Took me a year to find a job. I was quite negative well into Month 11. Things could turn around at any time, unexpectedly
Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
51–60 of 137 posts
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#52Be confident in yourself and keep trying, there is a better opportunity waiting for you out there, you need to go find it. This will be a long process but you need to keep at it. Canned responses from interviewers should be given less weightage, seek more context if possible and act on it.
Take one thing at a time. Keep yourself busy with learning, doing an activity, going for walks. You said you are good at Math, you can try teaching on virtual platforms like outschool.com
Have someone you trust review your resume and how you approach interviews. This will give you feedback to improve and make any adjustments for the next interview.
Not sure where you are located. You can try joining a technology meetup near you, you get to meet people and learn something new. It can be a good place to learn about any job openings locally.
Keep the momentum going and don't give up!!
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#53> "rejected my job application. (Told me that they found a person better qualified than me.)"
"Rejection" is such a negative word. Technically it's not what happens most of the time.
If 10 talented people with strong applications apply for the same job, 9 will be unsuccessful. The employer must choose someone, and any number of unpredictable variables may determine their final choice. "Better qualified" sounds like a standard rejection letter.
Lucky employer for having 10 awesome candidates and a tough decision. In the end they gamble on the chosen applicant. In interviews it's good to talk about interesting things you're doing on the side. In my interview I demonstrated my side projects briefly without dwelling. Interest was sparked. Just have good chats and don't worry.
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#54You shouldn’t distract yourself. Interviewing is a skill, and you only get better by going through the process and failing. I learned this late in the game, but you should probably not interview at the companies you really want to work at first. Take notes after every interview. You’re going to be rusty. Sometimes you’ll be surprised and progress or get offers.
The other thing is getting physical exercise and diet in check is so important. The mind follows the body, if your body is active and healthy your mind will follow. While I like intellectual activities I do not recommend watching lectures or studying anything that’s not related to your job search. Those activities keep you in your head when you need to be social and outgoing.
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#55> So far, every single company I applied for, rejected my job application. (Told me that they found a person better qualified than me.) The problem isn't your qualifications, it's your resume and the roles you're applying for! Just look on the Who's Hiring threads here on HN, and filter on the ones that look interesting. Remember, first and foremost, you're applying for a job, it's not some academic tenure track or P…
Spamming out CVs to companies advertising on HN might be a rational strategy if you work in a popular field like web development and live in the US. It might get you nowhere fast if say you work in a more specialised programming field and live in Europe, where there are serious economic problems, we're asking genuine questions about whether we will have reliable power supplies for everyone throughout the coming winte…
imo the situation in western europe is not that bad yet, companies still have demand for software devs, c++ / systems / automotive / medical is well in demand in west / north of europe.
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#56> I am already thinking about "taking the easy way out". Please don't. You have something to offer and if you snuffed yourself out, that valuable spark of human spirit would be gone. Gently, "some weeks" (not sure what this means exactly) is not a very long to be looking for work. Keep your chin up and keep applying. Get a resume review — I'm sure someone here would be happy to take a look and see what you can improv…
During the dot com bust, my brother -in-law ended up being unemployed for 18 months. Moving back in with family, if an option, is always a good path in situations like this.
This is very solid advice. Just being around people and not having to worry about rent will be a huuuuge burden lifted off your shoulders!
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
During the dot com bust, my brother -in-law ended up being unemployed for 18 months. Moving back in with family, if an option, is always a good path in situations like this.
This is very solid advice. Just being around people and not having to worry about rent will be a huuuuge burden lifted off your shoulders!
I think it's important to note that for some people, being around family is more stressful than having to worry about rent.
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#58I've been there and there is a way out. patience and persistence are the key. #1 find a way to sustain. usually - that's living off your family. perhaps friends, social institutions or whatnot. inform everyone - figure out how to postpone repaying debts, take the hit, declare bankruptcy, sell whatever stuff you are not using. you want a roof, some food, electricity and internet as cheaply and long as possible. and do all that as early as possible. next - fix the depression (really important - you gonna fail lots of applications just because you sound sad and unmotivated). usually unrelated stuff helps - e.g. learning chess is good at that, probably math too, healthy lifestyle (as long as it's cheap), music. DO NOT GIVE UP - spend at least 4 hours EVERY day combing the internet and applying to new positions. for MONTHS and YEARS if need be. it's a ridiculous mess - expect to be turned down a lot. the longer pause goes - more suspicious it looks to a potential employer (and people still live in weird fantasies of how IT industry is so fast paced that it changes every day). do NOT over-engineer the way you apply and act natural - actually landing a job only to get fired a month later feels even worse. strive to completely detach yourself from the job hunt emotionally. it's a somewhat proactive passive waiting game. FIND those people who actually need you.
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#59There's a lot of good advice in this thread, so I'll keep my comment brief.
Your value as a person is not determined by whether you are a good programmer.
And.
Your skill as a programmer is not determined by recruiters and hiring managers.
If you want an actionable suggestion, focus on your physical and mental health first and foremost, and look to secure yourself financially. Exercise daily, sleep sufficiently, have plenty of daily social contact, and apply to jobs daily. Do not stress if your next job is not a coding job.
Re: Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment
#60I always thought it's absurd that people who don't even know what a loop is think they can become professional developers by going into a hip coding bootcamp for a few weeks, when people with years of experience can't get a job.
I've spent a few years unemployed after I quit my shitty job to focus on finishing my degree. I know it's hard to learn new things when you're depressed, but If I were you I would be reading C#/Java/MSSQL/Oracle books and doing example applications by following tutorials. You can find all the materials online, for free.