Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Brandie Tarvin (2/5/2015)


    Sioban Krzywicki (2/5/2015)


    Grant Fritchey (2/5/2015)


    Jack Corbett (2/5/2015)


    I'm going to be maybe a bit contrary, but maybe not. Being a person of less than average height I tend to notice height when I go into a company and I've definitely been in places where the appearance is that they prefer to hire taller people (I'm not talking about the NBA), and I've noticed in my current position that there aren't as many taller people in IT, in fact most people are 5' 7" or shorter. My point is that sometimes you notice things because of who you are and your history, when in fact the other people involved haven't consciously factored in what you are seeing in their decision making.

    Until my current position I haven't really been involved in interviewing, but I'm pretty heavily involved now and in my 11 months at this job I've been involved in 11 or 12 interviews. The questions I ask are technical that relate to the job being filled and how they keep up technically. I base cultural fit on how they answer the questions and react to my follow-up questions (not scripted). I personally could care less about their political, cultural, and religious views beyond how I believe they way they represent those views will affect their ability to do the job. I'm considered by some people to be a very religious person because I attend church every Sunday and I'm involved beyond just attendance, but, unless someone else brings it up, I'm not going to talk about it beyond a, "I'm not available because I have church responsibilities". But in an interview I would have a problem with someone who may share my beliefs, but thinks that work is the place to proselytize because that IS going to cause problems in the workplace. Would I appreciate having someone at work that shares my beliefs so that I'd have a common bond with, sure, but it isn't the primary thing. I can even work with Yankee fans.

    Really? Yankees fans? Are they even human?

    About the same as Red Sox or Pats fans.

    HEY! My Dad is a Sox fan! ... I can't remember which Sox team, though. The only thing I know for sure is it isn't the government's SOX that he's a fan of. @=)

    Hey, at least they aren't Cowboys fans.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
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    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • My problem is my mouth. I tend to say things I should not and do not really mean as derogatory. I do not care what race/religion/orientation a person is as long as they do not "hit me over the head" with the fact. I try to see people for who they are and think of them accordingly. Yes I do have preconceived ideas, but that is from my upbringing and I try not listen to that part of my brain as I know it is mostly wrong.

    I once made a mistake by questioning why a secretary was doing engineering, turns out she had just been working as a secretary to pay for engineering school. Since then (many, many years ago) I try and judge people by what they are saying/doing now.

    The hard part is to separate the talkers from the doers.

  • Sioban Krzywicki (2/5/2015)


    Grant Fritchey (2/5/2015)


    Brandie Tarvin (2/5/2015)


    So I just got a workplace reminder to wear red tomorrow because of National Red Day[/url].

    I didn't even know this was a thing, but it is. Wanna participate?

    Eh. I wear red all the time. I am, officially, a red shirt. Which is why I don't like away teams.

    You must like Next-Gen and DS9 much better.

    DS9. Abso-frackin-lutely.

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  • Part of the problem with "ignoring race/gender/orientation/trans" is that you end up also ignoring the history that has caused the imbalance and problems in the first place. If you ignore gender, you also ignore how women have been pressured out of tech. If you ignore race, you ignore how POC get fewer resources in their education and fewer opportunities overall. If you ignore LGBT "status" you're ignoring how it was illegal to be known as one until very recently. Trans people are still extremely vulnerable today as far as employment goes.

    For all of these groups, they've historically been denied resources and opportunities and access that is still visible in schools and workplaces today. Just ignoring it doesn't address any of it, it allows the current societal imbalances to continue. It has to be taken into account. I think it is worth the risk to give people a chance. It may make us uncomfortable, but we'll all be better for it in the long run.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Sioban Krzywicki (2/5/2015)


    Part of the problem with "ignoring race/gender/orientation/trans" is that you end up also ignoring the history that has caused the imbalance and problems in the first place. If you ignore gender, you also ignore how women have been pressured out of tech. If you ignore race, you ignore how POC get fewer resources in their education and fewer opportunities overall. If you ignore LGBT "status" you're ignoring how it was illegal to be known as one until very recently. Trans people are still extremely vulnerable today as far as employment goes.

    For all of these groups, they've historically been denied resources and opportunities and access that is still visible in schools and workplaces today. Just ignoring it doesn't address any of it, it allows the current societal imbalances to continue. It has to be taken into account. I think it is worth the risk to give people a chance. It may make us uncomfortable, but we'll all be better for it in the long run.

    When I talk about ignoring I did not mean that I ignore the fact that there are laws that say a company needs to hire a percentage of people even though more qualified people are available. :ermm:

    Sorry. What I meant is on an every day person to person level not a hire level. If we cannot treat everyone with respect upon meeting then how can we start to correct problems.

    I also believe throwing money at a problem does not make it go away. Feed, cloth and teach a child for 12 years then turn them out to no jobs is not a solution.

  • djj (2/5/2015)


    Sioban Krzywicki (2/5/2015)


    Part of the problem with "ignoring race/gender/orientation/trans" is that you end up also ignoring the history that has caused the imbalance and problems in the first place. If you ignore gender, you also ignore how women have been pressured out of tech. If you ignore race, you ignore how POC get fewer resources in their education and fewer opportunities overall. If you ignore LGBT "status" you're ignoring how it was illegal to be known as one until very recently. Trans people are still extremely vulnerable today as far as employment goes.

    For all of these groups, they've historically been denied resources and opportunities and access that is still visible in schools and workplaces today. Just ignoring it doesn't address any of it, it allows the current societal imbalances to continue. It has to be taken into account. I think it is worth the risk to give people a chance. It may make us uncomfortable, but we'll all be better for it in the long run.

    When I talk about ignoring I did not mean that I ignore the fact that there are laws that say a company needs to hire a percentage of people even though more qualified people are available. :ermm:

    Sorry. What I meant is on an every day person to person level not a hire level. If we cannot treat everyone with respect upon meeting then how can we start to correct problems.

    I also believe throwing money at a problem does not make it go away. Feed, cloth and teach a child for 12 years then turn them out to no jobs is not a solution.

    I'm talking about beyond what laws require for one thing. I hope you see that I was trying to address this generally and not single you out. While it was prompted by your post, we're all involved in this.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Brandie Tarvin (2/5/2015)


    So I just got a workplace reminder to wear red tomorrow because of National Red Day[/url].

    I didn't even know this was a thing, but it is. Wanna participate?

    Oh HECK NO!

    When I wear my red shirt to work, they think I'm indicating that I want to move over to be the Oracle DBA...

  • Brandie Tarvin (2/5/2015)


    So I just got a workplace reminder to wear red tomorrow because of National Red Day[/url].

    I didn't even know this was a thing, but it is. Wanna participate?

    My son's school is doing this. It has been on my calendar for about a month or so. Thanks for reminding me of why they are doing this. 😉

    I have to say though that they chose a very poor domain name. It is supposed to be Go Red For Women but it reads like Gored For Women. It could be a serial killer site. Maybe not as bad as expertsexchange before they changed to experts-exchange but still. 😛

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  • Sean Lange (2/5/2015)


    Brandie Tarvin (2/5/2015)


    So I just got a workplace reminder to wear red tomorrow because of National Red Day[/url].

    I didn't even know this was a thing, but it is. Wanna participate?

    My son's school is doing this. It has been on my calendar for about a month or so. Thanks for reminding me of why they are doing this. 😉

    I have to say though that they chose a very poor domain name. It is supposed to be Go Red For Women but it reads like Gored For Women. It could be a serial killer site. Maybe not as bad as expertsexchange before they changed to experts-exchange but still. 😛

    That reminds me of campaigns in spanish called "no más violencia" (no more violence), but with the spaces removed it can be read as "only violence" which I'm sure is not the expected message. :hehe:

    Luis C.
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  • Grant Fritchey (2/5/2015)


    Brandie Tarvin (2/5/2015)


    So I just got a workplace reminder to wear red tomorrow because of National Red Day[/url].

    I didn't even know this was a thing, but it is. Wanna participate?

    Eh. I wear red all the time. I am, officially, a red shirt. Which is why I don't like away teams.

    No way for me. In Thailand, "red shirts" means something entirely different.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Front_for_Democracy_Against_Dictatorship

    And don't let the UDD moniker fool you. The last thing that movement is about is democracy.


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  • ... Mark one off, 22 days on the calendar to go. 22 days on the calendar to go, 22 days to go, ...

  • dwain.c (2/5/2015)


    No way for me. In Thailand, "red shirts" means something entirely different.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Front_for_Democracy_Against_Dictatorship

    And don't let the UDD moniker fool you. The last thing that movement is about is democracy.

    The link you provided seems to support that they are about democracy. If they aren't, what are they about?

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • I'm off to SQL Saturday 357 in Cleveland and very much looking forward to having a good time with lots of learning. If anyone hasn't attended one of these before, they're worth a short drive. They're cheap (lunch is about $10) and a pretty wide variety of topics are covered.

    If anyone lives close, it's at Hyland Software tomorrow. https://www.sqlsaturday.com/357/eventhome.aspx Have a great weekend.

  • Ed Wagner (2/6/2015)


    I'm off to SQL Saturday 357 in Cleveland and very much looking forward to having a good time with lots of learning. If anyone hasn't attended one of these before, they're worth a short drive. They're cheap (lunch is about $10) and a pretty wide variety of topics are covered.

    If anyone lives close, it's at Hyland Software tomorrow. https://www.sqlsaturday.com/357/eventhome.aspx Have a great weekend.

    Thought about going, but am not able this weekend. Hope one day they have one in Columbus again.

  • Lynn Pettis (12/12/2014)


    Should have started this a while ago!

    (To the tune 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall)

    ... Mark one off, 78 days to go on the calendar. 78 days to go on the calendar, 78 days to go, ...

    Down to 22 days, doesn't seem like 56 days ago, time really flies!

    😎

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