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Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

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21–30 of 32 posts

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#21
Your Github account says you're in New York, but I know quite a few startups out in San Francisco that would love your geocoding experience. I work on a product that involves a massive amount of geocoding in several different ways, and I would love someone who thinks that's a cool thing on my team. Unfortunately, we're not hiring at the moment, but I'll keep your name on file and ping you if we ever do open up a position for it.

As for actual advice, I'd talk to people you know. Word of mouth is the best way to get a new job. I despise recruiters and avoid them like the plague, and I tend to recommend that you do the same. Find companies you want to work for and ping their hiring managers directly, if you can. Get your resume directly into the hands of the decision maker -- not HR.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#23
post #9

They say that half the applicants can't even do FizzBuzz, but then we have people like you who can't find jobs. What is the true story?

The companies might be terribly picky about who they pick from the half that can FizzBuzz.

More likely they just can't interview correctly.

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#24
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The companies might be terribly picky about who they pick from the half that can FizzBuzz.

More likely they just can't interview correctly.

Being selective doesn't really imply that the selection uses proper filters.

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#25
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More likely they just can't interview correctly.

Being selective doesn't really imply that the selection uses proper filters.

It's not about being selective. It's about knowing how to conduct interviews. Those asking about Big-O or FizzBuzz just don't know what else to ask. It's a shame since 99.9% of interviews are like that.

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#26

Find some local developer meetups and start connecting with folks there. You'll get a lot more actionable advice that is pertinent to your local market, and maybe one of them is willing to take a chance on hiring you to do Python development work with them. Networking with recruiters will definitely lead you nowhere. They are only looking to place people that are a "sure bet" on paper, and aren't accustomed to siftin…

I found some local tech meetups near me to check out. Thanks for advice!

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#27

Your Github account says you're in New York, but I know quite a few startups out in San Francisco that would love your geocoding experience. I work on a product that involves a massive amount of geocoding in several different ways, and I would love someone who thinks that's a cool thing on my team. Unfortunately, we're not hiring at the moment, but I'll keep your name on file and ping you if we ever do open up a posi…

Do you think it's intrusive to find hiring managers on let's say LinkedIn and send them my resume/letter that way?

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#28
post #19

If you don't have a degree, then you will have to prove yourself through your work. Which you already have understood, which is smart. I've looked through your projects specifically https://github.com/taurenk/PinPointGeocoder and it is decent code but not good enough, if these are the only projects you can show. The code has many newbie smells such as bare except clauses, faux modularization (the RegexLib class) and…

Thanks for advice! I'll admit I definitely need to refine my engineering skills. Using proper exceptions and writing better methods are something I have been trying to improve.

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#29

I see some common ground between us. I, too, got roped into being a generalist early. After 15 years it's an advantage (you can call yourself a consultant), but can be trying before that. I suggest you pick the stack you enjoy the most, pick a project that gets you excited, and stop learning new things until you've mastered one (well, one set). If you're not sure which that is yet, pick a newer technology that no one…

I have found myself jumping from technology to technology, which is something I'm trying to do less of, for example; I started a project in Python then when it was pretty much finished started to re-write in Java for numerous reasons (learning java being the key driver).

What you said makes sense and definitely has me thinking about things a bit differently. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

#30
post #27

Your Github account says you're in New York, but I know quite a few startups out in San Francisco that would love your geocoding experience. I work on a product that involves a massive amount of geocoding in several different ways, and I would love someone who thinks that's a cool thing on my team. Unfortunately, we're not hiring at the moment, but I'll keep your name on file and ping you if we ever do open up a posi…

Do you think it's intrusive to find hiring managers on let's say LinkedIn and send them my resume/letter that way?

I don't think so at all, but you should investigate the company to make sure they're actually hiring first. If you sent me your resume now, I'd say "Huh. Cool." but then send you an email saying we're not hiring, check back in 6 months...
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