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<sarcasm> 1998 called and they want their resume blasts back. </sarcasm> I find work (contracts) by looking for interesting companies whose money I would like

<sarcasm> 1998 called and they want their resume blasts back. </sarcasm> I find work (contracts) by looking for interesting companies whose money I would like to take, then I look them up on LinkedIN to see how connected I am to them. Sometimes I ask my friends to connect me to them, sometimes I just google stalk them to find the appropriate hiring manager's twitter address or email address, then I email them, whether or not they're hiring, and whether or not they're open to contractors. I pitch my value proposition and tell (not ask, tell) them to meet me for coffee or lunch, my treat, and offer three dates that work for me. In 15 years, be it a VC, a VP of a bank, an unfunded founder, or an incredibly busy CTO at a high growth start-up, nobody has ever turned me down for a free lunch. Then I close them.

sabat 15y ago
In a normal job market that's good common sense, but in the current tech job market, where unemployment is somewhere around 3%, resume blasting ought to be more than enough. The problem is that companies -- particularly larger companies -- are still in Arrogance Mode and think that the job-seekers need them. They don't.
- goodweeds 15y ago
  The problem is that companies -- particularly larger companies -- are still in Arrogance Mode and think that the job-seekers need them. They don't That's a big dish of good old american entitlement. If you were on the market during the last boom, the demand for engineers was far greater than it was today. Because of that, for every 1 good resume that landed in my inbox I had to wade through about 300 bullshit resumes. Most of them were from Indian spam shops, kids in the midwest who got their MCSE and decided they were senior systems architects, and fratboy ivy-league types who felt the $200k that dad spent on their education meant they should be able to ride their degree onto the next big thing. Treat your job hunt like it's a full-time job. You can probably coast your way into some me-too start-up, but if you want a good job at a company you're excited about it, you have to prove your worth by selling yourself.
  - chefsurfing 15y ago
    "You can probably coast your way into some me-too start-up, but if you want a good job at a company you're excited about it, you have to prove your worth by selling yourself." Bravo! In my own experience: the worst mistake I have made in my career is not seeking out more exciting and challenging opportunities and instead taking what came easily. The best opportunities of my career have been the difficult to attain and the best challenges have been those difficult to complete. This post proves it: email and resume blasting is not a useful method for good job hunting.
  - sabat 15y ago
    That's a big dish of good old american entitlement. Not at all. It's a reflection on the current technology job market in the Bay Area. It doesn't last. f you were on the market during the last boom, the demand for engineers was far greater than it was today. I was, and my recruiter friends tell me that demand (again, mainly in the Bay Area) is about the same as it was then (late '90s). We're sitting on 3% unemployment, so finding good people is difficult.
    - goodweeds 15y ago
      Huh? Can you cite your 3% unemployment source? Outside of the tech industry it's pretty difficult to find temporary work, let alone full-time work. I've heard closer to 15% for the greater bay area.
      - sabat 15y ago
        I've heard closer to 15% for the greater bay area. Not in technology, it's not.
- goodweeds 15y ago
  According to the BLS, San Francisco's unemployment rate is 9.1%[1] (lower than the 15% I had misquoted earlier), California's unemployment rate 11.7%[2], and the national unemployment rate is 8.6%[3] 1 http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm 2 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST06000003 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST06000003 3 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
  - sabat 15y ago
    I meant (and said) in technology. Not in general. In technology, in the Bay Area, right now, you can make a paper airplane out of a resume and get a job.
porterhaney 15y ago
goodweeds, has the best advice in this comment thread as far as I'm concerned. Instead of spending countless hours blasting resumes out, why not do it the smart way, and make a personal connection with the person hiring the job. No one responded to your form resume, so what. The system for hiring via web forms and resumes is broken, so what. Bootleg the system and speak to the right people, and none of that will be a problem.
- jarek 15y ago
  Good post except I don't think the OP is complaining about having problems getting hired. The companies trying to hire are the ones having problems, and it seems they're doing little to fix them.
  - chefsurfing 15y ago
    Do you think responding to email blasts would help them solve their hiring problem?
    - jarek 15y ago
      I think it's going to be slightly better than doing nothing.
    - droithomme 15y ago
      What on earth? These are companies that are paying money advertising to find developers. The idea that it is too much trouble for them to evaluate or respond to emails from potential candidates is rather bizarre.

sabat 15y ago

In a normal job market that's good common sense, but in the current tech job market, where unemployment is somewhere around 3%, resume blasting ought to be more than enough. The problem is that companies -- particularly larger companies -- are still in Arrogance Mode and think that the job-seekers need them. They don't.

goodweeds 15y ago
The problem is that companies -- particularly larger companies -- are still in Arrogance Mode and think that the job-seekers need them. They don't That's a big dish of good old american entitlement. If you were on the market during the last boom, the demand for engineers was far greater than it was today. Because of that, for every 1 good resume that landed in my inbox I had to wade through about 300 bullshit resumes. Most of them were from Indian spam shops, kids in the midwest who got their MCSE and decided they were senior systems architects, and fratboy ivy-league types who felt the $200k that dad spent on their education meant they should be able to ride their degree onto the next big thing. Treat your job hunt like it's a full-time job. You can probably coast your way into some me-too start-up, but if you want a good job at a company you're excited about it, you have to prove your worth by selling yourself.
- chefsurfing 15y ago
  "You can probably coast your way into some me-too start-up, but if you want a good job at a company you're excited about it, you have to prove your worth by selling yourself." Bravo! In my own experience: the worst mistake I have made in my career is not seeking out more exciting and challenging opportunities and instead taking what came easily. The best opportunities of my career have been the difficult to attain and the best challenges have been those difficult to complete. This post proves it: email and resume blasting is not a useful method for good job hunting.
- sabat 15y ago
  That's a big dish of good old american entitlement. Not at all. It's a reflection on the current technology job market in the Bay Area. It doesn't last. f you were on the market during the last boom, the demand for engineers was far greater than it was today. I was, and my recruiter friends tell me that demand (again, mainly in the Bay Area) is about the same as it was then (late '90s). We're sitting on 3% unemployment, so finding good people is difficult.
  - goodweeds 15y ago
    Huh? Can you cite your 3% unemployment source? Outside of the tech industry it's pretty difficult to find temporary work, let alone full-time work. I've heard closer to 15% for the greater bay area.
    - sabat 15y ago
      I've heard closer to 15% for the greater bay area. Not in technology, it's not.
goodweeds 15y ago
According to the BLS, San Francisco's unemployment rate is 9.1%[1] (lower than the 15% I had misquoted earlier), California's unemployment rate 11.7%[2], and the national unemployment rate is 8.6%[3] 1 http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm 2 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST06000003 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST06000003 3 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
- sabat 15y ago
  I meant (and said) in technology. Not in general. In technology, in the Bay Area, right now, you can make a paper airplane out of a resume and get a job.

porterhaney 15y ago

goodweeds, has the best advice in this comment thread as far as I'm concerned. Instead of spending countless hours blasting resumes out, why not do it the smart way, and make a personal connection with the person hiring the job. No one responded to your form resume, so what. The system for hiring via web forms and resumes is broken, so what. Bootleg the system and speak to the right people, and none of that will be a problem.

jarek 15y ago
Good post except I don't think the OP is complaining about having problems getting hired. The companies trying to hire are the ones having problems, and it seems they're doing little to fix them.
- chefsurfing 15y ago
  Do you think responding to email blasts would help them solve their hiring problem?
  - jarek 15y ago
    I think it's going to be slightly better than doing nothing.
  - droithomme 15y ago
    What on earth? These are companies that are paying money advertising to find developers. The idea that it is too much trouble for them to evaluate or respond to emails from potential candidates is rather bizarre.