Learning frameworks and platforms through udemy and pluralsight.
Side projects on github.
What did you do to get a response back from jobs you've submitted an application to?
Did you apply to junior roles when you were a senior in the other stack?
Thank you.
Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
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Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#2I treat the "we want people who know stack X" kind of thing as a "Here's what stack we are using" and nothing more. I don't lie and say that I know the stack, but I don't want to work for a company that doesn't understand that a good programmer can switch to a new stack in a very short time frame. On the other hand, you need the ability to pick up a new stack easily.
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#3Nobody really cares the number of actual years you have just how well you know something.
In terms of not lying on your resume. Side projects/join a company/team that uses both your stack and what you want to use. Remember, your new company does not actually know how specifically you spent your time at your previous jobs. Was it 50/50 or 95%/5%.
Remember you can learn things a lot faster than n-years experience. So, spread that out over a few years and you do have n-years experience.
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#4Lie.
Specifically to get your foot in the door enough that they'll hear you out. If you're truly experienced and capable of picking things up quickly, it shows in an interview (at least when I'm the one doing the interviewing).
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#5I have had great success with saying things like “I have 10 years of web engineering experience and have been looking into X for N years/months”.
Engineering skills translate well between stacks and framework/library skills are only good for a couple years. Can you break down a complex problem into estimatable chunks that can potentially be delegated as well? Can you design a system that solves a business problem? Awesome! Nobody will ask you about framework du jour.
Honestly I’d say that if you’re talking at the level of which libraries/frameworks you know, you’ve already lost. That’s junior/midlevel engineer stuff.
Senior engineers solve problems. Junior engineers code in frameworks.
Most code that’s used in production has so much custom stuff anyway that it might well be its own framework.
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#6I would focus on learning the stack/framework you want to find employment in.
Do an initial project creating an app to do something for you. Use that to try to find another project/app you can create for someone in your network as a freelance project. Become active in the community for that framework. Blog, write tutorials, reach out to others in the community to build relationships.
When applying for jobs I would list your job title, company and years. Then have another section for the languages/technologies you have used. I never match them up one to one. They will ask how many years experience you have with what they are using. With new frameworks a year to a few years is good enough to get in the door.
Becoming active in the community is going to open more doors than resumes. Once someone knows you and that you are capable it's easier to land a position if they can recommend you.
Good luck with your pivot.
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#7Don't write anything on your resume that would indicate "number of years experience" -- list your jobs, explain key achievements, don't distill anything down to a number. Your resume should NOT explain who you are, or go into real specifics -- it's an advertisement for you, as simple as that. If they want details, they'll have to schedule an interview.
Once you have the interview, you can talk about your experiences, why you're a good fit, what you do in your spare time, etc -- they will not tally up years of experience or record your answers directly into an Excel spreadsheet.
Also, don't say you're "pivoting" your career. Just don't.
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#8As with the vast majority of jobs: network. Get to know people, you will get to know where they work, and they will get to know you and how you work. Eventually, if you just go through life as a helpful person, one (or several) of those people will make the connection for you, "hey, we need someone who does X. You do X, right?" You'll say, "yeah, totally, but when I saw that job listing, it said they wanted Y years of experience." And they will say, "well, I know you, you do great work, forget about that."
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#9I have had great success with saying things like “I have 10 years of web engineering experience and have been looking into X for N years/months”. Engineering skills translate well between stacks and framework/library skills are only good for a couple years. Can you break down a complex problem into estimatable chunks that can potentially be delegated as well? Can you design a system that solves a business problem? Aw…
I guess I'm different in that I care that people understand the pluses and minuses of the various frameworks. I think anyone can pick up a framework or solve a problem. However, can they understand why and when to use x framework to solve a problem and back up why they chose to solve the problem in the way they chose to do it.
Additionally I want someone who can be passionate about the tech stack and frameworks they are using or plan on using. Otherwise, I've got a code monkey who may get things done in the short term but their code and problem solving abilities actually has negative implications in the future when it comes time for maintenance and to add additional features to things.
I don't understand why people label others who care about their craft and the tools they use as junior/midlevel. I think that's lazy. Many times there really is a best way to solve a problem or a best framework for your particular situation or problem. All engineers should care about the tools and what is being used and why it's being used.
I guess its just not enough for me to have an answer so much as to understand why its the answer and under what conditions assumptions can fail. To me that is more valuable when hiring someone who is switching careers than being able to solve a problem in a generic sense.
Re: Ask HN: How do you pivot your career when jobs want years of exp in a stack
#10Four suggestions:
1. Don't obsess over the specifics on an ad. See if the role is in line with what you have to offer, but don't worry if you don't have the exact number of years of experience they request or one of the many skills they added to what it's essentially their wishlist.
2. Provided you have a solid foundation with some standard skills like JavaScript, Python or Ruby, etc, specialize in a relatively new stack. No reasonable employer expects you to have 10 years of experience in Elixir or React.js. Note also that I used the word stack. You want to become competent enough to become useful to a team that adopts the same stack. Depending on where you live, you might go more or less niche in terms of the stack.
3. Start a blog and advertise the fact that you are looking for a junior position. Document your experience, post about what you are learning, what excites you, showcase your pet projects, etc.
4. Attend meetups. Let people know that you're available.