.

She spoke about how to integrate and mesh the family-work life together. In few cases, she would listen in on a conference call through a Bluetooth headset while exercising on the StairMaster. She also had a “call anytime” policy with her family. If the phone rang during a meeting, she would ask if the call was urgent. If it was urgent, she would then step out. Although she was not always present, she made sure she was always available.

Near the end of the interview, she gave another tip on how to get more time back – paying for help to get chores done. List out tasks that take time but add little personal value to you, then buy those time back. How did she and her husband afford it in the beginning? They put the expense in the budget and managed it.

“The whole concept of Super Mom where you can be excellent at everything all the time does not exist, period. So don’t stress over it. The biggest issue is that we put all this guilt on ourselves, ‘I should be able to do this, other people are doing it.’ They are not! They are just not!”

To find the podcast, go to iTunes, and search for “Shellye Archambeau”.

Tim T — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:05:39 GMT

Hi, Jessica. Thanks for the article.

A number of high ranking Google engineers and product managers have turned away from its perks and joined Facebook in anticipation of an IPO.

This got me thinking if existing job postings from startups should be rewritten less similar to every other 9-to-5, and more similar to that of a roller coaster – highlighting the wealth creation opportunities.

Here’s what Facebook is offering to wrestle Stanford grads from Google. If you want to attract the same talent, you either add to the same perk list, or offer something completely different such as a high valuation within possible reach of an IPO.

***

Facebook rewards its employees with great salaries and options packages, plus numerous benefits and perks:

* Medical, dental and vision plans with no premium for employees
* 401(k) plan
* 21 vacation days per year, plus 8 company holidays
* Day care subsidy for parents
* Complimentary catered breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
* Dry cleaning and laundry service onsite
* Free downtown parking permit
* Subsidized gym membership
* $600/month housing subsidy if you live within one mile of the office
* Your option of 15" Apple MacBook Pro or IBM ThinkPad with large screen LCD monitor

cheryl kuzemko — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:56:21 GMT

I know personally too many people being restructured in early 50’s and can’t find work. They are skill tech professionals where companies are not wanting to hire because of age and cost of what they are worth.

cheryl kuzemko — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:07:14 GMT

I couldn’t agree more, men don’t and society still have not taken our roles serious. I too believe women don’t support women enough to make it happen.

Comment Dummy — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:18:18 GMT

I think it’s fine to do an online reference check using Google, Facebook and other online tools, but recruiters really have to be careful not to let the info they uncover overwhelm the hiring decision. Because, really, how drunk I am on weekends (as surmised by photos on Facebook) does not have anything to do with how I perform on the job. Negativity bias can be very powerful online.

Terence Davidson — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:52:22 GMT

I agree with yourprofile of Ashok. Ashok is a stand-up guy and a rare human being. He used to be my best friend in India during our college years and a short time therefater. I lost touch with him after I came to the US in 1981. But it is good to see that he has not changed his basic values

Trevor Stafford — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:07:40 GMT

In case you don’t know what PHB means (I didn’t) it’s an acronym for Pointy-haired-boss. Here’s a link to the wikipedia entry for it:

“Pointy Haired Boss”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointy-haired_boss

Comment Dummy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:26:33 GMT

I made a hiring mistake…
And I should have known it was going to be a hiring mistake at the interview. He insisted on showing me his collection of Dilbert cartoons that he had pasted in at the end of his datebook, most of which dealt with PHB stupidities.

Trevor Stafford — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:52:00 GMT

That’s priceless! I wish I’d had that one beforehand, I would have made it eleven stories and not ten.

Comment Dummy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:26:23 GMT

(copied from jobs.redcanary.ca)

I once interviewed someone for a development position. I asked them, “I assign you work and give you 5 days to complete it. You finish the assignment in 3 days. What do you do with the extra 2 days?”

Their response: “I’d read a book.”

I clarified with, “What kind of book?” I was hoping they were going to indicate a technical, training or reference book related to the job.

Their response: “A science fiction novel.”

They didn’t get the job.

Comment Dummy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:26:20 GMT

(copied from jobs.redcanary.ca)

25 years ago I went for my first job interview. I’d flown to Vancouver for it and the company allowed me to rent a car. Next morning I got up to go to the interview and the car had been stolen. Later while waiting for my prospective boss to interview me, the receptionist allowed me to use the phone to call 911 and report the theft. The phone was programmed not to allow calls to police, though the receptionist insisted it was. My interviewers arrived and I explained to them what happened. They patiently waited while I called the police from their office which took about 5 – 10 minutes.

I must have impressed them because I got the job