Back at Sony

After leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) back in November last year, I am back at Sony. I am working for a different part of Sony but will be working with a lot of my former coworkers back at PlayStation. It feels good to be returning.

Back in April I started working at KLAS Research and I didn't think I would be returning to my old employer. The people at KLAS are great and I have enjoyed working with them. While working at Sony I started a project that I felt very passionate about and when the opportunity to continue it appeared, I had to seriously consider returning to the consumer electronics giant. Hopefully it works out well.

Many will think that leaving a small research company that produces important data about healthcare software to go to one of the most recognized brands in the world would be an easy decision. Unfortunately it was not. In fact, I originally told Sony I wasn't interested. I enjoyed not having to travel every week to go to the office and being able to sleep in my own bed every night. After the honeymoon phase of the new job wore off, I realized that my quality of life was taking a huge hit at KLAS. I also didn't agree with how the research data was being collected and would never be given the chance to fix it. Fortunately Sony is not making me come to the office except when I agree that it is necessary, so I will spend most of my time working at home.

It is important that I let everyone know I am back at Sony so if you see me promoting their products, you know it is not an unbiased opinion. I will have to make sure I mention this every time I talk about something they make. Most of the time I will just refrain from writing about their stuff. Sometimes though that will be tough as they do make some really fun toys.

Chromebook vs. Laptop

Yesterday I returned from a week-long trip to visit my son in Ohio. I still have not found a full-time job and so I am looking. As I don't have a laptop from my employer that I would normally use on such a trip, I took my Chromebook and used it instead. I have to say that I would have preferred a laptop but the Chromebook did well and met all of my needs.

I really had only two use cases for a computer on my trip: reading e-mail and applying to jobs. For reading e-mail, there is no real difference between a laptop and a Chromebook. I use a browser to access my e-mail and it works the same on both devices.

I wasn't sure I would be able to apply for jobs as easily on my Chromebook. Before leaving on my trip, I uploaded a copy of my resume to my Google Drive so I could access it on the road. I probably should have also uploaded a sample cover letter but forgot. My job search on the road consisted of going through new job postings that appeared in my e-mail and applying to the ones that I am qualified to fill and find  interesting.

Those that have had to search for a new job know that it is best to tailor your resume for each posting. I could modify the resume in Google Drive using Google Docs. Then when it came time to upload the job-specific resume, I told the job application website that I would upload it from a file. In ChromeOS, there is an option to use a Google Drive file just as if it is located on the device even though it isn't. I could also do the same with each cover letter. In my case, I had to create the first one from memory but could then reuse it for each successive company making sure to modify it accordingly.

While everything worked technically, the real proof of success is in the fact that I managed to get three different screening interviews during the trip, one of which is a direct result of submitting an application while traveling. That is equal to my results using my desktop computer at home. I have to say that the Chromebook worked well.

The only problem I had with the Chromebook during the trip is when I couldn't connect to the WiFi network at the Detroit airport. After trying for a few minutes, I turned my phone into a hotspot and connected to it. Then I could respond to e-mails for phone interviews. I only needed it for a few minutes and everything worked fine.

As I mentioned at the start, I would have preferred a true laptop computer. However the Chromebook is significantly less expensive and did everything I needed it to do on this trip. I just needed to plan ahead a bit. If my regular workflow was to habitually keep all of my documents on Google Drive, I would not have needed to do anything differently.

Coding Tests vs. Accomplishments

This week I was asked to take a coding test for a potential position as a Director of Software Development. I looked at the company providing the test and even ran through a number of sample questions. Ultimately I decided that I really don't want to work for a company that asks everyone to take such tests. I understand that organizations hiring software engineers need to gather some level of proficiency but think coding tests are the wrong way to go about it.

If you look at how world-class software organizations like Google gauge proficiency, they do it with white-boarding sessions. You are presented a problem and write code on a whiteboard, explaining your thought process as you jot things down. This allows the job candidate to ask very important questions. It also allows the interviewers to gain tremendous insight into the candidate's thought process.

One of the questions I was presented on the sample coding test was FizzBuzz. The program asks for an upper integer and then prints the whole numbers from 1 to the upper integer. If the number printed is evenly divisible by 3, then the word "Fizz" is also printed next to the number. If the number is evenly divisible by 5, then "Buzz" is printed next to the number. Finally, if the number is evenly divisible by 3 and 5, the word "FizzBuzz" is printed. There are some variations but hopefully you get the idea.

This is a great programming problem to solve as it does not require a lot of code but does expose some fundamental programming ideas. The first is if you understand the mod function, which returns a division remainder and is usually denoted by the percent (%) symbol. The equation "5 % 3" would return 2 as 5 divided by 3 has a remainder of 2. When you find a number with a remainder of 0 when divided by 5 and/or 3, you can print the appropriate word.

Next you have to know how to do loops in your language of choice. The testing software gave me something like 27 different computer programming languages to choose from. My preference would have been to use a FOR loop and I think most developers would start with that as well. For my sample test I used Python and made sure to set the range from 1 to n+1, where n represents the upper integer limit. Why n+1? Well the FOR loop goes up to but doesn't include the upper number. If you put in the upper limit of 15 and run the FOR loop, it will only go to 14 and so you need to add 1 to the upper limit so it goes high enough.

Both of those concepts being tested are fairly simple and an hour of coding instruction should be all that is needed to get that part of the test correct. Now is where it gets complicated. In my sample coding test, I was only going to be given 30 minutes to complete 5 such examples. My first thought would be to brute-force it an get something running. That would look like a nested IF-THEN-ELSE statement where you test the 3 and 5 first, followed by the 3, then followed by the 5. Then I would move onto the next question.

The advantage of white-boarding this problem is that the candidate can ask some important questions that show even greater insight in his or her experience. For instance, "Is performance important?" IF-THEN and IF-THEN-ELSE statements are very expensive in today's modern processors. You can write the code to use 2 instead of 3, which can be significant when your upper limit is a really large number. The downside is you sacrifice code readability which makes it more difficult for someone new to come in and maintain your code. Unfortunately in an automated test, the candidate is forced to make a choice without any feedback from the testing software.

As I mentioned, I opted not to take the coding exam. It is not that I felt I would do poorly. Instead I feel like having my code running on over 100 Million PlayStation 3's, over 100 Million PlayStation 4's, and over 17 Million PlayStation 5's should give some indication that I know how to write code. I think it is much better than taking a test that favors trivial details and syntax. Perhaps you may disagree.

The One Company Everyone Should Interview With: Amazon

I have been at the job search for a month or so now and I thought I would share how things are going. While it can be an ego boost to have quite a few companies reach out and ask you to interview with them, it is more depressing to have them come back and say they are not moving forward with bringing you onboard. As I am more interested in finding the right opportunity than just landing a job, I thought I would share some tips I am learning during my own job search. My first tip is that everyone should try to get an interview with Amazon.

Why Amazon? Well they have a very formal job interview process that requires you to do a lot of homework before what they call the "Interview Loop." That homework helps with the interview process with other companies. It forces you to put your job-related stories in a format that flows well and highlights your career.

This morning I had an interview with a very interesting company. I think I did a great job sharing information because of my interview with Amazon. I may not get either job but I do feel significantly more prepared for future interviews. I'm sure you will too.

A Day to Celebrate

Yesterday my youngest son had an interview with an engineering firm. They liked him enough that today they gave him a verbal offer followed shortly by a written offer. Furthermore they will provide tuition reimbursement so he can continue working on his masters degree. It is a day to celebrate in our family.

Throughout the long process of constantly looking for a job, he has become discouraged even though he had a plan B and started working on an advanced engineering degree. In our society, our self-worth is often tied to our ability to earn a living and when we lose a job or can't seem to find one, we become depressed. I didn't realize the extent of this until a recent family vacation when I made a comment that upset my son. I said something along the lines of, "There are a lot of jobs out there, you just have to be willing to look for them." I hadn't realized my son was looking but still couldn't find one. I thought he was content to continue his schooling and allow his wife's nursing job to take care of the family expenses. Needless to say he wasn't.

Naturally I got a text about the offer from my son and immediately called to congratulate him. I know how much this means to him and his little family. Sure I wish the job was a bit closer than Ohio but his happiness eclipses my own convenience. Besides I have a ton of frequent flyer miles and have been making sure to see him at least once every month. This month he will fly home for the Holidays and we will be sure to celebrate.

For those that are still looking for jobs during this time of COVID-19 and uncertainty, my heart goes out to you. My son found this job with the help of his wife's-sister's-boyfriend's father. It just goes to show that you should leverage everyone in your social network in your job hunt. You never know where help will come from.

Finding a Job Amid COVID-19

It seems that you can't watch the evening news, visit an online news site, or read a newspaper without seeing headlines about record unemployment. My youngest daughter, son-in-law, and youngest son are all effected by the horrible job hunting conditions due to the current global pandemic. I'm sure you all have people close to you in similar situations. Hopefully I can share some strategies to help.

Let's start with my youngest son. He just graduated from the University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. It seems that no matter what he does, he can't get anyone to even look at his resume or return his inquiries. This is an incredibly tough job market for people with experience; It is even tougher for those just coming out of college looking to land a first full-time job. Fortunately my son is married and his wife is a nurse. Her skills are in high-demand and so my son will be heading to graduate school while she pays the bills. As nobody is sure if classes will be held in the fall, he is focusing on online programs as that will be the best option for the foreseeable future. My son also has another internship lined up with a highly respected organization. The requirement for the internship is that he is enrolled in a graduate program.

My son-in-law is also a fairly recent college graduate. His job was eliminated because of COVID-19 and he won't be returning until social distancing rules are relaxed. His wife, my daughter, is also in a unique situation where she will be going to graduate school. That makes finding a job for my son-in-law rather difficult. While my son is looking at online programs, my daughter's program requires her to be on campus and she will be moving from Utah to Alabama. If she can't be in class, they may defer her start until meeting restrictions are lifted. Not knowing when they will move makes finding a short-term job almost impossible. At some point it is easier to just collect unemployment and my son-in-law falls into that category for now.

Finally there is my youngest daughter. She has lost her job twice and a 2-month period. She started the year as a ski instructor at Alta ski resort. March 14th she went to work thinking she would make it through the season before they closed because of COVID-19. The next day, she didn't have a job. Her employer did the best they could with providing a little extra pay to bridge the gap between her next job. Rather than sit around waiting for her summer job to start, she immediately applied to Amazon and 2 weeks after her last day at Alta, she started fulfilling orders at an Amazon warehouse in Salt Lake City. She knew it was only a short-term gig and was glad. Working in a warehouse is not the right job for someone used to being outdoors every day of the week. After a month, she quit so she could start preparing for her summer job. She had been accepted to teach at a ski resort in New Zealand but that country is locked down and a week before her flight was scheduled to depart she was told not to come. So how would you like to lose your primary job twice in the same 2-month period? Fortunately for my daughter has found another job at an outdoor summer camp that is scrambling to open in the next couple of weeks. Let's hope they can pull it off.

So what are the takeaways from my 3 anecdotal experiences? First, this is a tough job market for new college graduates and you might want to think about getting an online graduate degree. Second, it is a tough job market for professionals with only a few years experience. Don't be afraid to file for unemployment as it may provide some badly needed income until you can find a job. Finally, there are jobs out there if you look hard enough and are willing to do almost anything. Sure you may be stuck in a warehouse shipping unmentionables to really bored people for $17/hour, but there are jobs. I hope this helps.

Dueling Resumes

We are in the process of hiring a few new people for our team and had an interesting situation at the office today. We received two resumes for the same person but from different employment firms. To make matters even worse, the same thing happened with a second person. That poses a problem for us. If we pick one firm over the other, we open ourselves to litigation. A standard practice among companies is to throw the duplicate resumes out and move on to other candidates. The policy works well when there are lots of resumes from which to choose. That is the case with these two positions we are hiring and so throwing them out doesn't hurt us, only the person looking for a job.

The economy is very fragile right now and it is important to do everything you can to make sure you get a job if you are looking for one. While it may seem like a good idea to send your resume to every one you can think of, you need to be sure that you don't submit your resume to the same company more than once. That means you should have employment agencies check with you before submitting your resume to a company. Otherwise you may exclude yourself from even getting an interview.

Yet Another New Job

I have just changed jobs (again) and am now working in the San Francisco area. While I have spent the last decade of my career working for small startup companies, I now work for one of the largest consumer electronic companies in the world. I have to say that it is a refreshing change. At the last place I was working, I started at 7:30 am and worked until 8:00pm every day. They also expected me to work weekends. My new company has much more reasonable hours.

I work in the research and development group of the company's video game division. My two boys think I have the coolest job ever. I would have to agree. Yesterday my boss told me it was OK to play video games while I am at work. He told me it was kind of expected and so I should not be shy about sitting down with a Playstation 3, checking out a few games from our extensive library, and playing them during the week. When I told that to my sons, they got jealous.

While my job seems awesome, it does come with one downside: I live in Salt Lake but work in San Francisco. That means I fly out on Monday mornings, live on my sailboat during the week, and fly home on Friday nights. Everyone asks how that works with my family. My wife hates it, but my kids that are still at home don't want to move. My oldest daughter is in college and so she doesn't care. My oldest son will be in college this fall and so it doesn't matter to him either. The two youngest ski for the Snowbird Ski Team and so they don't want to leave Utah. I have given them the choice of skiing every day after school or being with Dad and they would rather ski.

I guess that means I will have to rely on technology to help me continue to spend time with my wife and kids. Hopefully that translates into some interesting BLOG entries. Until then, I'm just glad to be away from the dog.