The difference between advice and advise is that advice is a noun (I am giving you advice.) and advise is a verb (I advise you to be careful.) This is true in both US and UK English. Of course, English is a strange language.
I think that the questions about your passion for programming probably stemmed from the interviewer's experience with programmers turned testers. The general notion among managers is that programmers who turn testers are either very bad programmers who have been steered into testing to keep them away from programming, or are just trying out testing as a stopgap while they find a programming job elsewhere.
When I worked for Searchspace years ago, my boss was about to fire a programmer who wasn't any good at it. He called me into his office and offered him to me as a tester. I told him "So you want me to take a bad programmer and make him into a good tester?" I told him that I wasn't interested in that particular task
You should keep searching for the reasons why you job-hop and for positive reasons why you will continue in a job. I'll light a candle for you today at church.
argh.. i was replying via email just now when the wrong combination of keys erased it all off again.
in a way, yes, those who switched from programming to testing had their reasons for doing so. 1 elderly tester I knew switched 'cos she did not want long hours at work. Another middle-aged Indian national lady said she did programming for 1-2years and decided to do testing instead. I had a different reason too.
But those were not what prompted them to show me to the door. For both interviews, I did some revising and reading up. I thought I was prepared.
At the first interview, my technical knowledge was very much challenged, and I did not impress them much with what I did at work so far. They gave me a hands-on test to build a new system and went off. I had been very much used to handling the maintenance of a system, and little exposure to making a new system alive. I did not tell them this though, and ended up scouring the internet for samples. But alas, I never set up new systems in my computer before and had trouble with it, and I spent quite a while on it. And it resulted in a less than satisfactory system. Initially, I thought "new system vs maintenance" was probably the cause of my bad performance.
But at the 2nd interview, I had done reading up as well. But the questions on the paper turned out much more difficult than I expected. And I also had to check for answers online. Then 2 persons came in and asked some challenging technical questions. I fumbled on some questions too. They got undecided and the technical lead came in. He asked for my introduction since my graduation days. And what I did since quitting. When I was done, he summed up, saying that if programming was truly my passion, I would have breathed it, had it in my mind, and always interested in it every moment of the day.
I agreed with how he phrased it. Programming could have been my passion for a few years of my life. Unfortunately, I did not stay on long enough. Now, I am starting to lose my grip on it.
These being said, my options are still pretty open. But the 2 interviews did affect me a lot.
Anyway, a few months ago, when I was still working, I had an interview. The interviewer sounded alright with my skills, but held back as he was not sure if I could stay on the job. At that point, I had not managed to come up with reasons that could make me stay.
But now, I have managed to come up with those reasons / factors that could make me stay on. Although I never had the chance to bring them up.
I will perhaps mention these to my counselor. I will make an urgent appointment with her when the week starts tomorrow.
It sounds like you are thinking about the things you need to consider before applying for further jobs.
I know that the previous 2-3 interviews weren't particularly good for you. Learn the lessons they teach you and move on. I had an interview with a company in Slough (far NW of the London area, hard to get to) and after a minute or two I told them, "You are looking for someone with skills I don't have. The recruiter must have sent me here on the off chance that I could do this job." We then had a pleasant chat and I left.
Good luck with the counselor. I'm sure you'll get through this.
Yup, I indeed had thought of what will make me stay in my next job.
Sigh. Yes, those interviews were not too good for me. They kind of crushed the confidence I had before entering the interview room. One of the interviews was with a company I had worked in before, and I had met 1 of the 2 interviewers while I was in that job too. After the interview, I remarked to that person this time was much harder than the last one. He commented that both have different project requirements.
Both interviews presented challenges to me, in terms of the technical side. I can of course take it in the good way, and try to improve my knowledge further. But I seriously don't know how well it can work out. I had a bad career history. Chances to get interviews are far and few.
The one that sounded hopeful had some testing, little coding, and more of coordination work between various parties and understanding of the govt agency's business processes. I thought I may have luck with these, but openings for such positions seem so few. Perhaps I'll discuss this with my counselor too, to see if I need to focus on anything.
I am really surprised that you were so frank at the interview! I thought, generally, everyone will try to impress at the interview and leave the impression that, they are willing to learn new skills.
Thank you so much for the luck. It's an ordeal that I will get over. I just need to find out and learn how to. I will come out stronger.
Oh yeah, what did "light a candle for me" mean? You mentioned it earlier, but I forgot to ask about it.
Thanks, lighting up of the candle is very much appreciated :)
I also headed down to the temple and prayed fervently for my career, hoping that I can get good news this thursday. As I prayed, tears (of regret?) rolled down.
I think that the questions about your passion for programming probably stemmed from the interviewer's experience with programmers turned testers. The general notion among managers is that programmers who turn testers are either very bad programmers who have been steered into testing to keep them away from programming, or are just trying out testing as a stopgap while they find a programming job elsewhere.
When I worked for Searchspace years ago, my boss was about to fire a programmer who wasn't any good at it. He called me into his office and offered him to me as a tester. I told him "So you want me to take a bad programmer and make him into a good tester?" I told him that I wasn't interested in that particular task
You should keep searching for the reasons why you job-hop and for positive reasons why you will continue in a job. I'll light a candle for you today at church.
Hugs.
Reply
in a way, yes, those who switched from programming to testing had their reasons for doing so. 1 elderly tester I knew switched 'cos she did not want long hours at work. Another middle-aged Indian national lady said she did programming for 1-2years and decided to do testing instead. I had a different reason too.
But those were not what prompted them to show me to the door. For both interviews, I did some revising and reading up. I thought I was prepared.
At the first interview, my technical knowledge was very much challenged, and I did not impress them much with what I did at work so far. They gave me a hands-on test to build a new system and went off. I had been very much used to handling the maintenance of a system, and little exposure to making a new system alive. I did not tell them this though, and ended up scouring the internet for samples. But alas, I never set up new systems in my computer before and had trouble with it, and I spent quite a while on it. And it resulted in a less than satisfactory system. Initially, I thought "new system vs maintenance" was probably the cause of my bad performance.
But at the 2nd interview, I had done reading up as well. But the questions on the paper turned out much more difficult than I expected. And I also had to check for answers online. Then 2 persons came in and asked some challenging technical questions. I fumbled on some questions too. They got undecided and the technical lead came in. He asked for my introduction since my graduation days. And what I did since quitting. When I was done, he summed up, saying that if programming was truly my passion, I would have breathed it, had it in my mind, and always interested in it every moment of the day.
I agreed with how he phrased it. Programming could have been my passion for a few years of my life. Unfortunately, I did not stay on long enough. Now, I am starting to lose my grip on it.
These being said, my options are still pretty open. But the 2 interviews did affect me a lot.
Anyway, a few months ago, when I was still working, I had an interview. The interviewer sounded alright with my skills, but held back as he was not sure if I could stay on the job. At that point, I had not managed to come up with reasons that could make me stay.
But now, I have managed to come up with those reasons / factors that could make me stay on. Although I never had the chance to bring them up.
I will perhaps mention these to my counselor. I will make an urgent appointment with her when the week starts tomorrow.
Reply
I know that the previous 2-3 interviews weren't particularly good for you. Learn the lessons they teach you and move on. I had an interview with a company in Slough (far NW of the London area, hard to get to) and after a minute or two I told them, "You are looking for someone with skills I don't have. The recruiter must have sent me here on the off chance that I could do this job." We then had a pleasant chat and I left.
Good luck with the counselor. I'm sure you'll get through this.
Reply
Sigh. Yes, those interviews were not too good for me. They kind of crushed the confidence I had before entering the interview room. One of the interviews was with a company I had worked in before, and I had met 1 of the 2 interviewers while I was in that job too. After the interview, I remarked to that person this time was much harder than the last one. He commented that both have different project requirements.
Both interviews presented challenges to me, in terms of the technical side. I can of course take it in the good way, and try to improve my knowledge further. But I seriously don't know how well it can work out. I had a bad career history. Chances to get interviews are far and few.
The one that sounded hopeful had some testing, little coding, and more of coordination work between various parties and understanding of the govt agency's business processes. I thought I may have luck with these, but openings for such positions seem so few. Perhaps I'll discuss this with my counselor too, to see if I need to focus on anything.
I am really surprised that you were so frank at the interview! I thought, generally, everyone will try to impress at the interview and leave the impression that, they are willing to learn new skills.
Thank you so much for the luck. It's an ordeal that I will get over. I just need to find out and learn how to. I will come out stronger.
Oh yeah, what did "light a candle for me" mean? You mentioned it earlier, but I forgot to ask about it.
Reply
Reply
I also headed down to the temple and prayed fervently for my career, hoping that I can get good news this thursday. As I prayed, tears (of regret?) rolled down.
Reply
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