Type and topic

Essays and writing about work and careers

Every link here is classified as essays and writing about work and careers.

Hall of Fame: 41
Candidates: 52
Median span: 6.1 yrs
First seen: 2007

Strongest Hall records

41 items

The Gervais Principle, or the Office According to "The Office"

www.ribbonfarm.com 24 submissions · 24 people · 16.4 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2020-12 Resurfaced 2026-03-07

325max pts

Don't Call Yourself a Programmer, and Other Career Advice (2011)

www.kalzumeus.com 24 submissions · 22 people · 14.7 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2016-09 Resurfaced 2021-08-19

1021max pts

Maker's schedule, Manager's schedule (2009)

www.paulgraham.com 20 submissions · 20 people · 15.6 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2015-12 Resurfaced 2023-06-24

383max pts

You Weren't Meant to Have a Boss (2008)

www.paulgraham.com 9 submissions · 9 people · 14.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2015-06 Resurfaced 2020-10-10

322max pts

Structured Procrastination: Do Less, Deceive Yourself, and Succeed Long-Term

www.structuredprocrastination.com 21 submissions · 20 people · 19.0 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2018-04 Resurfaced 2022-02-10

323max pts

Programmers: Before you turn 40, get a plan B (2009)

improvingsoftware.com 8 submissions · 7 people · 14.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2019-07 Resurfaced 2019-08-02 archived copy

452max pts

Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems

jsomers.net 7 submissions · 7 people · 10.4 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-03 Resurfaced 2025-12-15

513max pts

The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

blog.samaltman.com 12 submissions · 12 people · 10.6 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2019-09 Resurfaced 2023-04-19

1163max pts

The Wetware Crisis: the Dead Sea effect (2008)

brucefwebster.com 17 submissions · 16 people · 15.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2024-02 Resurfaced 2024-02-06

127max pts

How Developers Stop Learning: Rise of the Expert Beginner (2012)

daedtech.com 12 submissions · 12 people · 10.4 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2020-07 Resurfaced 2023-09-17

672max pts

In Praise of Idleness (1932)

harpers.org 8 submissions · 8 people · 7.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-07 Resurfaced 2025-09-17

270max pts

Forgotten Employee (2002)

sites.google.com 8 submissions · 7 people · 9.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2022-02 Resurfaced 2022-10-19

747max pts

No Hello (2013)

www.nohello.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 6.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2024-03 Resurfaced 2024-04-30

323max pts

Things You're Allowed to Do

milan.cvitkovic.net 8 submissions · 8 people · 4.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-11 Resurfaced 2023-11-24

537max pts

Engineering management lessons (2014)

www.defmacro.org 8 submissions · 8 people · 9.1 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2018-09 Resurfaced 2018-09-07

517max pts

Big Companies vs. Startups (2015)

danluu.com 12 submissions · 12 people · 9.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2024-05 Resurfaced 2024-05-15

730max pts

Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself

mtlynch.io 6 submissions · 6 people · 6.7 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2024-11 Resurfaced 2024-11-08

1767max pts

Hexing the technical interview (2017)

aphyr.com 9 submissions · 9 people · 7.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2019-12 Resurfaced 2021-10-29

598max pts

Developers who use spaces make more money than those who use tabs

stackoverflow.blog 5 submissions · 5 people · 6.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-08 Resurfaced 2021-05-17

881max pts

Typing the technical interview

aphyr.com 10 submissions · 10 people · 8.1 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2022-11 Resurfaced 2022-11-02

413max pts

Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

training.kalzumeus.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 8.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2021-03 Resurfaced 2021-03-21

824max pts

Get your work recognized: write a brag document

jvns.ca 11 submissions · 11 people · 7.0 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-12 Resurfaced 2023-12-31

347max pts

My [husband] works for Electronic Arts, I'm ... a disgruntled spouse. (2004)

ea-spouse.livejournal.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 13.5 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2022-07 Resurfaced 2022-07-15

206max pts

Smart Guy Productivity Pitfalls (2013)

bookofhook.blogspot.com 7 submissions · 7 people · 10.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2018-03 Resurfaced 2018-03-06

319max pts

Google's “Director of Engineering” Hiring Test

www.gwan.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 5.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2022-01 Resurfaced 2022-01-01

1764max pts

Life is a game, this is your strategy guide (2014)

oliveremberton.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 9.1 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-03 Resurfaced 2023-03-05

359max pts

No hello – please don't just say hello in chat

nohello.net 5 submissions · 5 people · 3.3 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2025-06 Resurfaced 2025-06-17

249max pts

If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

hbr.org 6 submissions · 6 people · 6.1 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2021-09 Resurfaced 2024-03-01

252max pts

The Open-Office Trap (2014)

www.newyorker.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 10.7 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2025-08 Resurfaced 2025-08-21

153max pts

Normalization of Deviance (2015)

danluu.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 7.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2025-09 Resurfaced 2025-09-06

447max pts

Why I Strive to be a 0.1x Engineer

benjiweber.co.uk 5 submissions · 5 people · 6.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2022-11 Resurfaced 2022-11-10

445max pts

The Programmer's Price: Want to hire a coding superstar? Call the agent

www.newyorker.com 7 submissions · 7 people · 5.9 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2020-10 Resurfaced 2020-10-11

374max pts

How some good corporate engineering blogs are written

danluu.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 6.0 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2024-05 Resurfaced 2024-05-30

617max pts

Hiring Is Broken – My interview experience in the tech industry

medium.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 2.7 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2019-01 Resurfaced 2019-01-17

376max pts

The STEM Crisis is a Myth

spectrum.ieee.org 5 submissions · 5 people · 3.4 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2017-02 Resurfaced 2017-02-03

139max pts

How 'DevOps' Is Killing the Developer (2014)

jeffknupp.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 5.5 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2021-01 Resurfaced 2018-06-28

121max pts

To be great, be good repeatably

blog.stephsmith.io 5 submissions · 5 people · 4.5 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-12 Resurfaced 2023-12-18

435max pts

The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done

www.newyorker.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 3.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2024-09 Resurfaced 2023-05-31

293max pts

It’s easier to manage four people than one person

staysaasy.com 6 submissions · 4 people · 4.7 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2022-08 Resurfaced 2022-08-18

267max pts

Claude Shannon: How a Genius Thinks, Works, and Lives

medium.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 3.5 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2021-01 Resurfaced 2021-01-20

362max pts

What Silicon Valley gets about engineers that traditional companies do not

blog.pragmaticengineer.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 2.9 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-09 Resurfaced 2023-09-17

805max pts

Recently resurfaced

latest 20+ point return

The Gervais Principle, or the Office According to "The Office"

www.ribbonfarm.com 24 submissions · 24 people · 16.4 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2020-12 Resurfaced 2026-03-07

325max pts

Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems

jsomers.net 7 submissions · 7 people · 10.4 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-03 Resurfaced 2025-12-15

513max pts

In Praise of Idleness (1932)

harpers.org 8 submissions · 8 people · 7.2 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2023-07 Resurfaced 2025-09-17

270max pts

Normalization of Deviance (2015)

danluu.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 7.8 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2025-09 Resurfaced 2025-09-06

447max pts

The Open-Office Trap (2014)

www.newyorker.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 10.7 years

Hall of Fame Class of 2025-08 Resurfaced 2025-08-21

153max pts

Candidates

Browse 52 candidates

HOWTO: Be more productive (2005)

www.aaronsw.com 14 submissions · 14 people · 18.5 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-10-24

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

259max pts

We only hire the trendiest

danluu.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 5.6 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2021-10-27

Needs:5 submissions

1615max pts

How to lose time and money

www.paulgraham.com 8 submissions · 8 people · 13.5 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2011-11-14

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

467max pts

People suck at technical interviews (2014)

seldo.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 4.8 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2019-06-12

Needs:5 submissions

265max pts

Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

writings.stephenwolfram.com 8 submissions · 8 people · 5.0 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2025-11-12

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

199max pts

Developer hiring and the market for lemons

danluu.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 3.7 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2020-06-16

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

448max pts

Advice to new managers: don't joke about firing people

staysaasy.com 5 submissions · 4 people · 6.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2021-09-20

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

666max pts

Work peak and professional decline (2019)

www.theatlantic.com 7 submissions · 6 people · 6.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2021-03-29

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

198max pts

Being Glue

noidea.dog 15 submissions · 15 people · 5.2 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2020-11-17

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

187max pts

Is it Time for You to Earn or to Learn?

www.bothsidesofthetable.com 7 submissions · 7 people · 12.3 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2013-03-19 archived copy

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

131max pts

Aaron Swartz: How I Hire Programmers

www.aaronsw.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 16.6 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2015-05-22

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

276max pts

Employees are happier when led by people with deep expertise

hbr.org 6 submissions · 5 people · 4.2 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2021-03-26

Needs:3 active years

756max pts

Driving engineers to an arbitrary date is a value destroying mistake

iism.org 5 submissions · 5 people · 3.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2021-08-06

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

404max pts

Do call yourself a programmer, and other career advice (2013)

yosefk.com 7 submissions · 5 people · 11.4 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2024-01-17

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

136max pts

Attention is your scarcest resource

www.benkuhn.net 4 submissions · 4 people · 5.0 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2025-07-29

Needs:5 submissions

674max pts

Sergey Brin's Resume as a Student

infolab.stanford.edu 5 submissions · 5 people · 9.4 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2019-08-03

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

139max pts

You don’t need to work on hard problems (2020)

www.benkuhn.net 4 submissions · 4 people · 4.9 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2023-11-07

Needs:5 submissions

415max pts

Employees Who Stay in Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less

www.forbes.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 6.9 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2024-06-05

Needs:5 submissions3 active years

708max pts

Things I Don’t Know as of 2018

overreacted.io 4 submissions · 4 people · 4.6 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2020-11-26

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart5 submissions

753max pts

Dad and The Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming (2012)

blog.stephenwyattbush.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 9.5 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-01-15

Needs:5 submissions

272max pts

If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

calnewport.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 8.0 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2019-11-14

Needs:5 submissions

499max pts

Absolute truths I unlearned as junior developer

monicalent.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 7.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-06-06

Needs:5 submissions

1529max pts

My dad's resume and skills from 1980

github.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 6.7 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-10-25

Needs:5 submissions

1482max pts

Is developer compensation becoming bimodal?

danluu.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 3.0 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2021-02-15

Needs:5 submissions

381max pts

The trimodal nature of software salaries in the Netherlands and Europe (2021)

blog.pragmaticengineer.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 2.9 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-07-02

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart5 submissions

271max pts

Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

www.deprocrastination.co 3 submissions · 3 people · 5.3 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-08-08

Needs:5 submissions

1636max pts

Yes, And – How to be effective in the theatre of work

tomcritchlow.com 4 submissions · 3 people · 3.7 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2023-07-18

Needs:5 submissions

358max pts

The Top Idea in Your Mind

www.paulgraham.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 11.6 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2020-03-23

Needs:5 submissions

650max pts

Why I am Not a Professor, or The Decline and Fall of the British University

www.lambdassociates.org 3 submissions · 3 people · 4.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2011-12-21

Needs:5 submissions

187max pts

The First Rule of Microsoft Excel: Don’t Tell Anyone You’re Good at It

www.wsj.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 4.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-10-24

Needs:5 submissions

678max pts

People can read their manager's mind (2015)

yosefk.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 8.7 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2024-09-02

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart5 submissions

199max pts

Programmers should stop calling themselves engineers (2015)

www.theatlantic.com 5 submissions · 5 people · 4.2 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2023-08-23

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

49max pts

The answer to "Will you mentor me?" is...No.

pindancing.blogspot.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 8.7 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2019-08-16

Needs:5 submissions

328max pts

Everything must be paid for twice

www.raptitude.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 3.0 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2023-06-15

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart5 submissions

406max pts

Your Most Important Skill: Empathy

chadfowler.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 8.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2015-03-12

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart5 submissions

330max pts

Algorithms Interviews: Theory vs. Practice

danluu.com 6 submissions · 6 people · 5.9 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2024-06-02

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart

265max pts

Programmers Should Plan for Lower Pay?

www.jefftk.com 3 submissions · 2 people · 5.2 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2022-11-05

Needs:2 breakout events 720+ days apart5 submissions3 submitters

339max pts

What it's Really Like Working with Steve Jobs

inventor-labs.com 3 submissions · 3 people · 6.8 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2016-02-04

Needs:5 submissions

351max pts

Hire people who give a shit

alexw.substack.com 4 submissions · 4 people · 4.7 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2025-08-10

Needs:5 submissions3 active years

236max pts

When your coworker does great work, tell their manager

jvns.ca 3 submissions · 3 people · 3.1 years

Candidate Resurfaced 2023-08-31

Needs:5 submissions3 active years

1074max pts