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Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

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Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#61

Post by jstx1 »

_vpbe wrote: post #30
GianFabien wrote: post #11

You only mention Python as your skillset. Most recruiters seem to keyword match on a longish list of terms. So whilst your STEM background might be impressive, unless the job requires domain experience in your field and is Python heavy, it might be difficult to tick enough boxes to get an interview. You might also want to refrain from describing your current role and employer in negative terms. Stop being a "good lit…

I think you’re overestimating my current job title. Peep the LinkedIn

Your initial description was very vague. Saying that you have 5 years of Python might be technically correct but in reality your last developer job ended over 4 years ago and now you're doing completely unrelated stuff. When people look at your resume, they'll see a salesperson at Home Depot who hasn't programmed in years. You'll need a good story about why you moved away from development - that's the part that will really stand out as a red flag.

You're essentially trying to break into the industry (again) which can be quite difficult. You might be carrying some experience but you also have some baggage to account for.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#62

Post by thematrixturtle »

dahfizz wrote: post #52
dccoolgai wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and this might not go over well here but: ... Wear a suit to the interview. Doesn't have to be an expensive Armani or anything, just look like you give half a shit.

I think this depends a lot on where you're interviewing. Showing up in a suit when everyone else is wearing flip flops makes you look like an asshole. The best thing is to wear their dress code +1. If they are all very casual, wear business casual. If they are all business casual, maybe you want to wear a sports jacket. If you can't easily find out what their dress code is, I default to business casual. I would not w…

+1. In IT, it's hard to go wrong with collared shirt, khakis and dress shoes. Even if everybody else is in flip-flops, it's not going to look wildly out of place.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#63

Post by foxyv »

It seems that software developers can't just be programmers anymore. Now you need to be the all singing all dancing expert of everything. Familiar with 3 cloud platforms, Linux system administration, DBA, Jenkins CI Pipelines and Terraform. Don't forget Docker and Kubernetes too!

A quick note: Monster, LinkedIn and the job aggregation sites tend to have very poor job listings. A lot of them are just contractor companies listing terrible compensation roles that they want to fill with an H1B or justify a hardship loan based on "Not enough interest." If you go to the company websites directly you can find better roles. You can search for "Careers at ${EMPLOYER}" and get much better results applying directly.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#64

Post by dennis_jeeves1 »

> People seem to like me at my current shitty job, and management likes that I am a good little slave.

Trust no one, they will say that they like you and all that, when it serves their purpose. They don't hate you either.

Expect to give atleast 50 interviews before you get hired for a position. Keep track of interviews on paper/document ( a spread sheet is best, IMO). Add new buzz words, lie if needed, ( provided you back it even with something trivial). The whole resume thing screening mainly works on keywords.

The market is indeed shitty for some people, generally the kind who cannot brag about themself and the everyday unglamorous work they do every day. When you do get hired remember one sobering thing: they most likely hired you because they were desperate, not because you were the ideal candidate.( there is no such thing as an ideal candidate for a job, as much as employers would like to believe).

It's a game of numbers really. And if you have long hair cut it. ( the advice form one of the commenters here about taking advise from your female friends is worth it. Ask your mom/sis if you don't have any. Many nerds are clueless on this front, it's an innate skill, so cannot be developed beyond a point).

Finally my sympathies with you, most likely you are not flawed in a major way, it's the employers, it is indeed a shitty virtue-signalling collective delusional world out there.

Also please remove your linkedin profile link form your post, it's not a wise idea.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#65

Post by dennis_jeeves1 »

_vpbe wrote: post #28
kidgorgeous wrote: post #21

How many times are you applying? I applied to 500 different companies on Indeed, dedicating ~4 hours a day to filling applications, customizing resumes to job descriptions, and conducting phone and video interviews. Was hired in about 3 weeks. Maybe use that as a metric.

I respect the grind and tbh I have basically given up actively applying, I just respond to recruiters now. At my peak ~ hour a day. The thing is, if every company has something obnoxious like 3 + interviews, and I average about 1.5 before flaming out, then I don’t really want to apply to 500 jobs and forget who I’m even interviewing with. Also, now that I have a FT non-wfh, I don’t really have the time to.

>I just respond to recruiters now.

If you do this, automate it. I have one email address just for recruiters. I had a script run and look though my gmail inbox looking for keywords, ask the salary/rate up front form recruiters. Email me if you want the code. It is in Java.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#66

Post by _vpbe »

dennis_jeeves1 wrote: post #64

> People seem to like me at my current shitty job, and management likes that I am a good little slave. Trust no one, they will say that they like you and all that, when it serves their purpose. They don't hate you either. Expect to give atleast 50 interviews before you get hired for a position. Keep track of interviews on paper/document ( a spread sheet is best, IMO). Add new buzz words, lie if needed, ( provided you…

Unfortunately I can’t

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#67

Post by _vpbe »

dennis_jeeves1 wrote: post #65
_vpbe wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respect the grind and tbh I have basically given up actively applying, I just respond to recruiters now. At my peak ~ hour a day. The thing is, if every company has something obnoxious like 3 + interviews, and I average about 1.5 before flaming out, then I don’t really want to apply to 500 jobs and forget who I’m even interviewing with. Also, now that I have a FT non-wfh, I don’t really have the time to.

>I just respond to recruiters now. If you do this, automate it. I have one email address just for recruiters. I had a script run and look though my gmail inbox looking for keywords, ask the salary/rate up front form recruiters. Email me if you want the code. It is in Java.

Thanks - this would convert what is now a huge waste of time into a learning experience.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#68

Post by dennis_jeeves1 »

m0llusk wrote: post #58

It is kind of striking that in tech I see this from both sides as I know people who are desperate to fill positions and others who are desperate for jobs and somehow they keep sliding by each other. One thing that stands out is the extreme asymmetry of the situation. Applicants need to have a brief and highly relevant cover letter or equivalent, a resume that emphasizes experiences directly relevant to a particular p…

> Applicants need to have a brief and highly relevant cover letter or equivalent,

May not help as each potion is different by a wide margin. Coming up with a relevant cover letter IMO is completely useless and a huge waste of time.

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#69

Post by runjake »

Honestly, you're shooting yourself in the foot using phrases like "current shitty job" and "good little slave" publicly and attached to your name. It's unprofessional.

That's a big red flag, IMHO, justified or not, and no matter what your qualifications are, I'd move you down the hiring stack without a second thought (because I have lots of other applicants to choose from).

Re: Am I the only person who can’t get a job?

#70

Post by Volundr »

dennis_jeeves1 wrote: post #68
m0llusk wrote: post #58

It is kind of striking that in tech I see this from both sides as I know people who are desperate to fill positions and others who are desperate for jobs and somehow they keep sliding by each other. One thing that stands out is the extreme asymmetry of the situation. Applicants need to have a brief and highly relevant cover letter or equivalent, a resume that emphasizes experiences directly relevant to a particular p…

> Applicants need to have a brief and highly relevant cover letter or equivalent, May not help as each potion is different by a wide margin. Coming up with a relevant cover letter IMO is completely useless and a huge waste of time.

> Coming up with a relevant cover letter IMO is completely useless and a huge waste of time.

Data point of one, but as a (ex)-hiring manager I'd disagree. While you should be tailoring both your cover letter and resume to the job at hand, the cover letter tends to be what I remember best, and is your chance to tell me why your the right fit for this job, as opposed to the resume which pretty much leaves it for me to figure out.

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