Techophilia and Social Progress

Recently, I’ve got through a round of hiring that I feel has been really insightful into the web-development industry. Certainly here in Vancouver anyway. There are lots of people that are working in the industry with a lot of talent. The only difference between many of them and me is I’m the one hiring. Lots of independent contractors, but I guess it’s harder than it looks to attract enough clients to have a steady business.
Now, the only way I recruited was on Craigslist, which I found fantastic. It generated quite a bit of response. The last job I posted for – web developer – got over fifty responses. So that’s cool. But I was astounded at the lack of quality that many of the responses showed.

So here’s some pointers for all you job applicants that are using Craigslist.

1) If you are going to send an application to a company (and I identified mine) take a look at the website first! Mention something that shows you know something about the company.

2) If I ask for something specific, like a resume or title in the subject line, please do it. Following the simple directions in a job ad shouldn’t be the problem that it is.

3) CHECK SPELLING! I read recently that three spelling mistakes are the kiss of death and I would agree. It shows sloppiness and laziness. If you can’t bother to spell check, don’t bother to apply!

4) If you are applying for a job, and you are not sure about it, then save yourself the time by not applying. Unless people are doing it for unemployment insurance, if you don’t have a reasonably good chance, skip it and take the time to really put in a good application to a job you think you do have the skills for.

5) Put in information about skills used and problems faced. I’m not talking about a book here, but giving some details on the types of responsibilities and tasks performed is a good idea. Don’t do the laundry list.

6) Put in a cover letter. I read them and it often helps bridge your resumes to the job. Say things like, “In your job posting you are looking for someone with CSS skills. I have this through many years of blah blah blah.” Don’t say things like, “I would be the perfect candidate for your company” without proving it. One memorable one had copied from a template and said, “I am the perfect candidate for ’s position.” Oops!

7) Let me know what position you are applying for. It’s amazing that I have to read your resume to figure it out, but many times this is true. Say right up front, “I am applying for the position of XYZ.”

Lastly, show some personality. Maybe some people say this is a bad idea, but I think it is really important to show how you are different than others. I’m talking about notes about hobbies that are significant, volunteer stuff. Give me an idea of the rounded person.

Now my mea culpa. In all my previous job rounds, I took the time to write people back to say they didn’t get the position. This time I didn’t. Not sure why. Too many applicants maybe. I wish I had. I did take the time to write back to one of the applicants I interviewed, but maybe I was too up front, as I didn’t hear back from them. Next time maybe, and I really do keep the resumes around!

In a recent conference I was dumbfounded when at a dinner with a bunch of friends and conference attendees, someone who I respect quite a bit mentioned that “Jews control the media”. Her friend immediately chimed in, after seeing my face register the shock, said “don’t be so surprised, it’s true you know!” I literally was shocked dumb. How could two people that, by all accounts, are educated and progressive in so many ways have these racist thoughts?

According to this article by a media professor at John Hopkins university, they are not alone. The idea that “Jews own the media” has been around in North America since 1920, with Henry Ford’s  newspaper spreading the lie through the supposed “Protocols of Zion”, through Nixon’s “satanic Jews” diatribe, continuing today with Marlon Brando’s famous rant on Larry King Live and Mel Gibson’s drunken midnight spew-fest, to far-right Khalid Abdul Muhammad’s radio broadcasts and William Pierce’s books.

The idea that a huge industry like “media” could be controlled by any one group is ridiculous. Many of today’s media giants are huge publically traded multinationals. There are plenty of Jews in the media, but then there are plenty of Jews in all industries. Another article does point out that the largest Jewish population in North America is in Los Angeles and New York, which are also the centres of media. While there are lots of prominent Jews in Hollywood, at 2% of the population, it is not ownership!
I ended up leaving the dinner as I was annoyed at them and couldn’t deal with confronting them. And that’s obviously not a great reaction. I was probably tired as well. So, I’ve taken to reading a lot more and I have knowledge that I will be able to share instead of getting upset. So in future I will be able to address this kind of subtle racism right away.

The Summit 2007 is coming up and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m one of the MC’s again this year and because of the amazing work of Bev Collins of the PCNA and the rest of the organizing committee, it will be fabulous. Check it out at 2007summit.ca!
One cool thing was the video summary from last year. John Kerr from Tatlayoko Think Tank edited it up. I managed to run away every time he came around with the camera, but you can see it here in the comments.