I'm sitting here in munich, can do JavaScript, Java, DevOps and IT-Architecture. And I would like to be productive again after I came back from Bangkok 2 month ago. But I really don't want to waste my time with all the HR processes. Every company anew want new programming tests. And recruiter didn't helped at all in the past.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/germanroberternst
Are you applying to places where english is the primary language spoken? If so, I'd like to offer some constructive criticism:
While your post is definitely readable, the errors in it clearly show you as a non-fluent/native speaker. This may suggest to some that communicating with you could be difficult, and make you less likely to be recruited and add to HR preventing things from moving forward.
Perhaps with your free time you could work on mastering the language? It seems like you're 90% of the way there, you just need to work on the little details now. It would probably be a good investment on your part.
Some examples to help show you what I mean:
- "Every company anew want" - no one uses the word "anew'. This should read "Every new company wants", but you'd really be fine with "Every company wants"
- "And recruiter didn't helped" - could go a few different ways, but I'd suggest "And recruiters hadn't helped"
I can't speak to the OP's specific circumstance but when I've been in this position in the (thankfully distant) past, what was more frustrating than anything was the bureaucracy and red tape between getting in the door for an interview and finally sitting down in a paid position. When you're already unemployed and needing that pay cheque, this lead time is terrifying. You need the job now, you need to get paid yesterday, you had 5 interviews last week and every one of them appears to be dragging their heels putting a signed employment contract in front of you and your rent or mortgage payment is due tomorrow.
As for "not wanting to prove yourself", you get to a point in your professional life where it's easy to feel like you've proven yourself a thousand times over with previous employment, solid references, a glowing resume, interviews with headhunters etc. and it can be frustrating when you walk in the door anew and despite 25 years of proving yourself, you once again have to redo that work. In an industry where we spend our entire lives automating away repetitive tasks, this is the one repetitive task that we just don't appear to be able to automate away... but if you don't want to go in the front door with all the other candidates, the only other way is to make a name for yourself that spans the industry:
- Attend user groups
- Attend conferences
- Network with key people at those conferences
- Become a speaker at conferences
- Put up courses on Coursera, PluralSight and other big name training sites
This way your name is out there, you're essentially being pre-vetted by the personnel that matter within these companies and you're already well known before you walk in the door. In essence, you're proactively interviewing.
When you speak at a conference, you're effectively interviewing at every company who has staff in the room. When you run a course, you're doing the same.
> You need the job now, you need to get paid yesterday, you had 5 interviews last week and every one of them appears to be dragging their heels putting a signed employment contract in front of you and your rent or mortgage payment is due tomorrow.
And this is where having savings and access to other assets is crucial. Otherwise this lead time will force you to take the first position that pays, rather than the position that is best.
> ... but if you don't want to go in the front door with all the other candidates, the only other way is to make a name for yourself that spans the industry
I'd add:
- write a blog
- write an e-book
- give first, whether that is by networking, volunteering, or doing an open source project.
All of this is high on the effort scale, but it's an investment that I've seen pay off.
There are lower effort tasks you can do, including things like always be networking and sending interesting articles to friends and acquaintances. In fact, when I'm interviewing for a contract, if it doesn't work out for me, I'll often send a note to some former colleagues seeing if any of them are interested. If they are, it's a win-win for the job seeker and the employer at low cost to me.
I think your point about giving first is a very valid one. When that giving first has a broad reach, aside from the rewarding aspect (particularly with regards to authoring blogs/books/courses) of allowing you to reflect, focus your mind on what you're trying to teach (which often helps crystallize a topic in your own mind), there is a more tangible reward in that your name becomes known for those subjects and that frequently opens doors where they otherwise would not.
What other field expects you to "prove yourself" in an interview? Maybe performing arts. But a cattle call is a temporally self-contained affair. One or maybe a few days. Singers get accompanists, instrumentalists get to use their instruments. The selection to be performed at an audition is representative of the role. You don't hire a jazz pianist by asking him to sight-read Bach and demonstrate the fingering on an imaginary violin.
(Could an all-around virtuoso, or someone who had practiced that particular useless but impressive skill, do it reasonably well? Sure. But that's not the point).
Programming is this way. But it doesn't have to be. There's education, professional licensing, portfolio, accomplishments, references, reputation, with an hour or two of interviews at the end to discuss these things in more detail and assess culture fit. Maybe a demonstration of relevant skills under realistic conditions. Not blind faith, but some trust that respectable peer institutions don't graduate or promote/retain horrifically incompetent people very often. The way professionals get hired past entry level in any other line of work.
(At entry level, internships are readily available to those without much of a track record yet, and you prove yourself from there).
Melbourne, Australia here. Personally as an ops engineer I'd find it _very_ easy to get another job, my guess is that if I didn't care what the job was I could get one in a day, if I wanted to wait for something decent but not fantastic I'd probably need to spend a week and a half perhaps? And for something really great - well that could be anywhere from a week to six weeks, maybe more depending on how picky I was being I'd guess?
When I hear of people that can't get and job and are in IT, they're either:
1) Inexperienced and don't have the the charisma and confidence to prove they can learn things quickly. I feel sorry for these people and I hope they can learn the skills to help themselves.
2) Think they know their stuff but they're book learned, probably have some bits of paper that say they're certified in X or Y that no one cares about, I see so many people with rubbish qualifications like MCSE or CCNA etc... (note that CCNA does teach you important networking concepts but that's not its point), these people piss me off, and when they do get a job - they're the ones I don't want to have anything to do with.
HR is killing us all with question that don't make sense. I'm good for what I do, not for selling me. You do a big test are with 3 finalists but then you don't get the job. The job that you dream since 15 years ago, because there's always someone better. This kind of opportunity happen every 5 years in a small country where I live. I stuck doing 2nd support with higher diploma and if I apply to a better position they tell me that they don't wont someone that do 2nd support...
Selling is probably the most important thing you do in any professional job. You sell your managers, your peers, your clients, your partners. Some people cynically call it "playing politics." Now if you don't want to do all that I suggest you treat programming as a more "artistic" pursuit where you can pursue your passions making whatever your mind can think up, and try making money doing something else you're better at selling. Who knows, maybe given the freedom to program outside of a corporation you'll wind up creating something amazing that has companies beating down your door.
I have gone to over 100 interviews at various companies - startups, major corps, banks (no I'm not kidding...in fact, once I do get a job, I'll do a massive write-up on what it's like to interview at different companies) and almost every single company seems to want "more experience" or "too experienced" (while they claim I can't do senior positions because I don't have experience) for entry level positions,.
I can do web (JS, and backend with nodeJS) and android (java) dev (and have previous experience of working at 3 startups).
and in all honesty, I'm a quick learner and can pickup other languages/stacks in a few weeks at worst - yet I am not even given that chance to prove myself.
:(
EDIT: to add to the above - I'm also told I'm lucky if I get paid more than 60k/yr (and basically no benefits) as that's what it is starting out.
As a BC resident, I'd stay away. Finding a job here is going to be much more difficult (our tech scene is 4th in the country behind Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta). The cost of living vs salary ratio is even worse here than it is in Toronto, too.
Here on the Florida "Space Coast" programming jobs are hard to come by. But I do enjoy living here, so I put up with it. I have a defense job right now, though I occasionally will interview for a remote position (Apparently I have 'impressive tech skills' but I'm never a 'cultural fit').
> Apparently I have 'impressive tech skills' but I'm never a 'cultural fit'
That is so true for me too. Many, and I mean +50 people have told me during the past +3 years that I am an awesome engineer, that I have the skills of a senior, but then no company wants to risk sponsoring an immigration process, and finding a good company while applying for a remote job is difficult — at least that is what I have found — and by "good company" I mean a company in a market that interests me, because to be fair there are thousands of companies out there that would hire someone with my profile if it weren't because their niche is too new, too risky, or too vague.
After ~6 years learning about immigration processes I have to say that it is the stupidest thing governments could invent. If you have the desire and the means (aka. money and education / work experience) to move to another country, then why are there so many road-blocks? Why do the process takes so much time? Why are rejections so vague? Why not explain the reasons for the rejection with more details so you can improve your profile and try next year? Why are work visas so damn expensive for the companies? — Actually I understand the reason behind the last question, but still.
It would be good if you could filter this data by sector.
It doesn't really matter how many jobs have been posted if none of them match up to the field you work in and that's without even getting into the level of experience or specific skill set required.
I think the top 5 places are where it's hardest to get a job. So for every 1 job listing in San Jose there's 4 people looking for work. Granted I'd guess San Jose is a special case because if you don't have technical skills you're probably going to have a bad time trying to find a job around there.
The climate isn't very good for the people in the indeed marketplace. I looked up the indeed in my home town (admittedly not SV) and the jobs were almost entirely below $30K/yr, in the service sector, very low paying receptionist, driver, retail, part time no benefits type of jobs.
True, someone needs to answer the phone and drive trucks in San Jose... just they can't afford to live there on receptionist or delivery driver pay. So there's job openings.
Its a "top 50 worst places to live for working poor" list calculated by finding where working poor cannot live or work anymore, so the jobs go unfilled.
This is hilarious. None of that shows up on mobile so depending on what device you're viewing this on, your interpretation of the data is completely different.
It seems San Jose is the least competitive, with the blue chairs being job postings and the orange people being unemployed job seekers. Thus, four open chairs to one unemployed person, followed by 3 open chairs to one unemployed person.
The title and summary above the listing is rather confusing.
There's a lot of bad job ads crammed with keywords.
One amusing ad I saw in my local Craigslist was advertising for an entry-level web-design gig. "Requirements: Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and C/C++".
We are currently making a web version of a old C++ app. Told bosses we need someone who primarily does web stuff. The job listing gets passed around and C/C++ gets added because it 'would be nice if they can also maintain the legacy app'. I swear they are trying to find a unicorn with how much they are willing to pay such a person when found (very entry level).
Office space is about twice as expensive in SF as it is in San Jose. And it seems to me there are more people attached to living there, whether it's the city lifestyle, rent control, or prop 13, to the extent that people are commuting from there to jobs in the peninsula suburbs.
