← Quora archive  ·  2011 Nov 28, 2011 06:33 PM PST

Question

Has anyone been offered a job because of their Quora participation?

Answer

No jobs, but 2 consulting gigs (both about 6 months ago) and one writing gig. I get a fair amount of backchannel messages from people who just want to strike up a conversation or asking for private advice on random things, but not much by way of financial opportunity (3 to be exact). I am not looking for a full-time job, but if I were, and publicized the fact here, I am skeptical about getting any serious leads. Quora is a great job market only for a few very specific kinds of talent. Mid-career ex-researcher isn't one of them

Given my relatively high activity and visibility levels, this low yield rate might seem surprising, but it makes sense when you take into account that I have very few useful skills, and none that are in high demand right now among the types of people who have work/jobs to offer AND are active on Quora. I can't code like a ninja, design UIs, raise VC money or close million-dollar sales. I also cannot write screenplays or offer deep expertise on specific industries.

I am pretty useless in terms of things this community values enough to pay for in dollars (rather than Quora credits). I am now surprised I've even gotten what I have.

All this means I've basically abandoned Quora as a source of serious financial opportunities. I was much more gung-ho about prospects about 6 months back and briefly even attempted to preferentially answer questions that I figured might lead to opportunities. Now I just screw around.

But maybe the market for stand-up philosophers on Quora will rebound. Until then, I'll be shilling for work elsewhere.