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Man that's a myopic attitude. I guess you've never been unemployed, low on money, and living in a area with few opportunities. Sure your statement is easy in th

Man that's a myopic attitude. I guess you've never been unemployed, low on money, and living in a area with few opportunities. Sure your statement is easy in the Bay Area to say, but try the middle of the country. Trying being older where no one is willing to even interview you despite your skill set being up to date. Ever start a company when you have trouble paying the mortgage? Not being surrounded by entrepreneurial friends willing to jump in with you? Can't move because no one is buying your crappy house and your kids are hungry? Put long hours into a job with old technology that went bust and now you really are out of date? There are lots of reason people wind up having trouble finding a job. Saying you wouldn't hire them because of all the challenges they might be facing is like saying poor people suck because they have no money. Sorry to get all ranty but that is exactly what the author is talking about. I've been there a few times and it wasn't due to a lack of effort in trying to start something and casting a wide net. Good people exist even if they haven't worked in a while, it's not like they suddenly dried up and died.

netfire 13y ago
I might agree with you in other fields, but not in technology. There's no good reason (provided you have the ability to work) to have a 6 month to a year gap in your resume where you have nothing to show. You don't have to start a company (in the entrepreneurial sense) to do freelance/contract work. There are tons of remote opportunities. Even if you can't find a job during that time, there's still things you can do to improve your chances of getting employed. Start learning new technologies, attend/start a local meetup, build a website, volunteer, take online courses (many of which are free or low-cost), answer questions on StackOverflow, contribute to projects on GitHub. The worst thing you can do is to just interview and wonder why you aren't getting any offers. Technology is a rapidly changing field, if you can't get a job with your current skill set, do something about it and show that on your resume.

netfire 13y ago

I might agree with you in other fields, but not in technology. There's no good reason (provided you have the ability to work) to have a 6 month to a year gap in your resume where you have nothing to show. You don't have to start a company (in the entrepreneurial sense) to do freelance/contract work. There are tons of remote opportunities. Even if you can't find a job during that time, there's still things you can do to improve your chances of getting employed. Start learning new technologies, attend/start a local meetup, build a website, volunteer, take online courses (many of which are free or low-cost), answer questions on StackOverflow, contribute to projects on GitHub. The worst thing you can do is to just interview and wonder why you aren't getting any offers. Technology is a rapidly changing field, if you can't get a job with your current skill set, do something about it and show that on your resume.