86 karma · joined May 19, 2010
Checked out the Clearbit API and I didn't see that type of data in there.
You can't change your underlying personality, but you can work on being more social. It's definitely not easy (at least not for me) - when in social situations during the workday, my internal monologue is usually saying "I'd rather be coding." It takes time and practice, but it's achievable. I've been working at being more social and have seen some success.
My major struggle during my first full time work from home job was family would see I'd be home during the day, and ask me to run errands or do other personal matters during working hours. It was an uphill battle trying to explain to them that I, too, worked during the day - just not in a traditional office building.
Also, if you have the space, try to set up a dedicated "work" office, and them a "home" office in a separate room. Once your work day ends, you can leave your "work" office just as you would a traditional office. I've found this helps with keeping a regular schedule and not working 10+ hours a day. An alternative to having a separate office is utilizing a local coworking space.
Our apps do the following: - Time off - Shipment request (i.e. UPS, Fedex, etc) - Purchase order request (part of this process is still paper based) - Employee directory (currently a hodgepodge of excel sheets, paper booklets and a 14 year old intranet site) - HR news/communications (recently purchased a hosted wiki app for this, seldom used anymore)
The biggest selling point for us would be to have the app outside the firewall, and accessible from our mobile devices or home computers.
Beyond that, having the app be a "one stop shop" for HR information (benefits, corporate policies, etc), time off requests, shipment requests and an employee directory listing phone extensions, emails, photos, bio, etc. It definitely doesn't need to be everything to everyone, but if it was a place I could reliably go to for benefits information, time off, it would surely take off at my company.
The biggest issue is still when a component powers down, you still need to search for it again.
I have had recruiters leave me enthusiastic voicemails / emails saying they "can't wait" to speak to me about a position and I am the "perfect candidate", but when I return their phone call or email, there's complete radio silence. Honesty about my qualifications for a given position is key; if I don't meet the job requirements, then tell me so.
It's also annoying when they won't reveal the salary for the position, or when they do, it's only after telling them your current salary. Usually, once I mention my current salary, the recruiter says "this position's salary is close to your current salary". Transparency in this area would go a long way with me personally.
[0] http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/home/scenarios/web-sites/
It's been an interesting and successful experience thus far.
* A training schedule, similar to a degree plan in university - just something that outlines where the organization expects them to be at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months during their first year of employ.
* Coding standards defined by the organization. Telling any developer, but particularly a junior, that your standards are "I know it when I see it" doesn't fly.
* Formal code reviews. This is something we could definitely do better. I'm working getting Atlassian Bamboo to make the reviews easier on everyone involved.
* Regularly scheduled meetings with the trainers and the junior. We do every 3 months, with less formal meetings more frequently. It's important to let them know how they are progressing, and to give them tips on how to improve any deficient skill sets.
Overall, I think the most important thing is to maintain open lines of communication.
I think the most important thing is to get your body on a regular sleep schedule.
* No soda - I found soda messed with my body chemistry quite a bit, also affecting my sleep patterns. I sleep and feel better without it.
* No caffeine after 12pm - I have most of my caffeine between 6-8 AM, with the occasional cup of coffee before lunch.
* Very little alcohol on work nights - More than two beers/one cocktail, I've found, contributes to a really poor quality sleep for me.
* Wake up between 5-6 AM, reading in bed by 9 PM (sleeping by 10 usually). Getting into a routine helps me set aside the 7-8 hours of sleep I need each night.
* Exercise - I go to a personal trainer 3x a week after work, and do cardio on the off days. This helps get me to sleep at night, since I'll usually be pretty tired after workouts.
* Eliminate stress at work - I found that for a few months, big projects at work were keeping me up at night. I had to consciously stop thinking about work in my personal time, which helped me sleep.
There are some examples in there, though a few are a bit dated.