Reasons You're Not Getting Interviews; Plus Some Crazy Real Resume Mistakes 246
Yvonne Lee, Community Manager at Dice.com writes,
"Not using standard job titles, not tying your work to real business results and not using the right keywords can mean never getting called for an interview, even if you have the right skills to do the job. I once heard advice to use the exact wording found in the ad when placing your keywords. I think you're even more unlikely to get a job if you do some of the things on this list."
LMFTFY (Score:5, Funny)
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Informative)
What she really thinks she's doing [linkedin.com]: "Using job and industry news to increase user stickiness, SEO performance and conversion into jobs database". I wonder how that's working out?
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Insightful)
What she really thinks she's doing [linkedin.com]: "Using job and industry news to increase user stickiness, SEO performance and conversion into jobs database". I wonder how that's working out?
Not going to touch "increase user stickiness" with a ten foot pole.
What's depressing is that she's been at this shit for 10 years, and her top accomplishments are things like, "simultaneously managed two magazine sections and a web publication."
The problem with all these stories on how to write your resume is that they're written by people who are fundamentally useless and are stuck writing puff pieces and managing someone's twitter account.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:4, Funny)
Not going to touch "increase user stickiness" with a ten foot pole.
I see what you did there.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Funny)
The problem with all these stories on how to write your resume is that they're written by people who are fundamentally useless and are stuck writing puff pieces and managing someone's twitter account.
The bigger problem is that the people who review your resume are fundamentally useless and are stuck writing puff pieces and managing someone's twitter account.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Insightful)
Not for very much longer if this spam continues. I've been reading /. for much longer than my userid would indicate (just never got around to registering) but I'm seriously considering removing it from my home tabs and looking elsewhere for news for nerds that is actually news and stuff that actually matters and not this crap.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Insightful)
You'll continue to open a new tab and type in "slashdot.org" when you're bored, completely out of muscle memory. I swore this site off back when Geeknet was screwing it up and it didn't work; now that Dice is screwing it up and I'm still here, I'm not going to bother with "I'll never come here again if you don't stop being terrible" threats that, realistically, I'm just not going to follow through on.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:4, Informative)
It's worse for Opera users. I type /. into my address bar to get here. Including the Enter key, that's 3 keystrokes all in an addictive little cluster.
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Reddit plus Ars Technica could probably replace it handily. How many "summaries" could simply be replaced by a better title - or just opening up the article?
I generally like what people post on Reddit, but damn, the up-vote/down-vote herd mentality is awful. Wish they had a better way to moderate.
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What else is there to go to? Reddit?
Between The Register and Torrent Freak, you will get most of the good stories on slashdot, and a day or two early!
It's not the stories that make slahsdot worth visiting, it's the comments.
Getting tech or any other type of news on the internet is hardly a serious challenge.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5)
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Sorry to toot my own horn, but that may be my doing [slashdot.org]... note that this one was tagged nodice before I got here, so hopefully people are picking up the trend.
(Wow, I may have started a Slashdot trend... should I be proud or sad...)
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Interesting)
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its a network application that uses SNMPv1 or v2c.
(sorry, very geeky joke)
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its a network application that uses SNMPv1 or v2c.
(sorry, very geeky joke)
Better than the article.
Re:LMFTFY (Score:5, Informative)
wahaha. i only opened this article to comment that it's an annoying amount of non-geek advertisement-like stories from dice - thanks for putting it first in a more humourous way :)
my search for previous adverts revealed lower right corner text "Slashdot is a Dice Holdings, Inc. company"
bad website, bad. sit, no bone for you.
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HWGA (Score:5, Insightful)
Yup...here we go again.
F U dice.com, F U.
Re:HWGA (Score:5, Funny)
Seconded.
Still, may as well try to make the best of it. Joey Coumeau wrote some pretty funny job applications:
http://www.asofterworld.com/oqarchive.php [asofterworld.com]
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Still, may as well try to make the best of it. Joey Coumeau wrote some pretty funny job applications:
http://www.asofterworld.com/oqarchive.php [asofterworld.com]
Thanks a lot for that link. It's making my evening.
BTW, I need to insert this string in the thread:
fuck you dice.com
Also:
fuck dice.com
(because F U sometimes just isn't enough).
Re:HWGA (Score:5, Funny)
Re:HWGA (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:HWGA (Score:5, Insightful)
You have got to be pretty out of touch to think doing that is a good idea. It's not one of those things that "looks good on paper" then takes a nose dive. It was a bad call from the get go.
Of course it could be worse. Every front page story could be a shoddy summary and link to a Dice.com "article". Personally I'm still reeling over the How to use a Linux Virtual Private Server [slashdot.org] "article". What's worse is they moved the "article" from Dice.com to slashdot itself [slashdot.org] to, I dunno, give it more credibility?
"Hey, this old fluff piece we wrote has something about Linux! We should post a story about it!"
"Shoot, they didn't like that it's a Dice.com article"
"I KNOW.. we'll move it to the slashdot domain.. that way it'll be credible!!!"
"Awesome idea!!!"
*back pats all around*
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It is a site that lures job seekers in under the false pretense of having jobs available, then aggregates the information and sells it to advertisers who are apparently too dumb to realize that unemployed people are not a great market.
Re:HWGA (Score:4, Funny)
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As a paying member, I can assure you this advertisement is still well and truly in my face.
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TFA is really "very helpful". Let's review:
1) Use Industry Standard Job Titles: Hey! Great idea! Which one should I use? Programmer? Software developer? Software engineer? Software designer? Coder? Thank goodness it's standardized in the I.T. world!
2) Tie Your Your Work to Business Results: What another fantastic idea. Because I know exactly how much my programming earns or saves a multi-million dollar business. I know that because managers always give detailed feedback to peons like me. Also,
Again? (Score:5, Funny)
Another link to dice.com? That must be a great site! No time to comment! I'm heading over there RIGHT NOW!!
Re:Again? (Score:5, Funny)
I know what you're thinking, and they don't sell actual dice.
Re:Again? (Score:4, Funny)
Someone who is a libertarian ought to complain to the UN/WIPO/ICANN/whatever and try to get it taken away.
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Actually the summary says "I think you're even more unlikely to get a job if you do some of the things on this list." pointing to Forbes, where the list on Forbes is of people that were all hired. Quite the opposite of the summary in fact...
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If you dumb asses would have read the comments first, you would instantly known it was a fluff piece / disguised advertising. But NOOO, you have to try to be knowledgeable about the subject before deciding you're qualified to comment. Well that'll learn ya for next time - *always* read the comments first!
It All Started Last Year ... (Score:5, Funny)
Yvonne Lee: Well, really all you need is eyeballs that people will automatically use to read whatever you put in front of them.
CEO of Dice: Yes, but how do we do that?
Yvonne Lee: Um, you could purchase a tech blog site like Slashdot.org.
CEO of Dice: "Slashdot"? Sounds violent
Yvonne Lee: Yes, everything that goes up on there is widely regarded as fact by millions of idiots every day.
CEO of Dice: Very well, one slash dot dot org, please! *holds up $137 in small bills and drops some change on the table*
Dice.com (Score:5, Funny)
After study a couple of of the weblog posts on your internet site now, and I genuinely like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark web site list and will probably be checking back soon. I certainly will be recommend dice.com to all friends and good family.
News for nerds, stuff that matters.
Can someone point me in the right direction? (Score:5, Funny)
I need to know where /. moved to. I didn't realize this url was now the Dice.com blog.
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Reddit.com!
Reasons you're not getting good candidates (Score:2, Insightful)
"I once heard advice to use the exact wording found in the ad when placing your keywords."
Okay, an anecdote "I once heard" posted anonymously on /. is not exactly a scientific survey, but the intent is quite clear: candidates should be carefully tailoring their resumes to HR's total "I don't give a fuck" attitude.
But. If that's how a company is hiring, that company is going to be fucked before too long. If HR doesn't give a fuck and there's not enough leadership from the people who count to get HR to give a
Reasons boil down to (Score:2)
Any way to filter out these ads? (Score:4, Insightful)
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- Mouse over your username in the top left and click "Options" from the dropdown menu.
- Go to the "Exclusions" tab and put a check in the box next to "Slashdot Staff" and accept changes.
You should be good to go. If they start posting under other editors, I'd probably be inclined to just sack the site off for something else. *Cough* Signature *Cough*
Sadly Enough (Score:5, Interesting)
From experience I know that one of the largest employers in the USA actually gives you a much better shot at a job if you do include the same key phrases in your resume. The mass crush of resumes that come in for any job opening requires that the HR drones put everything through an automated filter or three. If your resume doesn't pass those filters nothing else matters because no one is going to read it.
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Or drop the name of an important and probably well-connected uncle.
If you have one of those I doubt you'll be submitting your resume to HR as part of the "interview" process.
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In case it need be said...
The reason for filters is that for every candidate who actually reads the job posting and is sending an application that shows that the candidate's experience and skills intersect with what the posting is looking for, there are dozens of morons whose method of applying is spray and pray, or do not know that the people reading applications are not mindreaders.
Creativity? (Score:2)
This is anti-productive. (Score:5, Insightful)
Prior to the recent rash of Dice.com slashvertisements, I held a very positive opinion of both Dice.com and Slashdot. With each new thinly veiled attempt to drive traffic to Dice, I lose a little bit of respect for each.
If Dice wants to put ads on slashdot, just put ads on slashdot. Stop running fake stories that just diminish a site that has spent a long time earning a loyal following.
So, basically... (Score:3)
"some of the things on the list" (Score:5, Insightful)
This is one of the reason I despise the industry and the lore that surrounds it: the ostensible "professionalism", the bullshitting, the going to the job interview in suit and tie (what the fuck for, nobody knows), the total lack of colour and creativity, the need to use boilerplate and keywords...
And the fact that "some of the things on the list" are considered outlandish and not conducive to getting a job. I found humorous every single item on that list, and would considered the candidate to have an advantage, exactly for having a sense of humor, rather than a disadvantage in getting a job.
In academia, where I work now, things are somewhat similar but not as bad as in the industry, and there's a measure of nuttiness and humor you can get away with.
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My experience has been that the HR experience of large companies seldom matches the actual working environment. Getting through the bullshit sucks, but once you do you might find a great working atmosphere.
Smaller shops where you get interviewed by the owner are usually (but not always) lighter on the BS. A suit/tie is usually still a good idea though! Its a silly custom but why fight it (unless you are ready to really fight it/make some kind of point).
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A suit/tie is usually still a good idea though! Its a silly custom but why fight it
I just cannot stand bullshit. It's a fortuitous coincidence that I don't have to take that much anymore, now that I'm in academia.
I just cannot fathom going to a job interview in a suit anymore - I couldn't live with me anymore after that. To me it's throwing all my dignity down the wazoo.
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Maybe depends on where you're from. In California it doesn't fly, but you're still expected to not have just a tee shirt and jeans. However on east coast it is still expected most places. Doesn't need to be a great suit though.
The whole point really is that it needs to look like you care about getting the job. If they're looking at many candidates they're probably going to pass on the person who acts as if the interview is a waste of time, and they're definitely going to pass on the person who thinks he
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I might as well be a molecular biochemist trying to discuss DNA coding with a construction foreman.
Okay, I'm a corner case, but....
Careful with your insults there. I was once a construction foreman myself. I grew up in the business, am good at it, and enjoy the smell of sawdust. I'm in IT now because construction doesn't pay much and has too many foreigners. I'll still build my own house one day.
But I assure you, I can discuss all sorts of scientific minutiae with you, oh great genius who has never stooped to manual labor. You might have a skill or two I don't... I've got hundreds you don't, I promi
Re:"some of the things on the list" (Score:5, Insightful)
No, we think that wearing a suit is uncomfortable, expensive and inefficient. It also doesn't accomplish anything.
The suit represents everything that's wrong with concepts like fashion. The tie, for instance: it's a useless piece of clothing that doesn't do anything except get in the way, and hasn't done anything for hundreds of years.
Yet it's still seen as an essential item of clothing by people who care for appearance over practicality, and who see nothing wrong with judging people on their appearance. They're the ones who think they're superior. We're just being practical.
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This is one of the reason I despise the industry and the lore that surrounds it: the ostensible "professionalism", the bullshitting, the going to the job interview in suit and tie (what the fuck for, nobody knows), the total lack of colour and creativity, the need to use boilerplate and keywords...
And the fact that "some of the things on the list" are considered outlandish and not conducive to getting a job. I found humorous every single item on that list, and would considered the candidate to have an advantage, exactly for having a sense of humor, rather than a disadvantage in getting a job.
In academia, where I work now, things are somewhat similar but not as bad as in the industry, and there's a measure of nuttiness and humor you can get away with.
Of course you realize that you lost some street cred here by going to the link and reading the list?
Re:"some of the things on the list" (Score:5, Insightful)
By the way, if I am ever asked to interview someone for an HR position, I'd give them a nice mix of resumes of people I've interviewed before, asking them to make a motivated selection. I seriously doubt miss Lee would pass muster...
"Standard Job Title"? (Score:5, Interesting)
What the heck is a "standard job title" anyway? I've worked at 12 different companies in my nearly 30 years in software development, and never have I had the same "job title." I'm pretty sure my current job title is meaningless to anyone else looking to hire me, as would the dozen other job titles I've had be.
Get back to me when the "industry" publishes a list of "standard job titles" and makes every company comply with it.
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I work in a department of about 50 people and the job titles of every single person across four levels of hierarchy are nearly identical.
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This is a problem I constantly face, I'm not actually 100% sure what my own job title is this week (or for that matter, what they call my department these days). I know it has changed at least a dozen times since I started this job, even though I haven't changed job positions. When talking to someone inside the company I use the slang abbreviation for my job title (that one hasn't changed in at least 15 years, though it might not make sense to anyone not familiar with the internal workings of the company) a
To Yvonne Lee from all slashdot readers, (Score:5, Informative)
Since you didn't read my post from yesterday, here it is again: Please go fuck yourself. Seriously. Everybody here means it. That's all. Thank you.
Read an interesting tip... (Score:5, Interesting)
...on another forum:
Copy and paste the entire job description into a 1 pixel by 1 pixel box on your resume. Invisible to the naked eye, but parsers easily pick it up.
Just make sure to watch the sites that parse and reformat for you (Monster, eg) when uploading.
in summary... (Score:2)
Recruiters are too lazy to determine whether a person who's last position as "Enterprise Data Architect" where listed skills are scoping, implementing, and managing DB2, MS SQL, and Oracle instances requested by internal clients has the skills necessary for their company's "Database Administrator" position.
I read this as "Do the work for HR/Recruiters, they're not intelligent enough to do it themselves".
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It's a bit worse than that, really. It's more like:
HR people are not intelligent enough to parse your resume. Try to guess the wrong way they'll use to parse it and modify your resume accordingly.
This effectively selects for candidates who are able to think like an idiot: a critical skill for dealing with customers and management after landing the job!
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That's a bit unfair. There are occasional HR people who are quite intelligent. (They may be rare, but it's not an ansolute given that all HR are stupid.)
But, even the intelligent ones aren't going to do a bunch of extra work for no reason. Yes, you should always try to make it as easy as possible to hire you. HR people may have to hire candidates for 20 wildly different specialties by Thursday. They may h
My resume is my only marketing material (Score:3)
As a software consultant and occasional contract employee, in all cases, the resume is what gets me hired, and the phone interview is just a safeguard to make sure I'm a real person. Often the interview turns into a technology bull session with the developers making sure that I have the correct industry understanding and not whether I have done the things I stated I could do. I clearly communicated that fact to them already. In my resume.
See ya, Slashdot. (Score:5, Interesting)
We're getting this every day? And Dice is apparently deleting comments [slashdot.org]? Fuck that. Slashdot is done. Nice work, Dice.
PS: I'm on my way over to delete my Dice profile too, since the company is clearly incompetent and unethical.
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Censored Slashdot Post [cryptome.org]
http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&type=submission&id=2494685 [slashdot.org]
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Re:See ya, Slashdot. (Score:5, Informative)
We didn't delete anyone's comments. http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3455889&cid=42890287 [slashdot.org]
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We're getting this every day? And Dice is apparently deleting comments [slashdot.org]? Fuck that. Slashdot is done. Nice work, Dice.
PS: I'm on my way over to delete my Dice profile too, since the company is clearly incompetent and unethical.
You mean this post: NO idea.... [slashdot.org]?
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Follow the link and you'll see the comment wasn't actually deleted.
Anyone else "trying" to quit? (Score:5, Funny)
One piece of valuable advice (Score:2)
“Hiring managers have a big pile of résumés to review, and they are always looking for a reason to put you in the ‘no’ pile.”
If you're going through the resume stage, the only goal is to get yourself into the "call" stack rather than the trash pile. When hundreds of resumes come in for a position, its far more important for HR to not let crap through then it is for them to try to find the perfect candidate - the reality is probably that there are several differently (but equally) qualified candidates for the position, and if any one of them is hired then HR and management have done their jobs.
If one of those candidates makes it
lax hiring standards (Score:2, Interesting)
My issue with finding employment mostly has to do with who I am competing with in my field. Computer science has become a field like doctors and lawyers where people get involved with it for the high salaries. People who are motivated by monetary gain for employment are more willing to make concessions just to have the job that pays $200,000.
In order to get that salary they will embellish their work experience, their skills or whatever it takes to get that position. Once employed, they generally don't mind
It needs more apprenticeships / tech schools not (Score:2)
It needs more apprenticeships / tech schools not just college.
4 years pure college classroom is way to much for IT and has lot's of skill gaps. I say max 2-3 years classroom and more tech / trades schools with apprenticeships.
College put out paper tigers at a much higher cost then certifications.
Position re-opened for hire! (Score:3)
This is why we keep seeing positions that are re-listed. HR people can't or won't do their jobs, and they get crap. Recruiters do even worse by telling the applicants what to say on resumes and in interviews, and they bring in crap.
And so it has come to this (Score:5, Insightful)
It's been fun, it really has. Over the years as a lurker, as AC and then eventually as a lowly 6-digiter I have seen tons of insight, reasoned debate and out-and-out flame wars. There's been +5 Funny and -1 Troll and everything in between. And despite all of the bitching, there really was quite a bit of news for nerds and stuff that mattered.
Up until the last couple of months, when it all seems to have gone down the pan at warp factor nine. On this wonderful internet of ours things come and things go. Now is clearly the time for the venerable /. to go and I will help it on its way, albeit with a heavy heart.
So long, slashdot!
University of Nix (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3)
I recall a story going round my employer in the early 90s that someone had turned up for an interview claiming all sorts of expertise and detailed knowledge of UN-Nine.
The HR interviewer was clearly intending to hire - fortunately the technical interview came afterwards.
It all sounded impressive until the penny dropped and it was clear they thought UNIX came after UNVIII
Yvonnee Lee's resume is awful! (Score:3)
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Personal attacks on anyone - especially on things people have no control of - is rather distasteful and takes focus away from the actual issue - slashvertisements.
In my case (Score:2)
Enough already! (Score:5, Insightful)
It's been a fun ride, slashdot, but slamming into the wall at the end ruined it for me. Dice Holdings, Inc. can apply big wet smoochies to that part of my anatomy that is reserved for evacuating the stuff that Dice does best.
"Slashdot Staff".... (Score:5, Informative)
slashdot as dice.com shill site? (Score:5, Interesting)
WWCTD
What
Would
Commander
Taco
Do?
Wonder how he feels about this. I mean, he got his pile of $$ and "is out" but still, I bet he cares.
Re:Why the Dice.com hate? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not that I'm in the job market or even looking, but it didn't take long to figure out people hate these guys. Just wondering why.
Because we come here to read the news, not to have some parent-company advertisement misrepresented to us as if it were news.
CmdrTaco knew his audience; /.'s new masters at Dice.com don't seem to have figured it out quite yet.
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CmdrTaco knew his audience; /.'s new masters at Dice.com don't seem to have figured it out quite yet.
Slashvertisements were certainly common at certain points during CmdrTaco's reign of terror.
Well, sure, but at least he knew to be shady about it.
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Not that I'm in the job market or even looking, but it didn't take long to figure out people hate these guys. Just wondering why.
In short, Dice is currently the Slashdot corporate overlord. Hatred is obligatory.
Re:Why the Dice.com hate? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why the Dice.com hate? (Score:5, Insightful)
To be fair, drivel like this has been showing up for Slashdot for years. I didn't notice it was a paid piece until I read the comments complaining about it. The problem is two--fold. First is a matter of principal--rather than get their drivel on Slashdot through users submissions, like all the other drivel, they're using their position as parent company to do so.
Second is the very real possibility that paid Dice.com drivel will increase in volume until there is nothing left but Dice.com drivel pieces. Then the few genuinely good stories will be gone.
Re:Why the Dice.com hate? (Score:4, Insightful)
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This is essentially SEO for recruiters, and isn't really that constructive.
Makes me wonder if they only bought Slashdot for its pagerank.
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If only there were a way for a large group of people to lower a site's pagerank.
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> it's like the ad in the top right corner of the page
I agree.
> So what? They've gotta make money.
I already paid them money, by subscribing, so that I'm not shown ads.
Now they're showing me an "article" that, as you said, is like an ad.
> People detest change.
I detest not getting what I believe I paid for.
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Re:Meme alert. (Score:4, Funny)
Yvonne Lee, Community Manager at Dice.com writes,