Minimalist Opportunities

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A new start in Centerfield

Two week ago I started at Centerfield in Plantation, Florida. My wife and I found their Sales Manager leading a booth at a Hilton Hotel Career Fair in Fort Lauderdale. First I sent my application via email, but the next day decided to apply in person. A couple days later I received a rejection letter via email, but I was already accepted.

It is a challenging first position outside of my expertise, from which I am learning a lot more than you can imagine.  Last week I had the pleasure to start reading the book ‘Be Obsessed or Be Average‘, in one of the break rooms there.

Top 10 coding practice sites

Interesting to find HackerRank as number 10. It is a tough ladder to escalate.

TopTal means Top Talent

TopTal is a challenge worth taking. Regardless of getting a position as the top 3% they choose to work with, their business strategy deserves to be understood as a Marketing Case Study.

Why I say that?
Well, back in May of last year I had the illusion to be chosen as one of their best applicants, but didn’t give them enough reasons to focus their attention on what I could do for them. I surprised myself finding my failed application at toptal.com and with what I wrote back them.

As far as I can see, providing centralized hiring and payment processing, allow freelancers to give better service to their clients. But seems like there is a lot more to be found and understood about TopTal, so I will add a recurrent task to my calendar, to follow up once a week and write about my findings here.

Where do I fit?
At first, the top 3% sounds like an elite of software developers dedicated to pass all the tests with impressive speed and reliability. But reality shows a huge variety of skills to master, like languages, platforms, standards, and professional demeanor.

I am considering their Software Developers Group as the team to work with, but it is too early to know how close from reality my expectations are. At my first interview Tuesday morning, is my opportunity to find out if their structure allows me to offer my specific services to TopTal customers.

Cashier’s Check Fake

Someone pretending to be the last person at https://www.ansvar.com.au/the-executive/ wrote me from her email headofclient@ansvarau.com for a job interview using skype (with her name and photo), then she sent me a package to fill out and send back (tax form, direct deposit, etc.), and told me to buy a control equipment to work from home, which would be reimbursed to me a week later.

She asked me to buy a gift card, but I refused and gave her my credit card information. When one of the several purchases that I was called to verify, I was informed that she was buying two gift cards, I closed the credit card, and told me that they would send me the check that you see above.

First time today I took it to my bank to verify the check before depositing it; The agent called Federal Credit Union, and verified that the check is false. Now I publish it here to serve as a reference for other potential victims, control authorities, and to alert FedEx also.

 

 

Waiting for LaunchCode CodeCamp

After not answering the second letter I received from LaunchCode to inform them of my availability, yesterday I received another which included a mention about a 4-months free full-time class to get ready for my next job opportunity; so I replied yes, and told them to invite me to their next class.

Today I received another email from them, this time motivating me to contribute, which is beyond my reach for now, since my accounts are in red.

Anyhow, you can click on the graphics to get there and find out more.

An Offer Hard to Refuse

So I registered at https://ieee-collabratec.ieee.org/

Coding Collaborating Online

Moving from Competitor to Collaborator, I found jDoodle.com to help my daughter write a few assignments for school. There I am saving those java methods I am creating, so I can get back to them later.

Looking for other compilers online, I found Tutorialspoint.com where I plan to find out how it works and give it a try. Weeks ago I was invited to test my skills in CodeFights.com but competing takes me away from maintaining the knowledge I have been cultivating from experience.

A call to fix citizenship

After applying to a dozen local schools and having more than half interviews, I went to meetup.com and found Code for Fort Lauderdale with a surprising array of tools online, including social coding. There is a meeting tonight in a local College. I’ll tell you later how it goes.

From LaunchCode to HackerRank

Yesterday I took an pass the Launch_Code coding puzzle to get an interview. It may be a few weeks before receiving the invitation. Meanwhile, I am receiving other challenges from HackerRank.