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What did you do this week (and weekend)?
As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!
After scouring their Careers page for months now, Cox is finally hiring for residential broadband technicians. I had applied for another position shortly before this one opened up, hoping I would at least meet enough of the requirements for an interview. That unfortunately didn't happen, but I actually received an email from a real person (as opposed to their automated email) saying that while I wasn't a great fit for that position, they wanted me to apply for the Resi Broadband Position (that I already applied for days prior). I told them I already had, and they told me when interviews were taking place, and even when the training classes start! Cox has training classes at certain times of the year, I guess. It's not just training year round.
After working for a subcontractor for about 2 years I am more than stoked to actually work in-house. My current company is nice enough, but it's a dead-end job. They've been dangling lead tech position over my head for months stating that "we need more techs first" when we seem to lose technicians at the same rate we hire them.
Cox actually has a ladder to climb and they promote from within constantly. It's not quite as glamorous as what some people on here are up to, but I'm beyond excited. The fact that someone actually reached out to me instead of only receiving correspondence via automated email has my hopes up. Hopefully I can actually start earning some real money; money to buy a house.
As someone who is currently job searching: Getting that human email feels so good. Congrats, they must like you a decent amount if they reached out to have you apply for a different job!
That's what I though, too! Still hopelessly nervous, though. It's better pay, better hours, better schedule, everything I need right now after my rent increased. Best of luck to you and your job search! Shit sucks :(.
After a grueling week at a job I don't like, while applying for jobs, I take a certification test tomorrow. It's the culmination of two+ years of work that will hopefully pay off with better career opportunities so that I can finally start living again.
I sent applications for two jobs, which doesn't sound like much but honestly, with the way the prospect of employment in my area makes me anxious, I'm counting it as a win.
Honestly though, what's with job requirements in software development? Almost all the entry-level jobs require years of experience and definitely sound like stuff a recent graduate (like me!) wouldn't be able to work on just like that.
I feel like I've missed something.
Don't worry too much, many of us with 10 years of experience in the industry wonder what's with those jobs requirements as well. One explanation is that job postings are often written with a best case scenario in mind, sometimes to an extreme extent. I find that companies are sometimes shameless in their declarations that they would love paying a low wage to someone who is experienced if that person will let them.
Whether it harms your chances or not is dependent on many factors behind the scene and in the job market at large, many of which are mysteries to you. However, it gets easier over time to identify good opportunities and learn the corporate code-speak used in job postings.
When in doubt, apply for jobs that you are not "fully" qualified for, if you believe you would genuinely be a good fit.
Good luck with your search! And two applications is definitely a win in my book. I don't apply to many jobs at a time, I spend more time identifying the most appropriate postings and helpful recruiters than I do actually applying to jobs. Quality over quantity works better for me - though, as a disclaimer, I work in a niche corner of the tech industry and that may have a lot to do with it.
When a company puts a shopping list of requirements up for a position, do your homework on what the company actually does. Then target your resumé to emphasize what seem like the most probable day-to-day skills needs for the role, not necessarily checking every box. When I've gone job hunting, that usually gets me in the door for interviews.
This is great information, thank you.
One of my issues is that, since I don't have actual work experience, I don't know exactly what I would like to do and what I am capable of. I guess web dev is where I am most comfortable, but is that what I want to do?
There's a lot of lack of confidence on my part so I don't know what I would be a good fit for. I have been trying for jobs that "sound ok" but that's very much vibes-based when reading the posting.
I spent a week in Bremen attending a conference on metal sintering and additive manufacturing companies.
My company came joint second in the components contest for our passive 3D printed heatsink that increased the thermal performance of the CPU by 15% vs a standard heatsink made of copper: ours is made of aluminium and is a noticeable amount lighter and is CO2 footprint has a considerable reduction too!
Looking forward to working on more impressive applications in future!
Work is work, but it's been a week of gustatory hedonism. Spouse brought home fresh oysters for my birthday, a rare and delightful treat.
We also went to two wine tastings at the local wine shop - wines from Georgia (the country), and a sake selection from a boutique California sake maker that uses U.S.-grown rice in a traditional Japanese sake brewery.
The Georgian wines ranged from interesting-but-unpleasant to brilliant. Aside from the fermentation in traditional earthenware vessels (qvevri), Georgian wines use wild yeast and long fermentations with grape skins included. It's the oldest wine culture in the world, with thousands of small-holding wineries.
The Georgian grape varietals we tasted are ancient and used nowhere else - Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane (white) and Saperavi (red).
Rkatsiteli/Mtsvane is a common white field blend. We tried a pétillant naturel skin-fermented Rkatsiteli/Mtsvane which was one of the oddest wines I've ever tasted. Not discernably fruity at all, barely effervescent, more herbal, vegetal, and with a weirdly resinous, almost chemical aftertaste that's just a more intense version of what I don't usually care for in skin-fermented wines. Some of the tasters loved it, though, and the distributor's representative indicated it was a traditional favorite in Georgia.
A differently handled Rkatsiteli/Mtsvane blend, Dilao, is a beautiful, refreshing, elegant and moderately priced dry table white that's widely available - get it if you can.
Guardians unblended Rkatsiteli was also quite good and available, but I liked the more complex Dilao better.
We tried a boutique late harvest Rkatsiteli/Mtsvane. Fermented to dryness, with concentrated intensity. I liked it better than the pet-nat - the fruit aromatics and herbal notes were more prominent, but it still had weirdly varnish-y tannins for my taste. I could see getting a taste for it, like Greek retsina, but not at that price.
The Saperavi reds are favorites. Bright red currant/cherry and sweet ripe fig notes, ending with bold spice and rounded cocoa/coffee tannins, as fresh as Beaujolais but with more body and tannin, fantastic with food. Guardians Saperavi has broad U.S. distribution and is really a treat.
There was a boutique aged Saperavi that I loved, but wouldn't justify the cost for - there's too much inexpensive good Shiraz that fits the same flavor profile and culinary niche.
The distributor also had a Teliani Valley semi-sweet Saperavi (Kindzmarauli). I don't enjoy sweet wine much, but this was a quintessential good "pizza red", with balanced fruit and tannins - made to go with tomato sauces, heavy spices, and high fat content foods.
The sake tasting was three junmai daiginjo (super-premium quality, made from rice milled to remove everything but the pure rice starch endosperm) sakes from Uka Sake. I'm not a sake connoisseur (or any kind of connoisseur, really, I just like discovery). But these were eye-opening to me.
We were practically alone with the distributor representative, and he was only too delighted to expound on sake-making, the virtues of the Uka products, the role of sake in modern and traditional Japanese culture, how Japan places sake with food (not pairing, but just consumed with the complicated array of vegetable, fish, and meat dishes that constitutes a Japanese meal).
Going to stop here - I know I'm going overboard on a "what did you do this week" entry and should probably just post this in ~food.
We also went to an exhibition reception at the local museum - the new artwork was exciting, but it was hard to enjoy it contemplatively at a crowded event.
Finally got my resume together! Very happy with the result, and I'm excited to find a new software engineering job after over a decade with the same company. It's also a bit scary - I'm trying to end my longest relationship ever (this job).
It's been a busy and stressful week at work - both in my normal job and in my role as a union leader for our bargaining units, but I'm fortunate to have been able to travel the 600 miles or so back to my home town and state for the weekend.
My partner and I will be attending a big family picnic later today where we'll celebrate my grandmother's 93rd birthday and she'll be so happy to have all the kids and grandkids (and great grandkids now... boy we're getting old). So I'm feeling very fortunate and lucky that I have the ability to visit with her and just listen to some of her stories for a while. Even though I'll have to make that 600 mile trip all over again tomorrow to get back for work on Monday, it's nice to have a little bit of time to spend with family and old friends.
Second week of the new school year at uni. Last year, I started getting in the habit of studying in my own time, something which I found very difficult in the past. I was worried I would drop it going inro the new year but I've already managed to get back into it!
I took some of that time to start a game dev learning project... again. I've struggled in the past trying to stick to self-study on game dev because I'm doing it alone and unguided. After developing the habit, though, sticking to courses has been easier and I feel more confident doing an actual project, on my own terms. So far, I've been working the code structure and it's going okay!
My partner has a weekend date with a new friend, so I'm planning on staying in, doing some cooking, maybe some baking, and trying to catch up on some gaming. Next week is going to be extremely stressful and require me to be on top of a dozen moving pieces (while managing the people who should be managing their own projects) so I'm looking forward to this little lull before the storm.