←back to thread

291 points jshchnz | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source

Soham Parekh is all the rage on Twitter right now with a bunch of startups coming out of the woodwork saying they either had currently employed him or had in the past.

Serious question: why aren't so many startups hiring processes filtering out a candidate who is scamming/working multiple jobs?

Show context
oh_fiddlesticks ◴[] No.44462790[source]
What is the difference between this and leadership being in the committees, boards and executive seats of multiple companies?

Why is it the social expectation that an IC must devote 100% of their time and energy to the operations of a single company, when their senior leadership often manages their time between the affairs of many companies in their purview?

replies(8): >>44462849 #>>44462859 #>>44462864 #>>44462975 #>>44463126 #>>44463210 #>>44463408 #>>44466188 #
Barrin92 ◴[] No.44463126[source]
>What is the difference between this and leadership being in the committees

That this involved lying to your employers. There is no social expectation that you only work one job, plenty of people work multiple jobs, but there is a social expectation that you do what you said you'd do, and it turns out you have a bit of a mathematical problem if you try to work 4 eight hour jobs in a 24 hour day.

Which is, as per the article, how he was caught. Turns out if you call in sick at one place and then push code to github for your other jobs most employers aren't paying you for that.

replies(1): >>44463181 #
tkiolp4 ◴[] No.44463181[source]
Please. Employers are going after the your last drop of blood. The only reason that’s socially accepted is because they have the power to do so, and because it has been like that since ever. You make one mistake and you’re fired (sometimes even you’re fired randomly); the company is not earning as much as last year? Layoffs! AI can do part of your job? Layoffs!

It’s silly and servant-like to think you are in an equal-to-equal position when dealing with a company and that you cannot dedicate your time to other endeavors just because they wrote that in a paper. If it turns out that they don’t like how you perform while doing multiple jobs, they will fire you, just like they will fire you even if you work just for them.

replies(2): >>44463466 #>>44463855 #
freefaler ◴[] No.44463855[source]
Employment contract is a contract and usually it's fixed hours per workday for a salary. So basically you as employee swap X hours per Y amount of money.

If one of the parties is in breach of that contract it's normal it to be dissolved. If you don't want to work, you don't need to sign that contract.

The really moral part of free market economy is that both parties are voluntary entering a contract. You as a person sell your skilled time, the company buys your skilled time. If you have super unique skills, like Andrej Karpathy you sell something on the market that is very valuable and you have the upper hand. If you know "Microsoft Excel" I'd bet there are many people (or AI agents) that will do the same and what you're selling can be bought in many places (and time zones).

Basic microeconomics... In a free market you need to do something for the others to have something for you. And if it's not useful, they won't pay you for that.

replies(1): >>44467491 #
asdf6969 ◴[] No.44467491[source]
Salaried positions are explicitly not selling time. Whether I work 2 or 12 hours the compensation is the same. The only reason these contracts make sense is the unstated agreement that my employer won’t abuse the contractual power they theoretically have. And what’s the alternative? Signing bad contracts and leaving when things go to shit is probably 10x better for my career than pretending that I have agency in contract negotiations
replies(1): >>44483580 #
1. freefaler ◴[] No.44483580[source]
All the jobs I had in was contractually required to work from X to Y at a place Z. So my experience is that is indeed a selling skilled time.

The ones you describe where there is a contract for output, usually with external contractors not full-time employees.

And you indeed have agency, especially if you provide something hard to find or you're the sole provider for this company of that service and the switching cost is high. Basic microeconomics...