I will say that when you're what is referred to as a "non-traditional IT candidate" you definitely want to look for signs of intellect and open-mindedness, rather than a lockstep conformist type of mentality, in a potential client or employer.
Because when you're the only woman working in a large group of men, which as a woman in a technical field is the way it's been 99% of the time, there is no way you are going to "fit in". Look for people who are smart enough to appreciate that doing the same thing the same way over and over isn't always the best way to move forward...new ideas can pay off. Luckily technology is a field where this "upside-sell" can be very effective. Being a woman in a technical field can be extremely challenging, but it is never boring, and it is a worthy effort to undertake. Kristina Kristina > > It's funny how most of these things are code words for "male." > > Except, actually, not so much funny at all... > > Laura > > > On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 12:50 PM, Kristina D. H. Anderson < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > So in other words, unless the job posting specifically contains the > > exact phrases "foosball", "rock star", "Star Wars trivia" or "we all > > enjoy going out after work together for a beer, and you should really > > want to do that with us"... > > > > I think I'm starting to understand. > > > > Kristina > > > > > > > > > > > > I think it means it's a cohesive group. In some companies nobody > > talks to > > > each other, and it seems what they're saying is that these guys are > > friendly > > > and communicative, which is something I personally consider a big > > plus. > > > > > > V > > > > > > On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Kristina D. H. Anderson < > > > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > I'm wondering what it means to other people on this list when they > > read > > > > something like "This is a group that works and plays well together." > > > > > > > > Does this mean that socializing with co-workers is a requirement of > > the > > > > job? That the office environment is loud and boisterous [see, viz., > > > > other job postings that mention foosball in the office, etc.] and > > that > > > > concentration may therefore be a difficult task? Does it mean that > > > > there is a high value placed on "fitting in" i.e. that the team be > > > > homogeneous and therefore they are probably looking to bring in only > > > > people of a certain "type" to be on the "team"...? > > > > > > > > Your comments and feedback are appreciated and hope that this is in > > the > > > > spirit of sincere discussion about how to read job postings! > > > > > > > > - Kristina > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Agreed all - let's keep comments useful and traffic to a minimum - > > > > not to > > > > > sound like a third grade teacher, but constructive criticism is > > > > welcomed and > > > > > benefits both job hunters and recruiters. Having a good > > discussion > > > > with wit > > > > > is also important, but do remember that this list gets a lot of > > > > traffic for > > > > > a jobs list. > > > > > > > > > > H > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:jobs- > > > > > > [email protected]] On Behalf Of John Schoneboom > > > > > > Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 10:06 AM > > > > > > To: [email protected] > > > > > > Subject: Re: [nyphp-jobs] Senior PHP5 developer - Social media > > > > > > > > > > > > Gotta weigh in on the side of the wise-asses. Brian's comment > > is > > > > well > > > > > > taken and it's true we don't want to discourage job posters. > > On the > > > > > > other hand I think there's equally good if not better value in > > using > > > > > > this network to reality-check with each other once in a while. > > Wise > > > > > > cracks not only keep things a bit fun but they also can reflect > > some > > > > > > truths about the market. I wouldn't sleep well at night > > thinking > > > > the > > > > > > rest of you were unanimously going around thinking of > > yourselves in > > > > > > all earnestness as rockstars out to change the world with your > > > > passion > > > > > > to work 20 hours a day. If we can have the slightest influence > > on > > > > > > employer's expectations by means of our sarcastic feedback, so > > much > > > > > > the better. > > > > > > > > > > > > John > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > > New York PHP Community Jobs Mailing List > > > > > > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs > > > > > > > > > > > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > > > > > > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > > > > > > > > > > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > > > > > > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > New York PHP Community Jobs Mailing List > > > > > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs > > > > > > > > > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > > > > > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > > > > > > > > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > > > > > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > New York PHP Community Jobs Mailing List > > > > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs > > > > > > > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > > > > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > > > > > > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > > > > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > New York PHP Community Jobs Mailing List > > http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs > > > > NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online > > http://www.nyphpcon.com > > > > Show Your Participation in New York PHP > > http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php > > > > ------------------- Kristina D. H. Anderson PHP Application Developer "Building a Better Tomorrow, One Line of Code at a Time" 646 247 4987 _______________________________________________ New York PHP Community Jobs Mailing List http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/jobs NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online http://www.nyphpcon.com Show Your Participation in New York PHP http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php
