Painfully accurate comment at a job interview re: Linux users

snowpine · 2012-05-09 00:03:22

I just interviewed at a web design firm:

Q: It says here you have a strong interest in open-source software?

A (hoping to impress): Oh yes, I enjoy learning about Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Drupal, Wordpress, etc. etc. etc.

Q: That's too bad; I have a policy of not hiring Linux users; it hasn't worked out for me in the past.

A (flabbergasted): Really? What happened???

Q: Well, my experience was, they wasted most of their time installing new distributions, compiling software from outside the repositories, and tweaking their config files and desktops... instead of actually completing the work I assigned for them to do.

smile sad smile

dkeg · 2012-05-09 00:38:00

wtf! yikes . Are you serious?? Wow. What'd you say after that. should of told them you smoked too, so when you weren't tweaking, you were outside smoking lol ... fuckers

snowpine · 2012-05-09 00:47:02

I laughed and told him there was a lot of truth to his observation BUT because Linux is my hobby, I'd be doing that stuff in the privacy of my own home, not on company time! smile

(They use Macs, apparently not aware how much OSX owes to 'nix.)

dkeg · 2012-05-09 00:56:07

Good response. Yeah, you would think that the person they would want working for them is truly interested in, passionate about what they do, with what they do it with, and the community they are a part of and contribute too. Eh, their loss. Still, wow, really funny that they said that. Truly classic. I'm still chuckling....
lol lol lol lol

Last edited by dkeg (2012-05-09 00:56:39)

mahatman2 · 2012-05-09 01:18:44

lol Well I was in a meeting with the university newspaper "powers-that-be" about switching from some bloated, awful CMS to Wordpress...and the honcho said "It's open-source, which can be a problem" ... My eyes about popped out of my head! tongue I had to bite my tongue.

So I heard ya on that!

snowpine · 2012-05-09 01:27:26

mahatman2 wrote:

Well I was in a meeting with the university newspaper "powers-that-be" about switching from some bloated, awful CMS to Wordpress...and the honcho said "It's open-source, which can be a problem" ... My eyes about popped out of my head! I had to bite my tongue.
So I heard ya on that!

Ouch. If you decide to pursue this, do a google search for "high profile wordpress sites" and you'll be amazed. Also worth mentioning that the President of the United States uses open-source CMS (drupal)... or not, depending on their politics. big_smile

gutterslob · 2012-05-09 01:30:22

snowpine wrote:

..... wasted most of their time installing new distributions, compiling software from outside the repositories, and tweaking their config files and desktops...

Sounds like he knows what he's talking about, which might mean he's a Linux user himself lol

It's somewhat true, though. Here I am at the studio and I've got this piece of unfinished design work sitting in front of me on my desktop (Mac). Around 20 minutes ago, I used a new shade and thought, "this shade of purple would be great as a PreProc or Identifier value in my Vim colorscheme", so I popped open the netbook and booted up into Linux. Guess what I've been doing since 20 minutes ago? neutral

Only reason I stopped was because my mobile phone rang. Then I decided to come on here and check the threads before (hopefully) getting back to that unfinished design piece. Then I see your post and am currently wasting more time replying. lol

It happens quite a bit, tbh. There was a time when I was working on textures and thought "I wonder how this would look behind a dark translucent terminal?" to myself every 15 minutes or so. A client once called and asked why one set of patterns/textures were a bit too dark. Turned out I had left a 35% opaque layer on top of the finished images (to simulate a translucent terminal) and ended up mailing it to him. Somehow got away by telling him his monitor was probably uncalibrated and I'd brighten em up to compensate in the next batch. After that incident, I decided to stop making desktop wallpapers/textures for myself. hmm

Moral of the story: I wouldn't hire a Linux user to work for me either. If I'm this bad when I'm working alone, just imagine what kind of inefficiency two of us would breed?! yikes

Next time, say FreeBSD instead of Linux. That way you can tell them what goes into Apple's Darwin if they ask.

Last edited by gutterslob (2012-05-09 01:55:25)

Vansgo · 2012-05-09 02:22:28

@snowey

They must have read you like a card - bet you weren't even sporting any Tux gear or wearing an "I love Linus" shirt roll That is a very funny response from them, indeed.

corenominal · 2012-05-09 06:30:56

snowpine wrote:

Q: Well, my experience was, they wasted most of their time installing new distributions, compiling software from outside the repositories, and tweaking their config files and desktops... instead of actually completing the work I assigned for them to do.

Interesting. Sounds like you might have had a lucky escape from a narrow-minded employer. wink

mynis01 · 2012-05-09 06:49:55

From what I understand, most of the linux administration gigs in my surrounding area you aren't really allowed to modify the computers and install things from the internet and such. It's one thing to paste some vim configs into your home directory or something, but installing new distros at work? I would probably have a bad taste in my mouth too if I was an employer and I had people doing that. Seriously I could care less if I have to use Ubuntu, Fedora, or even OSX at work as long as it has tmux and vim.

King_of_spirals · 2012-05-09 07:22:43

Thats pretty funny, too bad you didn't get the job though... I always thought they would praise experienced linux users... because of the techinical know how and experience. But as it turns out... linux is kinda like the punk-rock of classical music in the ears of employers... the last guy he hired must have really blew it...

I'm almost not surpirsed he encountered that before you came through the door... although I do think its bad to assume you'd be a bad employee because you use linux... its kinda like saying you'd be a bad employee because your gay...

Q: So you like playing with men's private parts?

A: Funny that you'd ask that question, I actually really enjoy touching other men, it really gets my blood flowing.

Q: Aw well thats just too bad... I have a policy of not hiring gay people. It just hasn't worked out in the past.

A: What!? What happened?

Q: Well in my experience, they spent more time looking at gay porn, jerking themselves off in the bathroom stalls, and trying to suduce other male co-workers instead of doing the work I assigned to them.

lol :lol::lol::lol:

rhowaldt · 2012-05-09 07:28:32

^ lol

Awebb · 2012-05-09 07:43:50

corenominal wrote:

Interesting. Sounds like you might have had a lucky escape from a narrow-minded employer.

Indeed. Sometimes not getting the job is the lesser evil.

King_of_spirals wrote:

Q: So you like playing with men's private parts?

Depending on your package, CERN might hire you as a large hardon collider.

Last edited by Awebb (2012-05-09 07:49:38)

2Karl · 2012-05-09 08:20:00

King_of_spirals wrote:

its kinda like saying you'd be a bad employee because your gay...

Or because your grammar is poor...

hinto · 2012-05-09 12:25:20

^There's tons more Windows shareware + malware + viruses that will consumer more work time than LInux ever will.
-H

snowpine · 2012-05-09 13:52:45

I am still waiting to hear back whether I got the job, he liked everything about me except that I knew how to use Linux, which he called a "red flag." I got the sense he would prefer to hire someone with Mac experience, all other things being equal. (I wonder if he will give me a Mac as a signing bonus, so I can polish my OSX skills at home? wink )

mahatman2 · 2012-05-09 16:05:58

@snowpine, you're right! It's amazing how many incredible sites are built on wordpress...sometimes I'm really surprised to be navigating through and realize it's WP! smile I think that underneath a lot of it is the assumption that if it's free it must be of a poorer quality... Cost-based value and all that. The funny thing is is that the other CMS we were using cost something like $2000/semester and it SUCKED! mad But what can you do? roll

2Karl wrote:

Or because your grammar is poor...

lol

CBizgreat! · 2012-05-09 19:36:26

Whaaaaa ???

If I weren't so dang busy screwing w this config file, I'd have time to make a proper post about this nonsense ! Dang it !

tongue

ForkTong · 2012-05-09 20:42:45

We have one programmer at work that uses Linux. We let him use it, cause he's used to it. As long as his code comiles in Visual Studio, I don't care. Sure I've seen him screwing around with config files, but I don't wanna spoil his fun. If it becomes unbalanced, okay, but everyone looks at a forum or whatever during work.

Besides, what else is a programmer gonna do while compiling? Document his code or something?

hinto · 2012-05-10 12:38:12

During my typical day, I use OSX, Linux and Win7. It's a wonder I ever get anything accomplished wink
-Hinto

tedbell · 2012-05-10 12:48:59

King_of_spirals wrote:

I'm almost not surpirsed he encountered that before you came through the door... although I do think its bad to assume you'd be a bad employee because you use linux... its kinda like saying you'd be a bad employee because your gay...
Q: So you like playing with men's private parts?
A: Funny that you'd ask that question, I actually really enjoy touching other men, it really gets my blood flowing.
Q: Aw well thats just too bad... I have a policy of not hiring gay people. It just hasn't worked out in the past.
A: What!? What happened?
Q: Well in my experience, they spent more time looking at gay porn, jerking themselves off in the bathroom stalls, and trying to suduce other male co-workers instead of doing the work I assigned to them.
:lol::lol::lol:

Holy Sh** lol lol lol

I mean holy **it!! lol

Awebb · 2012-05-10 12:50:12

ForkTong wrote:

Besides, what else is a programmer gonna do while compiling? Document his code or something?

hinto · 2012-05-10 12:56:31

^ I have Xcode, with distributed compiles... So my time is scarce wink
We can only thumb wrestle.
-H

40hz · 2012-05-10 13:02:44

My company always followed a policy suggested by Paul Hawken in his book Growing a Business. Hawken said, " Hire the person, not the position." His feeling was that a good person could almost always grow into the job if they weren't a perfect functional fit as they came in the door. Based on my experiences when hiring, I'm inclined to agree. Smart people who are passionate about their work are quick studies.

rhowaldt · 2012-05-10 13:12:36

^ hey, what? how dare you post here without making an introduction-thread! head over to the Introductions-subforum right now! (unless you are a bot, spamming about Paul Hawken without giving us proper links. in that case i will have to crunchban you).

CrunchBang Linux

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#1 2012-05-09 00:03:22

Painfully accurate comment at a job interview re: Linux users

#2 2012-05-09 00:38:00

Re: Painfully accurate comment at a job interview re: Linux users

#3 2012-05-09 00:47:02

Re: Painfully accurate comment at a job interview re: Linux users

#4 2012-05-09 00:56:07

Re: Painfully accurate comment at a job interview re: Linux users

#5 2012-05-09 01:18:44

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#6 2012-05-09 01:27:26

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#7 2012-05-09 01:30:22

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#8 2012-05-09 02:22:28

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#9 2012-05-09 06:30:56

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#10 2012-05-09 06:49:55

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#11 2012-05-09 07:22:43

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#12 2012-05-09 07:28:32

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#13 2012-05-09 07:43:50

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#14 2012-05-09 08:20:00

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#15 2012-05-09 12:25:20

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#16 2012-05-09 13:52:45

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#17 2012-05-09 16:05:58

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#18 2012-05-09 19:36:26

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#19 2012-05-09 20:42:45

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#20 2012-05-10 12:38:12

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#21 2012-05-10 12:48:59

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#22 2012-05-10 12:50:12

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#23 2012-05-10 12:56:31

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#24 2012-05-10 13:02:44

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#25 2012-05-10 13:12:36

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