4 ms·

> I'm sorry to be blunt, but if this is the case then your skills are very much rock bottom. Job-finding skills, maybe. But those don't necessarily correlate w

by walrus 9y ago

> I'm sorry to be blunt, but if this is the case then your skills are very much rock bottom. Job-finding skills, maybe. But those don't necessarily correlate with job-doing skills. All of my job searches have been >3 months ("Absurd! In this job market?! You must be awful."), yet managers have made it clear to me that they've been extremely satisfied with my work. OP, if you're anything like me, you need interview practice and networking. * Interview practice is easy. Drill yourself over and over and over until you're comfortable with the kind of things that get asked during interviews. Then, once you're comfortable, find someone to do mock interviews with you. * Networking is hard. Your best option is to talk to people you previously worked with and let them know you're looking for a job. If you're not in contact with former coworkers, try going to programming meetups and talking with people.

jansho 9y ago
Yeah parent comment's tone is a bit too judgmental - if self-marketing is the real problem, then can I add that having a nice portfolio website is always super helpful. Even if you can't "show" your code stuff, at the very least just talk about the projects you've done. Make sure that the website is built rock-solid so you don't shoot yourself in the foot as a front end dev ;))
brailsafe 9y ago
I like these suggestions. Networking is hard but really the best way to find fulfilling work. Implicit networking (meetups, hack nights, hacker spaces) are things I love and come easy which is great. I do also make a strong effort to maintain relationships with former colleagues and have a high success rate leaving a job with a positive impression and mutual interest in maintaining contact. Interview practice is something I haven't done enough and could stand to do more of. I think one of the things I need to do is take a hard look at all the reasons why I may have failed and see where I can improve. At the very least, unfortunately, most interviews are inconsistent and expectations haven't been set appropriately before hand. Some on-site right away; some never on-site; some a miniscule phone conversation plus a 6 hour coding take-home project. Oddly, intense algorithms haven't come up yet.

by walrus 9y ago

jansho 9y ago

Yeah parent comment's tone is a bit too judgmental - if self-marketing is the real problem, then can I add that having a nice portfolio website is always super helpful. Even if you can't "show" your code stuff, at the very least just talk about the projects you've done. Make sure that the website is built rock-solid so you don't shoot yourself in the foot as a front end dev ;))

brailsafe 9y ago

I like these suggestions. Networking is hard but really the best way to find fulfilling work. Implicit networking (meetups, hack nights, hacker spaces) are things I love and come easy which is great. I do also make a strong effort to maintain relationships with former colleagues and have a high success rate leaving a job with a positive impression and mutual interest in maintaining contact. Interview practice is something I haven't done enough and could stand to do more of. I think one of the things I need to do is take a hard look at all the reasons why I may have failed and see where I can improve. At the very least, unfortunately, most interviews are inconsistent and expectations haven't been set appropriately before hand. Some on-site right away; some never on-site; some a miniscule phone conversation plus a 6 hour coding take-home project. Oddly, intense algorithms haven't come up yet.