>>>>> How to properly use google?<scnr>
>>>>
>>>> You laugh, but this is actually non-trivial.
>>>
>>> Not in my experience.
>>
>> The double-negatives make this ambiguous.
>
> I find it to be trivial.

Wow. OK, that's impressive. Next time I can't find something, I'll know 
who to ask...

(Oh, wait, I can't do that. Warp will yell at me. :-P )

> One thing that helps tremendously is to just use keywords, not to write a
> novel as the question.

Well, sure. But you still gotta pick out the /right/ words. That's what 
makes them KEY words...

>> I don't hate living here, it's my favourite place. I hate living WITH MY
>> MUM, that's for sure. ;-)
>
> Your favourite place from a very limited selection, admittedly.

Like I said, everywhere else I've seen is really old and dilapidated...

>>> But yeah, there are probably jobs there, just perhaps not in the fields
>>> you're interested in.
>>
>> Perhaps. I very much doubt anyone here wants computer programmers. But
>> the guy who looks after the computers? Surely any company that has a lot
>> of computers will want one of those. (Doesn't mean they need a new one
>> though...)
>
> Yes, but if there are largely small companies, they may typically hire
> some kid recently out of school (often times before they've been to uni)
> because they know the kid because he/she fixed their computer once.

We've got Unisys, we've got the UK headquarters of the OU, we've got a 
brand new building for Network Rail. Actually I know somebody who works 
for them; she reckons that should be my next target...

>> Sure. And if a job was in, say, Northampton, that would be fine.
>> Anything that's within a reasonable commuting distance of where I live.
>
> What distance would you consider?

Well, commuting time isn't proportional to just /distance/, but I'd at 
least /look at/ anything within about 25 miles or so, I guess.

>> Interesting...
>
> You don't recall that?

Vaguely. I still don't get how anybody can /buy/ a house outright, but 
renting seems plausible, if you make a lot of money.

>> And hey, I've actually /met/ a tiny few of the people on here, so...
>> (Damn, if only I could remember their names!)
>
> Don't worry about remembering names - I never remember names myself,

Everywhere I go, I can never remember anybody's names, and yet they all 
seem to know exactly who I am. It's weird...

(Or maybe *I* am weird, which is why everybody knows me.)

>> It seems to be classic Internet bubble type stuff. Everybody is really
>> excited about how much money Facebook is going to start making ANY DAY
>> NOW... and yet, where's the money?
>
> Indeed, the IPO happened and the stock has been pretty much declining
> since.

Heh. Burn, baby, burn...

>> The idea that somebody actually knows the guy who does the hiring just
>> seems... really, really far-out.
>
> When you only are networked to 7 people directly, the chances are pretty
> small.  When you are networked to 500+ people, the chances get
> significantly larger.

Yeah, I suppose so.

>> Actually, you know what? What /really/ sounds far-fetched to me is that
>> somebody would know somebody who needs to make a hire, and that person
>> would think that *I* am even worth mentioning. I have no skills useful
>> in a workplace. I find it hard to imagine anybody wanting to hire me...
>
> It's a question of scale.  And you don't be someone worth mentioning, you
> have to pursue it.  Most HR professionals say that they're not interested
> in hiring someone who doesn't show initiative.  You don't say to an HR
> person "if you see something that looks like a good fit, get in touch
> with me".

I can't imagine any way of "showing initiative".

>> So in the interview, they always seem to ask you something along the
>> lines of "what excites you about our company?" or "why did you choose
>> us?" or something similar.
>
> Yep.  So you have to find something to be excited about - and there has
> to be something that interests you beyond the paycheck, or there's little
> reason for you to stay.  Hiring people is expensive, so they want to hire
> people who have a peripheral interest.

I have a hard time imagining somebody being interested in a company for 
any reason other than the money.

>> Why did I pick this company? The honest truth is obviously "this is all
>> I could find".
>
> m-/
>
> Telling them "nobody else will hire me" makes them think "yeah, so there
> must be a reason for that so we'll just back away slowly".

In my case, it's more like "I couldn't find anybody else to ask". It's 
not as if job openings grow on trees...

> You have to find something about what they do that piques your interest.

Sounds infeasible to me.

> You don't have to pretend about it.

Oh really?

> I left college for a job in their MIS department.  What excited me about
> the job?  Flexible hours, the ability to build new systems and to affect
> the bottom line indirectly.  I did my first large-scale project (only
> $30,000, but it was a full rewiring of the building for voice/network),
> and had a chance to learn from someone I came to respect how to make a
> business case so I could do the things I wanted to do.

> The point is that while yeah - it's a job and you need the money - there
> should be something about the job or the company that makes you /want/ to
> get up and go to work in the morning.

I'm astonished. I never thought I'd meet somebody who ACTUALLY GETS 
EXCITED about doing a job...

> Ads are primarily Google's "product" as well.

I've been wondering about that. I mean, it's no secret that Google is 
hugely successful. The secret is WHO THE HELL PAYS THEM MONEY?! They 
don't SELL anything!

(People say "they sell advertising", but have YOU ever seen any of these 
adverts that they purportedly sell?)

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