Last couple times I've gone through an interview process, I've been more than a little peeved because they didn't do any research on me beyond reading my resume. I'm the webspace - we're talking about a web-oriented job - Google me for goodness' sake!
Asking surface level questions that could be Googled in 2 seconds borders on insulting. They certainly will judge me by how much I know about their company, and how enthusiastic I am about the company. That needs to run both ways.
My wife just says I was looking for an ego-stroke. Well... why wouldn't I? I've worked hard for years both on building up my skills, but also trying to build up a reputation. To gloss over that and not do any research beforehand on someone you're planning on giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to over multiple years is just lazy.
These were people that called me, not the other way around.
The job/labor/work market is broken, and I don't know if there's a way to 'fix' it in the short term. It will evolve in to something more workable, but I don't see that happening too quickly.
Did you not have your previous work clearly listed on your resume? Why would you expect, say, an engineer who just got FW your resume an hour before the interview to go google you and stalk your twitter feed?
If I'm interviewing someone, I will go research them beforehand. I've been handed resumes, and gone and done a google search. If there's no blog, no sourceforge/github, no homepage, no mailing list chatter, I've had that weigh in my decision.
Previous work is listed on the resume.
I didn't suggest stalking a twitter feed, but googling for me would indicate I do have a twitter account. And a blog. And a github account. And a podcast. And that I run a local user group.
To then be asked "so, what's your involvement with the tech community?". Or "what sort of tech work do you engage in outside of office hours?". That's just lazy. There are 2 people on the planet with my name. This isn't a case of "John Smith"-itis.
I also hate the calls from recruiters (I don't often take) that start with "I found your resume...." and end with "... send me your resume". Umm... you have it. YOU FOUND IT ONLINE. THAT'S IT. Sure.... they may have found one from 8 years ago - I get it. I tell them - "it's updated on my website and in multiple formats". If they can't be bothered to go to my website to download it, we're off to a bad start and this relationship isn't going to work.
If that's a criteria for you when looking for an employer, then that's your choice, but I personally would never expect such a thing.
The last time I had to interview (being an engineer), I was sent 7 resumes on a Monday for interviews being conducted on a Wednesday. I checked out any links they put on their resume, apps in the appstore, etc. If they did not feel they could be bothered to tell me about something, then it will remain a mystery to me.
It wasn't clear from your original post that your links were in your CV / resume. Should be a lesson to those who want to showcase their "side" projects, LinkedIn profile (heavily checked now days), to put these ON your resume. I consistently fidn in screening Software, Web Dev's and designers asking them if they have an online profile, github, LinkedIn that the answer is yes, but is absent from the resume.
Why would you expect a hopeful employer to wait until interview day to forward the resume out to the interview team? Sales teams put more effort into their pitches.
Asking surface level questions that could be Googled in 2 seconds borders on insulting. They certainly will judge me by how much I know about their company, and how enthusiastic I am about the company. That needs to run both ways.
My wife just says I was looking for an ego-stroke. Well... why wouldn't I? I've worked hard for years both on building up my skills, but also trying to build up a reputation. To gloss over that and not do any research beforehand on someone you're planning on giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to over multiple years is just lazy.
These were people that called me, not the other way around.
The job/labor/work market is broken, and I don't know if there's a way to 'fix' it in the short term. It will evolve in to something more workable, but I don't see that happening too quickly.