Blog

Building in the open

Notes on data engineering, AI integration — and honest lessons from the job market that shape what I build and why.

1 July 2026

Take-home projects: the best and worst use of my job-search time

Interview assignments taught me more than any screening call — and cost me more than I expected. What I'd do differently if I started the search today.

23 June 2026

Recruiters vs. my chatbot: early reactions

The recruiter bot has been live for a while. Some people loved it, some refused to touch it — and the biggest beneficiary turned out to be me.

9 June 2026

Why I'm building my own AI-augmented portfolio

A self-promotion site that demonstrates the approach, not just describes it — and what I learned setting it up in a week.

18 May 2026

Answering the same recruiter questions for the tenth time

Every recruiter call followed the same script. Instead of repeating myself, I decided to change direction — and build something that answers for me.

4 May 2026

Back on the market: what my first interviews actually tested

After ten years inside company infrastructure, I found myself unemployed, rebuilding confidence with courses — and then discovering that interviews test something else entirely.