Thread by @QuinnyPig

This is as worthy a thread topic as there is. Let's dive into it.

Note: I bias for being rather mercenary. Please consider my viewpoint through that lens.

https://twitter.com/anotherwalther/status/1364180153128128513

"What's my market value?"

Simply put, what people will pay you have you work for them. Note: you must create more value than you cost, and you cost more than just your raw salary. Rule of thumb, "double your salary" is directionally what you cost your employer.

"How do I figure out my market value?"

There are a few ways. Talking to your peers. Looking at salary survey data from a variety of sources. Getting managers at other companies blind drunk and pumping them for information.

I prefer another option:

"Interview."

If *you* can't land an offer for X dollars, then market rate for your specific role isn't X. Without an offer in hand, all discussions around market rate are pure theory.

Note that what you'll find on the interview trail distills down to what a company believes you're worth based upon how you perform in an interview--a series of specific skills that's generally only directly useful when interviewing.

"But I don't like interviewing!"

I hear you. It's not for everyone. But this is fundamentally how the business world operates: it biases towards rewarding people who *DO* interview well.

The world is often not as we wish it to be.

"But I like my job."

Good! Me too.

Interview.

Validate that you're being paid what you're worth. Worst case, it's a data point. "Holy crap they just offered to double my salary." Well then! You've learned something useful through interviewing!

But sitting around complaining that you could make twice as much at another company? Knock that shit off.

Either you're talking out of your ass, or else you're delusional for staying. You don't come out of that situation looking good in either case.

Interview.

You're not going to be disqualified unless you do something horrifying.

"Thanks, but I can't see my way to making a move right now" leaves the door open in the future. A company that DQs you is trash and you're dodging a bullet.

https://twitter.com/ebitdarth/status/1364186628173029386

In my employment days, I liked to interview roughly once a quarter. It kept the interview skill saw sharp, and forced me to keep my résumé current.

Better still, it kept me talking about *and thinking about* what I was doing in ways that I could explain to an interviewer.

"I'm bad at interviewing." I get it. Nobody's born great at it.

Go do five more interviews this year. You'll be better at the end of the cycle than you are now, provided you learn from experience.

Added benefit: you keep up on what other places are looking for.

And when some dream-company of yours comes around with a role you'll be perfect for, you'll be very glad you're up to speed on interview skills.

Corollary: don't fall in love with any given company, because it can never love you back.

"You need to get interviews first."

Yes. Start with fixing up your résumé. Later in your career as you advance, you'll find interviews through your network.

If I wanted to take a job, do you really think I'd fire up Indeed? That's what building relationships is for.

"It's time for me to interview again. Which company should I pick?" Well probably more than one at a time! Having two or more offers massively strengthens your negotiating position.

"That's disloyal to your current employer!"

You sound like a child. You're just one "Surprise Meeting with an HR person who doesn't offer you coffee" away from being back on the job market. Wouldn't you rather have the job interviews flowing BEFORE you suddenly need them?

That company you hold in such high regard? The one you'd give a hand to work for?

I consult for a lot of companies like that. Internally they're *all* broken in different ways. There is no Valhalla; lose the hero worship and talk to companies on more realistic terms.

Interview.

The first time I interviewed at @awscloud? No hire!

https://twitter.com/quinnypig/status/1364199101944893453

The second time I interviewed at Google? They were so condescending I swore I'd not take a job there just because I didn't want to work with people who treated candidates that way. I haven't been back.

Interviews are two-way streets.

The time I interviewed at Microsoft subsidiary @Yammer I got a written job offer, then a panicked phone call ten minutes later rescinding it.

Best believe I retell that story every time someone mentions "Yammer" to me.

Basically the only person I'd recommend *not* interview elsewhere from time to time at this stage boils down to "people in positions similar to my own."

I can no longer interview at companies for fun. I must live vicariously through you folks instead!

The problem with me interviewing is that I own the Duckbill Group with @mike_julian. "I'm interviewing for funsies" will scare the *crap* out of our staff.

"Hiring me" means "acquiring the Duckbill Group." I'd not recommend it to most companies.

https://twitter.com/jasonandrade/status/1364205613434114052

I was wondering if someone would bring this one up!

I took a "fun" interview with @TaosTech with no intention of accepting a role there. I stayed for two years and it's still arguably the best job I've ever had.

https://twitter.com/nilsnieuwejaar/status/1364207927247134722

I'm not suggesting you interview at companies you'd never work for. I not-so-politely laughed at Facebook and hung up the phone whenever they called.

Companies that Get It understand that they've gotta sell you on the vision of working there. It's a two-way sale.

I think the problem I have with that entire perspective is that it's cheek-to-jowl with the idea that if a company extends an offer, the candidate has some moral duty to accept it.

This is categorically false.