5 ms·

Ask HN: I'm rebooting my life, and could really use your advice.

19 points by throwaway202 16y ago

I'm rebooting my entire life. I'm moving to a new city (Philadelphia), I'm getting married in six months, and I have over $100,000 in personal debt ($70k credit card, $30k IOU to my co-founder) resulting from the failure of my previous business. My focus is on being a reliable provider for my soon-to-be family. As such, my immediate goal is to get a corporate job, but I need some advice: Question 1: How do I find somebody to help me write my resume? I want to find somebody who can understand the cross-functional role I played as a founder/COO and help me express that experience and my skills effectively in a resume. Question 2: Once I'm happy with my LinkedIn and my resume, how do I go about finding a good recruiter and/or appropriate jobs in a town where I have thin personal and professional networks? I'd really appreciate any guidance at all. I'm hoping to start the job hunt in earnest in early January.

willheim 16y ago
I think you're going about it backwards. Let me get this straight: You're moving to a new city without a job and getting married in 6 months with 100k in debt? Yikes. You're resume and LinkedIn can wait (or be done on the side at night). Start networking NOW! Job 1 is getting a job. Best way to get a job is to be introduced. Talk/email/call/bang on the doors of everyone in Philly. Good luck with the reboot.
- throwaway202 16y ago
  Not to be daft, but what all would you do to 'start networking now'? I've added a few possibly relevant professional events to my calendar, and I'm trying to get to know my neighbors but it doesn't feel like nearly enough and I've had trouble finding more (particularly with the holidays, which seem to have killed a lot of the late december events).
  - chrisaycock 16y ago
    Why are you moving to Philly to begin with? Is your wife's family from there? Why are you moving to a city with no contacts and no job offer?
    - throwaway202 16y ago
      My wife-to-be got a great opportunity and she wants to pursue it. My assumption is that I bring enough value to the table that I'll get a job as soon as I figure out how to frame my experience in a helpful manner and meet more people.
  - willheim 16y ago
    "Possibly relevant professional events" are the 5-10% of what you need to do. Most of those events are just drinking and schmoozing with little benefit and even less follow-up. Have you identified potential places of employment? Have you posted on relevant local boards? Have you called up/met with any recruiting centres that focus on Philly? Have you contacted the HR departments of companies that may fit? Have you spoken with the Philly board of trade/commerce? And stretching out, how about the local chapters of the Knights of Columbus/Shriners/other social groups? How about your university/college alumni? Facebook? Have you extended your possible career choices to include teaching at a community college (I know one guy who did that)? Have you checked with the city and what jobs they have (municipal governments are all hiring IT guys these days)? There are lots of ways to find a job. Sitting in front of your computer, browsing Monster/Craigslist/etc. is not the best way. The holidays definitely put a crimp on opportunities available right now so you should, IMO, be taking the initiative to introduce yourself to those who may have openings in the next couple of months. First the introduction, then the reintroduction after the holidays. That shows drive, determination, and desire.
    - throwaway202 16y ago
      Thank you so much for an incredibly helpful post. I've done about half of what you suggested, which means that half of it is new to me. One follow-up question for you: Do you have any advice on how to contact the HR department of a candidate employer and have a conversation that's deeper than 'yes, I will send a cover letter and cv'? Thank you again for taking the time to list some specific ideas that I hadn't considered.
      - willheim 16y ago
        That's a tough one. Persistence and lucky timing could help if you can't get a direct and personal introduction. Till you get the introduction it will all be about persistence.
iamntz 16y ago
I'm not sure you can reboot your life with $100k debt though...
lmai 16y ago
Network first. Start with your network locally and ask if they have contacts in Philly. Join some meetups in Philly. You write your own resume. Don't spend more money doing that. You know yourself best. Then get your friend to review.
mast 16y ago
Don't expect to get the perfect job right away. Get any job and start paying down your debt! Once you're settled and your network is more established, you can look for other opportunities.
carlrice 16y ago
From a young developers perspective Philly was fun. Lots of events, low living costs for a decent city and tons of web work. I was able to easily freelance with few contacts. A previous co-worker on the other hand (usually working in the very top of a company) found Philly to be difficult as he had too much experience in high positions and expected to find it again and again with a cushy salary too boot. Its been over a year and I still think he is out of work. Pharma while soul crushing will get you the fast cash you need, is abundant and should be easy enough to get into.
maxawaytoolong 16y ago
You should write an ebook on how to find a fiance and move to a new city while being unemployed and having $100K in debt. This would be more interesting than any of the advice you're going to get about how to find a tech job in Philly. Maybe you could sell enough of them to pay off your credit card. I'm only being about 10% tongue-in-cheek. I'd buy it...
switch007 16y ago
With $100k of debt, I'd consider a marriage a "luxury" that could wait.
- shortlived 16y ago
  Why? You don't need a lot of money to have a unique and meaningful wedding.
codeslush 16y ago
I'll take a stab at this. First, a few assumptions: 1. You have no children 2. You are currently single 3. You are technically savvy 4. You are healthy, probably relatively young (20's) and able to work. If those assumptions are all accurate, then I offer this: Hit the power button and reboot again. Marriage, as someone else said, can wait. Finances cause a lot of marital problems. This, of course, is optional. Get married if you want. But I think it would be better to do so with a clean slate. Your first years of marriage should be joyful and full of intimacy. It's hard to do so when you're financially strapped. It's just an extra source of stress you don't really need. Since you currently don't have other baggage (kids, wife, mortgage, presumably pets) -- how about another stab at doing a self-employment thing? Do some consulting work to get some cash flow and build work on a business you might enjoy. Once the wife and kids and house and dog and cat and picket fence come along, that's going to be a real bitch of a thing to do without significant cash reserves. I know, because I've got first hand experience and have limited myself and my options as a result of my choices. A lot of people fail at their first (and subsequent) business attempts. Surely you've read this all before. Wouldn't it suck to quit right before you got it right? But, forget all that crap! Right? I get it. You want a little stability. Good! But, will you be happy? Will your corporate job fulfill your passionate needs? Will that steady paycheck make you happy? Perhaps. If so, do it! How about getting that corporate job and seeing if you like it? Before marriage! Hey, if this person loves you, they'll wait. No rush my friend, right? Or am I wrong? If I'm wrong, then maybe you better think twice. Now, you got your corporate job, you aren't married, you have no kids or house or pets and picket fence --> you have options! Selfish options at that. Step out and get back to your thing. Oh hell, I probably said too much. Good luck and smart choices to you. And...my sympathies for the debt - but don't let it destroy your spirit. Life is a roller coaster - the nice upside will pay you visits in your future and you'll look back at this as a great education.
- throwaway202 16y ago
  A few reactions to this: - No kids, engaged, I have strong technical skills (10+ years of dev and ops experience, lots of IT project management experience), I'm healthy, in my 30s, and I am ready, willing and able to work. - Marriage rescheduling isn't on the table. The wedding was supposed to happen last year but got nixed because my business had just entered free-fall and I was a ball of stress. Now the situation is crappy, but well-defined, so I no longer panic about finances. She would wait again if I wanted, but that's not what I want, either. - I did quite a bit of consulting in the past year, as we were winding down the company. The positive side was that the pay was fairly good and it helped scrub a lot of debt (there was a point where I was down close to $200k.) The minus side was that I felt stressed by having what was more of a collection of part-time jobs than a business or a career. This downside is amplified by the fact that I stopped enjoying dev work, hate doing outside sales, and I legitimately miss having to go to an office each day. - Right now, a steady paycheck is exactly what I crave. I have a roadmap laid out that includes both a corporate and an entrepreneurial fork, but both start with me working in the PMO or IT PMO of a relatively large corporation for the next four years, then move to Singapore and attend INSEAD. - Thank you for your post. I'm extremely grateful for everyone who took the time out to offer their thoughts. - The debt really isn't that bad. I paid $100,000 for a transformative experience. If you gave me a time machine I'd do it again.
rudin 16y ago
Me being blunt. Find someone to help you write your resume? Why can't you do this yourself? You are just offloading responsibility. It takes a day to do and is fairly easy. Find a good recruiter? Cannot you just start applying for jobs now? Why do you need a recruiter? They can be helpful but as you need a job as soon as possible you shouldn't limit yourself here. Finally, starting the job hunt in early January is procrastinating. Get up and start applying now. There is a pre-Christmas lull in many offices that make it a good time to hire. Good luck with your job search.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- throwaway202 16y ago
  To answer your questions: - I wrote a resume. That said, I believe that somebody who deals in resumes all day, every day will have useful guidance in how to convey my skills and experience in resume form. - My experience is that many of the better jobs aren't listed in the typical spots. As such, a good recruiter can help me cast my net more effectively. - I'm pushing the search until January because I have out-of-town obligations on 10 of the 12 remaining business days this year. If somebody is interested in me, I want to be available for the interviews.
kirinkalia 16y ago
Sounds like you've thought this through. Congrats to your fiancee for landing a great gig. You are a true partner for making this move. Since no one else has said it, find out which alums from your university are in Philly and set up informational interviews with ones in fields/jobs you find interesting. Everyone loves to talk about what they do/how they got to where they are. Key: follow up with a hand-written thank-you note. This is far more memorable than an email! (and do this for everyone who takes time to talk to you) I would also set up an informational interview with these Philly folks to get a better idea of the local scene: http://www.dreamitventures.com/ http://www.dreamitventures.com/ I totally get that you want a job-job, but they will "get" your background and may even put you in touch with one of their companies and/or introduce you to others in the Philly tech community. I'd also check out http://asktheheadhunter.com/ http://asktheheadhunter.com/ for advice on how to treat your job search the way a recruiter operates in matching companies and talent (essentially, you research the heck out of a place where you'd want to work and then show them how they need you). The "Ask the Headhunter" book is a bit repetitive but may be worth picking up as well. Best of luck! And don't be too hard on yourself. The process will most likely have its setbacks.
- throwaway202 16y ago
  Awesome ideas. I've had coffee with people who were far more successful than me many times in an effort to understand how they did it. It hadn't occurred to me to do the same in this situation. I just added a todo to my calendar to contact DreamIt as soon as I'm in Philadelphia full-time, because that is absolutely brilliant. I might be able to go "corporate" by working for a portfolio company, or perhaps somebody in their network would clearly understand what I bring to the table. And frankly, even if none of that works, once my debt is cleared my wife wants to found a startup so it'd be great to have a better handle on what DreamIt is doing. I know this isn't a memorable hand-written note, but I can't tell you how appreciative I am for the advice and ideas. I truly appreciate it.

19 points by throwaway202 16y ago

willheim 16y ago

I think you're going about it backwards. Let me get this straight: You're moving to a new city without a job and getting married in 6 months with 100k in debt? Yikes. You're resume and LinkedIn can wait (or be done on the side at night). Start networking NOW! Job 1 is getting a job. Best way to get a job is to be introduced. Talk/email/call/bang on the doors of everyone in Philly. Good luck with the reboot.

throwaway202 16y ago
Not to be daft, but what all would you do to 'start networking now'? I've added a few possibly relevant professional events to my calendar, and I'm trying to get to know my neighbors but it doesn't feel like nearly enough and I've had trouble finding more (particularly with the holidays, which seem to have killed a lot of the late december events).
- chrisaycock 16y ago
  Why are you moving to Philly to begin with? Is your wife's family from there? Why are you moving to a city with no contacts and no job offer?
  - throwaway202 16y ago
    My wife-to-be got a great opportunity and she wants to pursue it. My assumption is that I bring enough value to the table that I'll get a job as soon as I figure out how to frame my experience in a helpful manner and meet more people.
- willheim 16y ago
  "Possibly relevant professional events" are the 5-10% of what you need to do. Most of those events are just drinking and schmoozing with little benefit and even less follow-up. Have you identified potential places of employment? Have you posted on relevant local boards? Have you called up/met with any recruiting centres that focus on Philly? Have you contacted the HR departments of companies that may fit? Have you spoken with the Philly board of trade/commerce? And stretching out, how about the local chapters of the Knights of Columbus/Shriners/other social groups? How about your university/college alumni? Facebook? Have you extended your possible career choices to include teaching at a community college (I know one guy who did that)? Have you checked with the city and what jobs they have (municipal governments are all hiring IT guys these days)? There are lots of ways to find a job. Sitting in front of your computer, browsing Monster/Craigslist/etc. is not the best way. The holidays definitely put a crimp on opportunities available right now so you should, IMO, be taking the initiative to introduce yourself to those who may have openings in the next couple of months. First the introduction, then the reintroduction after the holidays. That shows drive, determination, and desire.
  - throwaway202 16y ago
    Thank you so much for an incredibly helpful post. I've done about half of what you suggested, which means that half of it is new to me. One follow-up question for you: Do you have any advice on how to contact the HR department of a candidate employer and have a conversation that's deeper than 'yes, I will send a cover letter and cv'? Thank you again for taking the time to list some specific ideas that I hadn't considered.
    - willheim 16y ago
      That's a tough one. Persistence and lucky timing could help if you can't get a direct and personal introduction. Till you get the introduction it will all be about persistence.

iamntz 16y ago

I'm not sure you can reboot your life with $100k debt though...

lmai 16y ago

Network first. Start with your network locally and ask if they have contacts in Philly. Join some meetups in Philly. You write your own resume. Don't spend more money doing that. You know yourself best. Then get your friend to review.

mast 16y ago

Don't expect to get the perfect job right away. Get any job and start paying down your debt! Once you're settled and your network is more established, you can look for other opportunities.

carlrice 16y ago

From a young developers perspective Philly was fun. Lots of events, low living costs for a decent city and tons of web work. I was able to easily freelance with few contacts. A previous co-worker on the other hand (usually working in the very top of a company) found Philly to be difficult as he had too much experience in high positions and expected to find it again and again with a cushy salary too boot. Its been over a year and I still think he is out of work. Pharma while soul crushing will get you the fast cash you need, is abundant and should be easy enough to get into.

maxawaytoolong 16y ago

You should write an ebook on how to find a fiance and move to a new city while being unemployed and having $100K in debt. This would be more interesting than any of the advice you're going to get about how to find a tech job in Philly. Maybe you could sell enough of them to pay off your credit card. I'm only being about 10% tongue-in-cheek. I'd buy it...

switch007 16y ago

With $100k of debt, I'd consider a marriage a "luxury" that could wait.

shortlived 16y ago
Why? You don't need a lot of money to have a unique and meaningful wedding.

codeslush 16y ago

I'll take a stab at this. First, a few assumptions: 1. You have no children 2. You are currently single 3. You are technically savvy 4. You are healthy, probably relatively young (20's) and able to work. If those assumptions are all accurate, then I offer this: Hit the power button and reboot again. Marriage, as someone else said, can wait. Finances cause a lot of marital problems. This, of course, is optional. Get married if you want. But I think it would be better to do so with a clean slate. Your first years of marriage should be joyful and full of intimacy. It's hard to do so when you're financially strapped. It's just an extra source of stress you don't really need. Since you currently don't have other baggage (kids, wife, mortgage, presumably pets) -- how about another stab at doing a self-employment thing? Do some consulting work to get some cash flow and build work on a business you might enjoy. Once the wife and kids and house and dog and cat and picket fence come along, that's going to be a real bitch of a thing to do without significant cash reserves. I know, because I've got first hand experience and have limited myself and my options as a result of my choices. A lot of people fail at their first (and subsequent) business attempts. Surely you've read this all before. Wouldn't it suck to quit right before you got it right? But, forget all that crap! Right? I get it. You want a little stability. Good! But, will you be happy? Will your corporate job fulfill your passionate needs? Will that steady paycheck make you happy? Perhaps. If so, do it! How about getting that corporate job and seeing if you like it? Before marriage! Hey, if this person loves you, they'll wait. No rush my friend, right? Or am I wrong? If I'm wrong, then maybe you better think twice. Now, you got your corporate job, you aren't married, you have no kids or house or pets and picket fence --> you have options! Selfish options at that. Step out and get back to your thing. Oh hell, I probably said too much. Good luck and smart choices to you. And...my sympathies for the debt - but don't let it destroy your spirit. Life is a roller coaster - the nice upside will pay you visits in your future and you'll look back at this as a great education.

throwaway202 16y ago
A few reactions to this: - No kids, engaged, I have strong technical skills (10+ years of dev and ops experience, lots of IT project management experience), I'm healthy, in my 30s, and I am ready, willing and able to work. - Marriage rescheduling isn't on the table. The wedding was supposed to happen last year but got nixed because my business had just entered free-fall and I was a ball of stress. Now the situation is crappy, but well-defined, so I no longer panic about finances. She would wait again if I wanted, but that's not what I want, either. - I did quite a bit of consulting in the past year, as we were winding down the company. The positive side was that the pay was fairly good and it helped scrub a lot of debt (there was a point where I was down close to $200k.) The minus side was that I felt stressed by having what was more of a collection of part-time jobs than a business or a career. This downside is amplified by the fact that I stopped enjoying dev work, hate doing outside sales, and I legitimately miss having to go to an office each day. - Right now, a steady paycheck is exactly what I crave. I have a roadmap laid out that includes both a corporate and an entrepreneurial fork, but both start with me working in the PMO or IT PMO of a relatively large corporation for the next four years, then move to Singapore and attend INSEAD. - Thank you for your post. I'm extremely grateful for everyone who took the time out to offer their thoughts. - The debt really isn't that bad. I paid $100,000 for a transformative experience. If you gave me a time machine I'd do it again.

rudin 16y ago

Me being blunt. Find someone to help you write your resume? Why can't you do this yourself? You are just offloading responsibility. It takes a day to do and is fairly easy. Find a good recruiter? Cannot you just start applying for jobs now? Why do you need a recruiter? They can be helpful but as you need a job as soon as possible you shouldn't limit yourself here. Finally, starting the job hunt in early January is procrastinating. Get up and start applying now. There is a pre-Christmas lull in many offices that make it a good time to hire. Good luck with your job search.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
throwaway202 16y ago
To answer your questions: - I wrote a resume. That said, I believe that somebody who deals in resumes all day, every day will have useful guidance in how to convey my skills and experience in resume form. - My experience is that many of the better jobs aren't listed in the typical spots. As such, a good recruiter can help me cast my net more effectively. - I'm pushing the search until January because I have out-of-town obligations on 10 of the 12 remaining business days this year. If somebody is interested in me, I want to be available for the interviews.

kirinkalia 16y ago

Sounds like you've thought this through. Congrats to your fiancee for landing a great gig. You are a true partner for making this move. Since no one else has said it, find out which alums from your university are in Philly and set up informational interviews with ones in fields/jobs you find interesting. Everyone loves to talk about what they do/how they got to where they are. Key: follow up with a hand-written thank-you note. This is far more memorable than an email! (and do this for everyone who takes time to talk to you) I would also set up an informational interview with these Philly folks to get a better idea of the local scene: http://www.dreamitventures.com/ http://www.dreamitventures.com/ I totally get that you want a job-job, but they will "get" your background and may even put you in touch with one of their companies and/or introduce you to others in the Philly tech community. I'd also check out http://asktheheadhunter.com/ http://asktheheadhunter.com/ for advice on how to treat your job search the way a recruiter operates in matching companies and talent (essentially, you research the heck out of a place where you'd want to work and then show them how they need you). The "Ask the Headhunter" book is a bit repetitive but may be worth picking up as well. Best of luck! And don't be too hard on yourself. The process will most likely have its setbacks.

throwaway202 16y ago
Awesome ideas. I've had coffee with people who were far more successful than me many times in an effort to understand how they did it. It hadn't occurred to me to do the same in this situation. I just added a todo to my calendar to contact DreamIt as soon as I'm in Philadelphia full-time, because that is absolutely brilliant. I might be able to go "corporate" by working for a portfolio company, or perhaps somebody in their network would clearly understand what I bring to the table. And frankly, even if none of that works, once my debt is cleared my wife wants to found a startup so it'd be great to have a better handle on what DreamIt is doing. I know this isn't a memorable hand-written note, but I can't tell you how appreciative I am for the advice and ideas. I truly appreciate it.