Negative Score

Based on a real website I stumbled across in my crazed pursuit for a job. Also based on that one time some random person added me on LinkedIn, and it turned out that the person was a complete fake with several logical inconsistencies on their profile (if you're going to scam someone, at least get your grammar and spelling checked up).
But even beyond these, I think I speak for many of the readers here (i.e. the web crawler applications that collect data for RSS and Atom feeds) when I say that our network is generally neglected, just like our tax returns. But unlike our tax returns, your network can get you to some interesting situations. Perhaps not beneficial or easy situations, but you just have to take the good (if any) with the bad...

Time Complexity

For those who aren't familiar with the notation in this week's comic, time complexity (or "Big O Notation") describes the approximate number of computations in a given segment of computer code.

Using this concept, you can see that under the most stressful conditions and when applying for a painfully vague job description, it takes me 320 minutes of non-stop preparation. Inversely, it only takes me 80 minutes to prepare for a well-defined job description with minimal stress levels.

I'd like to think that I'm improving my ability to prepare for job applications with most employment efforts. Frankly, it's hard to say for certain, especially for those times when you never hear back from companies. Those times are generally the worst.

I want the truth!

The world of job interviews is certainly a vicious one. Even the slightest detail or attitude can be thrown against you, which then means you're relying on your clutch skills to talk your way into a more positive mental image. I've had employers question my degree, sometimes the university I attended.
In any case, when your children ask you "What did you do in the greatest war?", you can tell them: I fought. Though if you're gutsy enough, you can also tell them you lost horrendously and have never recovered since. Because at the end of the day, can you actually be better than all the rest? You'd hope so...

Good Advice

Someone once challenged me to think about the long term plan (specifically, 5 years into the future), regardless of whether I found suitable work or not. In most cases, I struggle with these deep and personal questions. But this time...was no different. I still struggled, if not more than ever before.
I think at that point I'd come to the realization that even as I chase after the lucrative prize of a paid job, it would be a classic case of  "the empty pursuit", where people simply aim for the things that they simply don't have. A very problematic mindset, and one which I hope I'll still think about in months later.

This encounter was about 2 weeks ago. I (still) think it would have been suitable last week, but then again, who doesn't like a good Halal Snack Pack?

Lunch Interview Food Matrix

Confused about what to order at your next lunch interview? Don't want to look like an idiot in front of the CIO (Chief Information Officer)? Are you hungry...FOR A JOB?!
Then you've come to the right place, pal! Follow this intrinsic guide to foods you might want to order at a lunch interview according to their cost and social elegance, partly inspired from other culinary experiences in the past.
I ordered a Steak Sandwich with Potato Wedges at the last one I went to. I could've ended worse, as with many things. But, had I followed this easy 3 x 3 matrix to success, I could've look just that little bit more sophisticated. After all, a lunch interview isn't actually about the lunch at all, in the big scheme of things...