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Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

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Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#181

Post by neontomo »

pryelluw wrote: post #7

This was me years ago. The short answer is: contract work. Consulting or freelance. This is the way to get experience without having to struggle with finding a salaried position. How do you find opportunities? Go to LinkedIn, search for staffing companies, and message their recruiters letting them know you are available. They will ask for a resume. However, a contractors/consultant resume is different than a salaried…

Thank you for your offer and the great advice, I will be more proactive on Linkedin!

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#182

Post by neontomo »

eamonnsullivan wrote: post #122

I've had two (main) careers -- I was a journalist for 20 years, starting as a sport reporter for a local weekly, and ending as the legal affairs editor for Europe for a international news service. But I had also been a computer geek for at least as long. My Dad worked for IBM and I had one of the first IBM PCs, which was utterly useless when the family got one unless you could program in BASIC. I took a few CompSci c…

That's a great perspective. I enjoy the idea that people can come in from the sidelines and change things because of their novel way of seeing things.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#183

Post by neontomo »

masukomi wrote: post #28

> Without any programming jobs on my CV, what is a good way to penetrate into the market? freelance work. Sign up on Upwork.com (or similar). Do a bunch of contracts. Put them on your resume. I did freelance work for years before deciding i was sick of constantly hustling for clients. Then I applied for jobs and said "here's all the things I've done" and they were like "cool. interview. yup. you're hired" Also, pro-t…

Thank you. That's hopeful.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#184

Post by legerdemain »

marcusverus wrote: post #31

1) Put your code on GitHub, add the link to LinkedIn and to your resume. Hiring managers and internal recruiters are inundated with applicants with no experience who expect to learn how to code on the job. The way you differentiate yourself from them is by making it crystal clear that you can do the job on day 1. (If you can't do the job on day 1, work on that before proceeding) 2) Ignore experience requirements, app…

Where are you seeing job ads that provide the name of the hiring manager (!) and a direct phone number (!!) for human resources?

What jobs even issue phone lines to employees anymore?

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#185

Post by neontomo »

jdowner wrote: post #164

In your situation, my concerns would relate to evaluating your (1) ability to write professional software and (2) what are the gaps in your knowledge. To address these concerns, consider contributing to an open source project. Many of the hurdles a candidate has to clear to get a job as a software engineer are intended to determine whether you can actually program. Ignoring the effectiveness of these hurdles, the poi…

I hadn't considered that last idea of yours before, thank you.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#186

Post by the_only_law »

legerdemain wrote: post #184
marcusverus wrote: post #31

1) Put your code on GitHub, add the link to LinkedIn and to your resume. Hiring managers and internal recruiters are inundated with applicants with no experience who expect to learn how to code on the job. The way you differentiate yourself from them is by making it crystal clear that you can do the job on day 1. (If you can't do the job on day 1, work on that before proceeding) 2) Ignore experience requirements, app…

Where are you seeing job ads that provide the name of the hiring manager (!) and a direct phone number (!!) for human resources? What jobs even issue phone lines to employees anymore?

Maybe not that much info, but a lot of job postings on LinkedIn now have information on who the hiring manager is and sometimes encourages you to reach out.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#187

Post by neontomo »

irjustin wrote: post #81

There's a lot of good advice here, but to add - this is a very tough job market and probably will be for the next year. Freelancing is another entry point and it'll teach you a lot about shipping features/products. Take small jobs initially and scale outwards. Obviously you can't charge top dollar but I recommend listing your hourly rate at slightly below market and then during the negotiation giving a discount to tr…

I have done some website dev freelancing in the past, I will add it to my CV. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#188

Post by throwaway675309 »

rubberband wrote: post #86

Late to the party, but maybe I can help. I've helped in the hiring of many developers. (grain of salt, just my opinion, etc...) * Don't do bootcamps. It's a red flag for me. This can be said for any 100% online college. (again, I'm just being honest). Community colleges are fine. * You having a Github that you've committed stuff to often-ish will most interest me. I don't give a crud if you contribute to open source.…

In my experience working as an interviewer I am far more interested in passionate side projects that you've worked on then a checkbox indicating you went to some fly-by-night six week code camp.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#189

Post by neontomo »

codethief wrote: post #156

The IT consulting[0] firm I work for (~700 people, Germany-based + a few satellite branches in other European countries but unfortunately not in Sweden (yet) — which is where I take it you are located) hires people with zero professional SWE experience – often straight out of university (though not exclusively so) and frequently it's people who didn't even study computer science (though in that case it tends to be ma…

Haha I spent a few minutes trying to figure out if this was a round-about way of offering a job without triggering some HN rule about self-promotion or something... Thank you for the encouragement, your business sounds cool. I like the consulting route too.

Re: Ask HN: How does a hobby programmer get hired?

#190

Post by neontomo »

bsuvc wrote: post #8

Have you considered contribution to an open source project on GitHub? Then in your interview, when your lack of experience comes up, you can point to your open source experience. Next, consider getting a certification or two. For someone with no experience or formal education in development, it can help. Finally, if you're losing out to more experienced candidates, then maybe consider applying to true entry-level job…

I have not considered it, no. Thank you, it was not on my radar but now it is.
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