4 ms·
Ask HN: Finding a startup or tech job after college?
I am graduating next May (2013) with a Bachelors of Science in Applied Computing Technology (CS/Biz hybrid) from Colorado State University. I have 3 years IT & Network Support experience and just about 2.5 years web development experience through Student positions. I've done the whole freelance thing for the last 5 years as a Wordpress theme guy. How do I approach getting a full time job after college?
I've got some experience with startups, I spent almost a full year in startup mode trying to start a social networking company with some friends & we even got some money. Before that tried to start two other companies and I have done a ton of freelancing.
My main interests are:
1. Web Development (lots of jQuery, PHP & Coldfusion)
2. Mobile Development (No experience)
3. Security (No experience)
4. Parellel Programming (No experience)
Beyond course work my internships entirely consisted of web development and IT support, I've done lots with OOP and MVC (building a CMS for the USDA), YII, Coldfusion etc... but I am not sure how I can tailor that to applying for jobs.
My main questions are:
1. How do I find a job before I graduate that will start after I graduate?
2. I'm going on a fantastic honeymoon, and won't be able to start for 1 month after graduation. Will this be a problem? Graduation is around May 10, I won't be able to start until after June 10. Will most employer's care?
3. When do I start applying for jobs?
4. I have lots of experience, lots of people have told me to come talk to them at the career fair when I'm ready to graduate--How do I sell myself to them?
5. I'm looking at Continental United States, but will prioritize companies in Arizona (Phoenix area), Colorado (anywhere), Dallas or Austin or somewhere without beaches or snow. What's the job market like for Web Developers across the country?
6. How hard will it be for me to get a job given 6 years IT/Web experience + a 4 year degree @ 24?
Any tips or advice is greatly welcomed (other then, don't married so soon).
- vellum 14y ago1,3,4 & 6: Just fill out a Linkedin profile right now. The recruiters will start calling. 2. No, it's a seller's market now. Go to some meetups and meet with local developers. If you're any good, you'll get lots offers for freelance work or jobs. Since you're still a student, you should take the time to learn mobile programming. Pick ios or android. If you're going the ios route, look at the Stanford Fall 2011 video lectures on Itunes university by Paul Hegarty. That will give you the basics. The rest you can look up on stackoverflow or the Big Nerd Ranch book. If you can make a non-ugly app or two, there will definitely be more recruiters calling.
- bartonfink 14y agoShoot me an e-mail. I work at Mapquest and we are hiring right now in Denver. I'd be happy to give you some of my time.
- snow_mac 14y agoEmail sent! Thank you so much!
- halfcat 14y agoMy advice: Don't hold out for perfect. Don't even hold out for pretty good. If something doesn't materialize within about a month of serious job hunting, lower your standards and start getting some relevant experience. Freelance and college jobs are okay, but that's not experience an employer is looking for. That's experience that people looking to hire a freelancer are looking for. If you're wanting to make a career of freelancing, then great. If not, get a job with an employer. I have two younger brothers who were unemployed for around a year after graduating college, because they were holding out for their dream job. They are working now, but their career path trajectory is not great. I got married right out of college, so I had pressure to pay the bills. I applied and went on interviews for 3 months, but nothing materialized. I took a job doing desktop computer support for an elementary school making $17k per year, just to get some experience on a resume. 8 months later I got a job with an IT consulting company making $35k, still doing mostly desktop support. I wasn't much different skill-wise, but I had something real on a resume. The great part of this job was I was in a place where I could learn a ton about a lot of technologies (Windows/AD/Exchange/networking/etc). That was 7 years ago and I've had the opportunity to learn a ton and now I work for another IT consulting company making 6 figures. A year ago I put a resume online and I had to be very selective because I had so many recruiters calling. I'm not saying "I'm so great", my point is that employers are looking for skills, and concrete experience that "proves" you have those skills. So get some post-graduate full-time work experience on a resume as quickly as possible. Leverage that for a better job. Repeat for 3-5 years and you'll be on a good path. Obviously don't hop jobs too frequently. If you can stay at least 1-2 years it looks better.