Have code samples and be persistent. Being able to demonstrate ability is a superpower. I got my first job based on an object oriented MUD I wrote in C (using t

Have code samples and be persistent. Being able to demonstrate ability is a superpower. I got my first job based on an object oriented MUD I wrote in C (using the struct casting trick and some tagging). It showed I could write reasonably structured code and that I could follow simple instructions to write a correct multiplexer (from Stevens’s book). It also demonstrated that I understood the basics of event handling[1]. That was my passion at the time. Follow your passion and write something cool. Demonstrate an ability to follow instructions! I’ve interviewed hundreds of supposedly senior engineers and most have trouble coding something as simple as a RPN calculator. Trust me, if you can show that you can listen, think, and write programs you will find a job. [1] Which is something supposedly senior engineers fail at all the time in interviews. Even though the elevator design problem is literally a cliché now I still see supposedly senior engineers completely blow it because they can’t think about the internal and external elevator controls in terms of events.