Hey Little Pineapple, My friend is a prison guard and within a year, the job nearly destroyed him. From the outside, it doesn't look like work that takes a heavy psychological toll. But the stories he shared painted a different picture entirely. "I feel like I teleport to a different reality when I start my shift," he told me. No phone. No contact with the outside world unless absolutely necessary. Just him and the inmates for hours on end. The isolation ate him. The constant stress. The...
12 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Little Pineapple,My first recruitment job was at a big recruitment corporation. I liked it. It taught me a lot about recruitment and working with businesses. And a lot of people are bashing on corporate world, but truth is I was pretty good at corporate.The vibe, the chase, celebrating wins, the energy. I genuinely enjoyed it. But it wasn't my place. Not my world. So I started looking for something new in gamedev. Sent out CVs, went to interviews, and landed on one gig I actually liked....
16 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Little Pineapple, I had this conversation with a friend recently. At some point we started talking about work because of course we were. We were talking about me living in Bali, doing the whole digital nomad thing and him sitting in Poland, running a customer service team. He told me he really likes the job. Feels good at it. Like he's making a difference. All the things you want to feel about work, right? Here's the kicker: he used to be a business owner. He had his own thing. Spent...
21 days ago • 3 min read
Hey Little Pineapple, Raise your hand if you've ever received a reply similar to this after interview: “Thank you for your time, but we’re moving forward with another candidate.” Or its cousin: “We went with someone more aligned.” Polite.Safe.Completely useless. I had a client who brought this exact frustration to one of our conversations. He told me about an interview he still remembers to this day. He walked out convinced he nailed it.Answered every question.No awkward moments.No gaps. The...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Little Pineapple, A few months ago I was working with a client. Smart guy. Solid performer. Good job on paper. But something was off. He felt anxious at work.Told me he snapped more easily at people.Did the bare minimum just to get through the day. He didn’t want to go there anymore. He told me he thought about quitting more times than he could count.But he couldn’t. Too many obligations. Too much risk. We worked through it and it was clear he needed a break. So he took almost a month...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, I was working with a client recently who felt stuck. Great at his job.Reliable.Respected. But every time we talked about his next step, he was like... eee, I would like to, but it feels so comfy here... Not because he didn’t know what he wanted. He actually did! He just didn’t know how to let go of the role he’d been in for years. So during one of our sessions, we mapped out what staying would really cost him.Not in money.Not in the status he had in the company. But in time,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Little Pineapple,You probably think companies avoid giving feedback because they’re lazy (and that's the most gentle description I can think of). And I'm telling you it's not exactly true.Here's my story from the times when I used to believe I could fix recruitment and tried to change the system. Chapter 1 - The Experiment I was working on a role with 2 mandatory, non-negotiable requirements: You must be based in Europe You must have Unity experience with F2P mobile games Clear. Simple....
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Dear, Today I want to talk to you about values. Yes I know. You heard it multiple times. You know it's important to identify them. But have you?Can you confidently name them? Because let me tell you something(and I will die on this hill): Values are the most important thing when it comes to building a proper career. Values aren’t some “nice extra” in your career.They’re the system underneath everything you choose. When your work goes against your values, you can still have a “career” on...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Imagine you’re in prison.You’ve been there for a few years, but you’ve done everything right.Good behavior. No incidents. Even the guards say you’ve got a real shot at early release.Your parole hearing is coming up soon, and you’ve heard your judge is fair and friendly.So you go in, answer all the questions, and try to stay calm and respectful.And then… the judge looks at your file and says, “Denied.”You’re staying in.They break for lunch.After the meal, another inmate goes in.Same crime....
3 months ago • 5 min read