Ask HN: Why am I having a hard time finding a new job?

First off - don't listen to recruiters. Second, tailor your resume more towards programming/software engineering vs. IT/sys admin. If you want to get out of healthcare domain then consider dropping some of the references to that tech (Pick, SAP) and focus on more general stuff (python/java, SQL server).

Edit: your resume looks great given that you've been working for 3 years. There are some really solid projects listed. My guess is that for some reason you are not making it past resume screen for the "right" companies or you are applying for jobs way beyond your years of experience.

They say that half the applicants can't even do FizzBuzz, but then we have people like you who can't find jobs. What is the true story?

You're in the US, so don't call this type of work IT. In US, IT means support / help desk staff, very low-level :)

If you don't have a degree, then you will have to prove yourself through your work. Which you already have understood, which is smart.

I've looked through your projects specifically https://github.com/taurenk/PinPointGeocoder and it is decent code but not good enough, if these are the only projects you can show. The code has many newbie smells such as bare except clauses, faux modularization (the RegexLib class) and methods that are to long and to complicated. I think you need much more practice. In a few months, you can revisit the old projects you wrote and see how much better you can code them then.

What you've written in only 8 months is impressive (I wasn't very good after 8 months), but it's not there yet. If you go at it at 8 more months then I think you would make an excellent hire.

First off, I would love to hire you because of your strong self-initiative! And I love that you have experience with geocoding. I only wish that I have funding to hire you right this moment. Your technical skills are rock solid but it's the initiative that really draws my attention.

With regards to finding a new job, it sounds like you have no problem meeting the criteria. Your resume and Github profile seem to be fine since you've been landing interviews. The problem would then be at the interview process. Without having interviewed you, take my advice with a grain of salt. Many times, it comes down to communication - how you present yourself and whether or not the person likes you. Especially when it comes down to the final interview.

We all love to believe that hiring should be objective and made based on technical ability to do the job. But there's more to it as well. You might be the superstar but if you can convince the other person that you are, then you may not got hired. I was convinced myself that I had great technical ability but I was never able to land jobs. I just couldn't sell myself well when it came to talking. You can either find an organization who does like you and gets you OR you can improve your ability to sell better. Or you could do both. I took it upon myself to improve how I communicate my skills - it's a great learning experience especially when you're trying to sell ideas once you go further up the chain or if you start a company.

Find some local developer meetups and start connecting with folks there. You'll get a lot more actionable advice that is pertinent to your local market, and maybe one of them is willing to take a chance on hiring you to do Python development work with them.

Networking with recruiters will definitely lead you nowhere. They are only looking to place people that are a "sure bet" on paper, and aren't accustomed to sifting through for hidden gems like yourself.

Good luck!

I see some common ground between us. I, too, got roped into being a generalist early. After 15 years it's an advantage (you can call yourself a consultant), but can be trying before that.

I suggest you pick the stack you enjoy the most, pick a project that gets you excited, and stop learning new things until you've mastered one (well, one set).

If you're not sure which that is yet, pick a newer technology that no one can claim deep experience in. I've seen people get involved in projects early on, start blogging and talking about it, and next thing they're being flown around the world to present at conferences with a good stream of consulting income. Pretty sweet gig. Does require excellent communication skills, but they can be learned and pay off forever.

When I read that you are using analytics to make improvements, I see an opportunity missed: quantify your impact in dollars. Engineers are usually bad at this, but managers are good (assuming a top down push for metrics, which is common), so talk to yours and find out how you're earning your keep. Then put that on the resume and see how it helps things.

If you have sysadmin experience you can apply to (some) DevOps positions as well (you may want to play and get skills with things like AWS, orchestration tools like puppet/chef/ansible/salt, docker etc).

Also for a "generalist" is probably easier to find jobs in smaller companies than in large companies.

Your Github account says you're in New York, but I know quite a few startups out in San Francisco that would love your geocoding experience. I work on a product that involves a massive amount of geocoding in several different ways, and I would love someone who thinks that's a cool thing on my team. Unfortunately, we're not hiring at the moment, but I'll keep your name on file and ping you if we ever do open up a position for it.

As for actual advice, I'd talk to people you know. Word of mouth is the best way to get a new job. I despise recruiters and avoid them like the plague, and I tend to recommend that you do the same. Find companies you want to work for and ping their hiring managers directly, if you can. Get your resume directly into the hands of the decision maker -- not HR.

Good luck.

small comment:

Sometimes I like to see activity (on Github) for more than the last two months. It makes me wonder if someone is really passionate about building things, or is just looking for easy employment.

You did a good job of addressing that in your HN post, but I would bet that a few companies are holding that (good activity, but only fairly recently) against you.

Good news, that problem will fix itself with another two months or so of activity.

It's because the engineering school is destroyed in America (and elsewhere too).

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