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Comment by _gabe_

2 years ago

Now when you Google “Tim Mackinnon programmer”, the 5th or 6th result for me is a link titled “The Worst Programmer” and the little descriptive blurb below that says “His name is Tim Mackinnon…”. I know the author was click baiting and flipping the story on its head, but I would be a bit annoyed if Googling my name + programmer surfaced something like that.

Annoyed? I’d love it: it would be an incredible door opener anywhere you went.

  • Yeah, this is a great opener to break the ice with during an interview.

    You can even add some prestidigitation by having them take 30 seconds to Google it and your name comes up. Play it off as a joke and now everyone has a little smirk/chuckle over it.

    Now they know you have a good personality and can tell a funny joke about yourself. Goes a long way to putting you in that “I can work with this person” category.

    Also, if they can’t appreciate the joke, that’s an easy red flag for you that you probably don’t ever want to work for that team.

    • You both make good points, on second thought it’s all about how you spin it :)