My Full Cover Letter for the Candidate Rater position at Sourceress.

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SiliconValley Startup - - must take employer growth seriously.
The interface evolves? If it does, that’s a profound statement. It gets more efficient and fun?
The interface has a personality? You had me at evolves.
Hi. I’m Tala. I am a rapidly growing and well-connected freelancer based in Windhoek. I’m
looking for a Silicon Valley startup that needs a generalist who loves learning (especially about
technology).
Studying tech trends is my addiction. The easiest way to see this is to take a look at my
Medium https://medium.com/@TalaShivute and my Twitter @TalaShivute.
I started blogging about tech because I love it and I want to work in the industry. On my
medium, topics I’ve covered include how the tech industry is taking over business, and how the
collaborative economy relates to technologies like platforms, cryptocurrencies, social media,
open source software and Software as a Service. Some topics that will be coming up soon
include behavior modification, AI and AR.
I have great engagement from people in tech on my twitter page and I was recently followed by
this guy.
Prior Experience with Programming:
I’ve taken 2 college level C++ courses, a SQL course and a Visual Basic course when I pursued a
degree in Computer Information Systems. We learned how to make basic programs in each of
these languages. Since then I have read a lot about software in startups through online articles,
blogs and books. I also have two apps on my phone that I play with that teach programming.

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Rails Cards
If I had to make an estimate of the total time of exposure, and self-learning that I’ve had it
would be approaching 1752 hours1.
I’m super interested in the new developments in Artificial Intelligence because it looks like the
AI winter is finally over. The amount of progress we’ve made lately in ‘Narrow AI’s’ like image
recognition is the reason why so many people are getting excited about it. They’re finding
practical uses for it.
Deep learning is a machine learning technique made popular by Google’s project of identifying
cats in YouTube videos. Deep learning is getting a lot of attention because it’s being used to
realize astounding technical feats, like beating Lee Sedol in Go (neural networks).
There are several deep learning architectures that I have placed in parenthesis after the
achievement. Now many ‘Narrow AI’s’ have moved beyond humans capabilities in a diverse set
of cases like diagnosing cancer (natural language processing), playing foosball (AI with explicit
strategies in the code therefor not machine learning), and dogfighting against a human pilot
(genetic algorithms). This is only the beginning.
1. (Time in classroom + time doing homework + time self-studying)(over the years) = 1752

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First Step Deep Learning by Jiqiong Qiu
Why do I want this job?
Looking at programmer resume’s all day sounds super interesting. Being able to tell what a
good programmer looks like is a really useful skill. There’s no corner of this sector that I could
possibly find boring.
I’ve always wanted to work at a startup. This opportunity would give me direct access to my
dream gig. This means I will only deliver inspired work. Only.
And then I get to help you figure out how to use machine learning to apply the right labels to
candidates? Really? What?! I’d almost do it for free.
So I’m teaching the machine to rate resume’s? Does it have a name? And then another or the
same machine is learning how to automate the sourcing of eclectic, non-standard interior
design items?
Why I think I’d be a good fit for this role?
- I’ve worked in several industries, ranging from education, mental health, to insurance,
ecommerce, HRIS and IT. I’m widely read, with a liberal arts degree in economics. So
the generalist part is taken care of.
- Although my career has been focused on revenue generating roles like sales and
marketing, most of the ‘professional learning’ I do is about tech.
- There are opportunities for me to grow into other roles. That’s great because I like
variety.

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- ‘Give up’ is a phrase that I just can’t understand. Sometimes my motivation crosses over
to maniacal. Total self-starter. I don’t have to keep grokking tech talk at the pace that I
am. It’s a labor of love. Details are beautiful. I proofread my articles myself.
- Do I read fast? Apparently not that fast. But I’m rectifying this as you read. Besides, in
the meantime, I can keep up with any amount of assigned readings because I’ll probably
find it fascinating.
Favorite Books & Default Reading:
Three of my favorite books are The Lean Startup, The Founder’s Dilemma and Founders at
Work. I always default to reading about tech.
My information absorption breaks down into the following ratio: 90% tech, 7% business, 3%
other.
What do I like to do in my free time?
In my free time I work-out. Weights and Chinese martial arts. Some meditation. I also explore
online platforms, and play with technology wherever I find it. Once in a while I get to watch sci-
fi movies and tv-shows.
Resume: http://bit.ly/2fgQcAL
Work Samples: http://bit.ly/2h04Hqe

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