https://twitter.com/liyiwei/status/1339021832117096448
2020-12-15
2018-09-27
How filter recruiters
It is usually much more effective to talk directly with the hiring managers for job opportunities. Recruiters, either internally to the companies or externally in agencies, are usually less effective, even though I have encountered a few very good ones and enjoyed the processes.
If you are receiving more recruiter contacts than your bandwidth can handle, one strategy is as follows. Tell the recruiter that you are very happy with your current job (true for me, but pretend to be so even if you are not) and are not thinking about switching now. However, you are interested to know more about the opportunity, and might be able to recommend other suitable candidates.
A run-of-the-mill recruiter, looking for a quick score, will usually pass by after reading this message.
A smart recruiter, on the other hand, knows the importance of building relationships and expanding networks, and top candidates usually have good jobs; they will be more likely to get back to you.
2017-08-10
Leaving Hong Kong
[Time for me to write this after the course/RPG requests start to flood in prior to the beginning of the next semester.]
I am joining Adobe Research in the bay area to increase the practical impacts of my research and reduce the excessive jet-lags I have to deal with.
This move is purely due to personal/geographical reasons; I love living in Hong Kong and being a professor.
I will remain affiliated with HKU for a while, without taking new PhD/MS/MPhil candidates or teaching classes. I will continue to help students through my open mentor program and internships with Adobe Research. Past course information is available under my homepage.
I would like to thank my family, friends, colleagues, collaborators, and students who have given me such a wonderful experience in Hong Kong. I will continue to explore this interesting world.
Hug <3
Specific thanks to:
Baining, Danny, Greg, Julie, and Marc for references;
Doug for all the advice and the book “a primer for university presidents”;
BH and dad for motivating and encouraging me to explore outside the bubble;
Pedro for relaying my application from HKUST to HKU, and sharing his restaurant list which I shamelessly borrowed for hosting guests;
Wenping and Yizhou for a vibrant graphics group;
CK and TT for advices on funding, service, and management;
Tomas, my last MSR intern, for joining me in Hong Kong;
Jun, my first official (no-shadow) student, for outstanding performance;
Qi, for bringing me into VR/display/perception research;
Mamba, my last HKU PhD student – I will do my best to help you succeed like your predecessors;
All my collaborators for the chance of learning from you and working on so many exciting projects;
DRPC members, especially Reynold, for all the fun in RPG recruiting;
DCDC members for their confidence in letting me teach 3 crucial courses: introductory programming, mobile computing, and machine learning;
Jolly for being the master TA for several classes;
HF for always kindly scheduling my classes in the afternoons;
KP for valuable experiences in teaching C1117;
Jack for leaving me C3314, which expelled teachers like the “defense against the dark arts” class in Hogwarts;
😎
The general and technical office staff, especially Wandy, Priscilla, and Olive for all the paper works and Maria for dealing with my always incorrect/incomplete/delayed expense/trip/grant reports;
Francis, you still owe me a lesson in Cantonese foul words.
>:D
2016-09-19
Contact for job applications
Having a middleman who knows well both the job applicant and the hiring manager can help a lot, compared to submitting and examining job applications in the dark.
However, if I were the hiring manager, I would prefer the candidate to contact me directly (and cc/mention the reference in the email). This is more direct and sincere; the job is between the candidate and me, not the reference. And I can ask the reference for more information if I need.
In the initial contact, keep in mind that you are the seller and they are the buyer. So, the key is to convince them why they should hire you, by focusing on what you can do for them instead of the other way around.
2016-07-18
Academia stuff that I didn’t learn in the industry
It is much better for a computer scientist to have sufficient industry experiences before joining the academia, as I explained before.
Just be mindful of some necessary adjustments, some of which I am learning as an ongoing process and shared below.
Something I didn't learn in the industry: grant money will expire if not consumed by the deadline. 🙂
— Li-Yi Wei (@liyiwei) November 19, 2015
2016-03-27
Equality versus fairness
A CEO gets paid 100 times the average employee salary. It is definitely not equal. But is it fair? The answer depends on whether the CEO has contributed 100 times than the average employees.
It is not always easy to tell fairness from equality, but it is important not to confuse the two.
Fairness should be maintained, but it is unfair and counter-productive to enforce equality.
Algorithmic species
Algorithms can already devise algorithms and write programs.
It is just a matter of time before they can do that in a scale massive enough to displace many, if not most, programming jobs, just like what robots have already done to the manufacturing jobs.
2016-01-29
Research opening
February 22 2016 update: I managed to spend all the expiring grant money already.
I have several opening research positions. Please contact me if interested, and help spread the information.
What:
You pick whatever topic you like to do as long as (1) it can be published in a top graphics or HCI venue (e.g. SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH Asia, ToG, UIST, CHI), and (2) I have enough interests and expertise to help you.
How:
Send me a brief description of your research plans along with the usual information, like your resume. Tell me why you want to work with me and how I can help you.
When:
The first period will begin anytime from now and end on April 14 2016.
I can extend your contract if your performance is good enough.
Where:
These will be HKU positions, but other than school requirements you can work anywhere you like.
Who:
If you like to continue involve your current advisers or collaborators, just let me know. I usually like to know and collaborate with different people.
Why:
I have an expiring research grant that needs to be consumed prior to April 14 2016, and the remaining can be used only for hiring staff.
2016-01-26
How to write grant proposals
I used to think that writing grants is a necessary evil, but now I realized it is a great way to plan research at a high level, beyond individual papers or projects.
Basically, it is not just about writing what you plan to do. You are essentially authoring a top paper, but not yet published.
Another thing I didn’t learn in the industry: decreasing the speed of publishing a paper can increase the chance of getting a grant.
More specifically, good research alone may suffice for publishing papers, but grants are given to projects that still have sufficient future works.
A fundable project needs to strike the right balance between finished and unfinished works.
Leaning too much towards the former has been the main reason for my grant proposal rejections so far.