This is what it’s all been leading up to. I have a good shot at it providing I don’t screw up the C test and subsequently stick my foot in my mouth. 1pm Wednesday 3rd June. But that’s not why I’m writing today. No no. Today, I am writing because this is a post that I lost after Firefox crashed and because it’s related to interviews. Speaking to a friend recently (TLW is getting quite a cast, I wonder if I should start including a cast list? ... Read more

Since moving to a server/client network architecture at home, I’m finding the electricity bills are going nowhere but up! There are many reasons to have made the move to this sort of network architecture, and I’m still not quite there (web development is done on my main box), but it’s so nice not to lose access to media when I turn my machine off for whatever reason. Anyway, power saving … ... Read more

The difference between addon domains and domain parking is important. Which is why I first titled this post “parking”, ‘cause I got ’em confused. You will, however, have to go elsewhere for a different sort of parking. An addon domain is a cheeky way to host multiple websites without the hassle of multiple hosting fees, or worse, a dedicated server. Because I totally forgot how to set these up, these are specific instructions when you have a hosting plan with lunarpages and one or more domain names with namesco. ... Read more

What started with a few stressful phone calls at the start of August has lead inexorably toward being employed in the same location, by the same people, doing a different job! There are pros and cons about this choice, and my biggest worry has been that I would upset someone along the way. I hope if I run into them again in 12 months time they won’t hold this decision against me. ... Read more

I’ve just pulled the title of this post off a song by Trapt. Since I’ve started this sort of blog, I’ve kept brand names out of the posts, I’ve kept links out. I’m not endorsing anything or leaving adverts on the page. Any companies I deal with have their names removed. Generally I feel good about that. I feel doubly vindicated, because having just wandered over to 43folders.com to check out suggestions on improving my inbox situation, I discovered he’s recently taken a moment to think about what he’s trying to provide, and then told everyone else. ... Read more

Another Monday morning, I’m still dozing in about 9am fully intending to get up any minute now, and a surprise phone call. My London interview came up trumps! Not only do this company want to waive the second interview they usually request, but they would like to make me an offer! I should expect to hear from them (or more accurately the agent responsible for this particular vacancy) within the week. ... Read more

So I dashed into London on Friday (2008-05-09) for an interview with no specific job specification. The night before I found myself in a complete state, having been sent an 11 page dos and don’ts document by the agency … To cut to the chase, it was fantastic. I didn’t honestly believe there was such a thing as a “good interview” but this one was amazing. I really enjoyed the company of the interviewers, and they didn’t all pounce on me at once. ... Read more

From the sublime to the ridiculous. The first phone interview I’ve ever had was very simple and required talking around a bunch of points that my CV had made. These people may be in a hurry, but are clearly going to assess if it’s worth bringing you up for a RL interview. It lasted about 30 minutes and was nice and easy. Conversely what I’ve just been through has left me feeling quite bewildered and disoriented. ... Read more

Still no word about the job referenced recently. Since life has been busy I’ve felt little need to keep this up to date. I have another interview on September 11th. A lot further away this time but that’s something to deal with when I get there. I’m concerned about the coding test (all 45 minutes of it) since I don’t have a CS degree I’m worried that my self taught approach of solving (programming) problems isn’t sufficient to set me on the career path I’d like, I’m quietly hoping that everything else will make up for that and my experience will show where a fresh graduate might not comprehend. ... Read more

Turns out I made a decent enough impression on the phone interview to warrant the travel expenses and face to face. I can see why you’d want to check someone out beforehand - with two interviewers and 3 hours out of their day! There were plenty of things I think I missed, and equally plenty of things I could have done better. The technical questions came in three parts: a dodgy bit of C code in the style of “what does this do? ... Read more