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Why are the British confused about us calling bread rolls “biscuits” when they call bread rolls “puddings”?
Most British people understand that the English and American English have drifted slightly away, so that we have different definitions of words. Now, to the British people who insists our naming is incorrect, they need to understand that our language is not the same. Please don’t try to tell me thatRead more
Most British people understand that the English and American English have drifted slightly away, so that we have different definitions of words.
Now, to the British people who insists our naming is incorrect, they need to understand that our language is not the same. Please don’t try to tell me that we speak the same language, because in all honesty we don’t. However, our languages are incredibly similar.
See lessHow do native speakers tell I’m foreign based on my English alone?
It may be little things like not using native idioms, that you would pick up from living in the UK. But, hey. That’s just a guess. Also, I don’t think I would’ve noticed you were foreign from what you wrote, if you didn’t point it out.
It may be little things like not using native idioms, that you would pick up from living in the UK.
But, hey. That’s just a guess.
Also, I don’t think I would’ve noticed you were foreign from what you wrote, if you didn’t point it out.
See lessIs this statement, “i see him last night” can be understood as “I saw him last night”?
Yes, I understand it. I hear a lot of this incorrect grammar from my wife. I would expect that the person that spoke this was possibly Chinese. In Chinese there are no tenses or plurals. No he or she pronouns. The context tells all. So it might have been a direct translation from Chinese.
Yes, I understand it. I hear a lot of this incorrect grammar from my wife. I would expect that the person that spoke this was possibly Chinese. In Chinese there are no tenses or plurals. No he or she pronouns. The context tells all. So it might have been a direct translation from Chinese.
See lessWhat is a nice way to end an interview that is clearly going badly?
I’ve also ended interviews as a candidate on the phone myself. They asked a question that I didn’t’ have the answer to and I told them that I didn’t know. The next 2 questions were in that same direction, with them knowing that I’d already said I wasn’t particularly fluent in that area but they keptRead more
I’ve also ended interviews as a candidate on the phone myself. They asked a question that I didn’t’ have the answer to and I told them that I didn’t know. The next 2 questions were in that same direction, with them knowing that I’d already said I wasn’t particularly fluent in that area but they kept on. At that point I said, “Let’s just stop here. We both know that I’m not doing well answering your questions and to be honest, that you’re restating the same topic after being told that already I don’t know probably means we wouldn’t be a good fit.” Too many people forget that it’s a two-way street and they seems shocked that anyone would actually end their interview.
See lessDoes Google force employees who have offers from Facebook to leave immediately?
When I was at Facebook, 2013–2016, the rumor I heard was the opposite. It was my understanding that Google practically had a policy of counter-offering anyone who got an offer from Facebook, and that seeking an offer from Facebook was a strategy Googlers used to up their compensation. Ironically, FaRead more
When I was at Facebook, 2013–2016, the rumor I heard was the opposite.
It was my understanding that Google practically had a policy of counter-offering anyone who got an offer from Facebook, and that seeking an offer from Facebook was a strategy Googlers used to up their compensation.
Ironically, Facebook had the opposite policy: If you get an offer from elsewhere, it was Facebook’s policy not to counter-offer. Facebook’s view is that if they start counter-offering, they will get into a compensation arms race. And besides, if you really want to go work somewhere else, then maybe you should. There are lots of people who would love to work at Facebook; they don’t need to try to convince you to stay if you want to leave. And if you’re just bluffing, well good on them for not falling for it.
See lessI keep getting tasks that are above my skill level. How can I address this without coming accross as grossly incompetent?
A less confrontational way to address this is to ask your boss to help you understand why he thinks you can handle these tasks. The other part of this discyion is to help clarify expectations. Who knows, you may find that they really don’t expect you to handle this, but you’re there only hope at theRead more
A less confrontational way to address this is to ask your boss to help you understand why he thinks you can handle these tasks. The other part of this discyion is to help clarify expectations. Who knows, you may find that they really don’t expect you to handle this, but you’re there only hope at the moment. Do your best.
Even if you were given tasks you can easily perform, you always want to know what is expected of you from your immediate supervisor. I always suggest focusing on meeting his expectations. It will make your job more successful in the short and long-term.
Since you’re new to the job, there are many aspects I think you’re misunderstanding and putting too much pressure on yourself because so far, you’ve never mentioned anyone complaining or giving you negative feedback.
See lessDealing with an employee that went over my head
This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior. As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it. I’d immediately request a one-on-oRead more
This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior.
As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it.
I’d immediately request a one-on-one meeting with my boss and discy what my role was, what my authority was, and why this end-around happened.
Hopefully I would hear that this was all a mistake or misunderstanding. But if I found that I actually had no real authority and that this sort of thing would continue to happen, I’d re-evaluate my role and decide if it was still a role that I wanted to fill or not.
See lessHow to approach applying for a job at a company owned by a friend?
Before going to the interview, you can send a note (I would prefer that over a phone call) that you had applied for this position and you are appearing for the interview. You can express your concern anyway about conflict-of-interest but more likely than not he will understand the situation himselfRead more
Before going to the interview, you can send a note (I would prefer that over a phone call) that you had applied for this position and you are appearing for the interview. You can express your concern anyway about conflict-of-interest but more likely than not he will understand the situation himself and ideally should keep himself out of decision making process.
See lessHow to handle personal stress caused by utterly incompetent and lazy co-workers?
The way I’m managing this at my current job is by turning my anger into satisfaction. Every time I place my hands on bad code, I try to leave it into a better shape, or at least leave a few TODOs and comments with tips and tricks for those that will come after me. Will they keep writing bad code andRead more
The way I’m managing this at my current job is by turning my anger into satisfaction.
Every time I place my hands on bad code, I try to leave it into a better shape, or at least leave a few TODOs and comments with tips and tricks for those that will come after me.
Will they keep writing bad code and ask dumb things? Probably.
Will I keep fixing things as much as I can? Sure.
After a couple of years you will look at your codebase and feel great at how much it improved with your efforts.
Don’t wait for change, be the change.
See lessShould I start with Django or JavaScript?
I will disagree with Rishabh on this one, it's only when I started with JavaScript did I truly come to appreciate the design decisions that are made in any programming language. JavaScript taught me a whole lot of semantic concepts. Be it the prototypal school of inheritance, or functional programmiRead more
I will disagree with Rishabh on this one, it’s only when I started with JavaScript did I truly come to appreciate the design decisions that are made in any programming language.
See lessJavaScript taught me a whole lot of semantic concepts. Be it the prototypal school of inheritance, or functional programming concepts like closures, functions as first class citizens, higher order functions.
Yes, JavaScript did have a bad reputation a while back, but let bygones be bygones. Investing sometime – emphasis on the fact that you need to invest time in learning the language, the design decisions and especially it’s good parts will enrich your repertoire.
Today JavaScript is pervasive, node.js in the server, EcmaScript 5.1 in the browser, databases all were powered by this language. So, the investment is well worth the gains.