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Ask John Peter a question
Why are the British confused about us calling bread rolls “biscuits” when they call bread rolls “puddings”?
John Peter
Most British people understand that the English and American English have drifted slightly away, so that we have different definitions of words. Now, to the British people who insists our naming is incorrect, they need to understand that our language is not the same. Please don’t try to tell me thatRead more
How do native speakers tell I’m foreign based on my English alone?
John Peter
It may be little things like not using native idioms, that you would pick up from living in the UK. But, hey. That’s just a guess. Also, I don’t think I would’ve noticed you were foreign from what you wrote, if you didn’t point it out.
What is a nice way to end an interview that is clearly going badly?
John Peter
I’ve also ended interviews as a candidate on the phone myself. They asked a question that I didn’t’ have the answer to and I told them that I didn’t know. The next 2 questions were in that same direction, with them knowing that I’d already said I wasn’t particularly fluent in that area but they keptRead more
Does Google force employees who have offers from Facebook to leave immediately?
John Peter
When I was at Facebook, 2013–2016, the rumor I heard was the opposite. It was my understanding that Google practically had a policy of counter-offering anyone who got an offer from Facebook, and that seeking an offer from Facebook was a strategy Googlers used to up their compensation. Ironically, FaRead more
I keep getting tasks that are above my skill level. How can I address this without coming accross as grossly incompetent?
John Peter
A less confrontational way to address this is to ask your boss to help you understand why he thinks you can handle these tasks. The other part of this discyion is to help clarify expectations. Who knows, you may find that they really don’t expect you to handle this, but you’re there only hope at theRead more
Dealing with an employee that went over my head
John Peter
This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior. As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it. I’d immediately request a one-on-oRead more
How to approach applying for a job at a company owned by a friend?
John Peter
Before going to the interview, you can send a note (I would prefer that over a phone call) that you had applied for this position and you are appearing for the interview. You can express your concern anyway about conflict-of-interest but more likely than not he will understand the situation himselfRead more
How to handle personal stress caused by utterly incompetent and lazy co-workers?
John Peter
The way I’m managing this at my current job is by turning my anger into satisfaction. Every time I place my hands on bad code, I try to leave it into a better shape, or at least leave a few TODOs and comments with tips and tricks for those that will come after me. Will they keep writing bad code andRead more
Should I start with Django or JavaScript?
John Peter
I will disagree with Rishabh on this one, it's only when I started with JavaScript did I truly come to appreciate the design decisions that are made in any programming language. JavaScript taught me a whole lot of semantic concepts. Be it the prototypal school of inheritance, or functional programmiRead more
Is PHP still a relevant language in 2017?
John Peter
Yes it still is and it will be for a long time. At least in web development. WordPress is powering close to 75 million website and that uses PHP. I work for an agency that is trying to get PHP developer for 12 month and is still employing. In the UK is a large amount of open PHP jobs and I get contaRead more