Web Designer

A Letter From Future You

To: Me, in July 2007
From: Me, in July 2008

Dear Self,

It's hard to believe that so much can change in just a year, isn't it? Just twelve months ago, George Bush was still President, Harry Potter was still alive, and you/I were/was stuck at that dead-end job. Wait. I guess you're still stuck at that job. It's still 2007 for you, isn't it.

For me, anyway, it seems like another lifetime: there I was, whistling that stupid James Blunt song while trudging back and forth from cubicle #201.5 in Building 5, East Campus and the Mezzanine Fishbowl in 13, just because that one director couldn't get his wireless card working and wanted to see my prototype on the "good" projector. Too bad his favorite Starbucks was on the way, too. "Half-soy, half-lowfat" -- what gives? Man, I hated that.

Oh wait, that's you right now, isn't it? Sorry.

Remember when Gerry in Marketing saw that 50% more efficient workflow you designed, and all he said was to "pretty it up" with that really bright green color that the users threatened bodily harm over? That green that turned out to be the exact same shade as that road bike he insisted on riding up into the elevator? Gosh, that hasn't happened yet, has it? Hey, for lunch that day, you should have the roast beef instead of the quiche. Trust me on this one.

Well, the good news is, it's almost over. In the spring, you'll be getting a job offer from this company called Geni -- never mind what they do there; it's not important and it's not like you could try it out or anything right now, anyway. Just know that they're a bunch of folks from PayPal, Yahoo! Groups, and a few other places, and they really value good work. You might want to dust off that resume of ours right now, and bump the following to the top:

• 5+ years experience in web design
• Standards-compliant HTML and CSS
• Experience building sites with scripting languages, like PHP, Perl, or Ruby on Rails (look into that last one; it's going to be huge)
• Experience with Javascript/Ajax/Prototype
• User-centered design, including usability and HCI concepts
• Rapid prototyping methods

Why bother? For one thing, you can wave bye-bye to that "corner office" where your chair actually faces a corner where two brick walls meet. But more importantly, this job is great: they really value good, clean code, and are always looking to apply the latest techniques to make the user experience shine. Plus, look at everything I've got now:

• Great leadership and advisors, including David O. Sacks, the original guy behind PayPal's simple, convenient product
• An SF Bay Area-style startup environment transplanted to Los Angeles, with fancy chairs, cheap tables, and no cubes
• Flexible daily schedule (it's not about face-time here)
• Free lunch (and dinner, if we're working late)
• Full medical, dental and vision, plus 401k
• Smart, creative people who are looking to hire more like them
• Funding

Look, we both know how much we like to "keep it real," but I love it here. So I'm going to give you a tip: you might be able to get out of that big presentation next week if you send Geni your resume early. Do it now -- or you might forget. And that would be almost as bad as when Management asked Valerie to decorate the office for Cinco de Mayo, even though she was Filipino.

Good times.

Me