Looking for work 03 Jan, 2005
Ah yes, a timely article for this time of year, via Damien Katz:
Yahoo news: Ways to fix your life: Quit your job.
Hands up who’s quitting theirs in 2005?
OK, so where’s this coming from… Well, I’ve been with my current employer for some nine years now. For someone as wet behind the ears as me, that seems like a long time (I’m 32 and have worked for this lot since I left university at the age of almost 23 — only six years as a coder I hasten to add). There’s no such thing as a job for life, so speaking as someone who could be in the position of actually recruiting developers (if only the freeze that’s been in place since I was promoted to manager some three years ago was lifted), I’d pretty much require that candidates had some kind of experience beyond one employer (sixteen within a seven month period is probably pushing it though).
But how do you know who’s a good bet? How do you make that decision? Plenty is written about technical tests, the importance of the first interview, ya-da ya-da, but how do you know who’s good for you? Do you google people, check out their weblog if they have one, what?
Valid points as far as I’m concerned, and all raised as I considered my somewhat throw-away response to Robert Scoble’s post, Rob Fahrni is looking for a software development job in which Mr. Scoble says this:
Forget the resume. That won’t get you a job in today’s market. Your blog will, however.
I question whether that is for real in my response to his post, and there are plenty of other comments in there, so check it out. I’m really interested in this side of things, not just from the point of view from someone who would dearly love to be head-hunted ;-) A few fellow ’bloggers have secured new jobs since they started posting (Declan and Joe spring to mind), but just how useful is a ’blog / on-line presence in securing the next job or contract?
In a case like yours, just theoretically of course, I think your blog can only help. I have a pretty solid impression of you from it (not that I'm hiring!!!). Now, if you were a livejournal kind of writer, you might prefer to be anonymous…Ed Brill#
If you look really really deep into usenet archives, there's some stuff there that I wrote while in college. It's probably not real representative of who I am today. So what's the statute of limitations? Applies to blog, web content (as our friend "Keiot" found out many months ago), usenet, etc. Hmmm, that might make a good discussion. Perhaps I'll link over to you later todayEd Brill#
Blogs, can be a hinderance or a help, and quite frankly, if someone is put off by my blog, I don't want to work for them. You never can tell what will rub someone the wrong way. Was my staunch opposition to George W. this election something that a republican hiring manager would get rid of me for? Would a homophobic HR rep cast me aside simply because I support gay rights? Dunno, but in each of those respects, I wouldn't want to work for someone who would make that judgement based on my personal comments rather than my professional body of work.
Now if it's down to myself and another final candidate, and we both have blogs, then the hiring person can read both and use the personal aspects to add another level to what they want to hire.
Sometimes I look at my blog and feel that I may have crossed a line that could cost me a future job, but, I'd feel worse if I wasn't true to myself and what I wanted to express…
When I was looking for a new gig last year after being laid off, I don't think my blog played a major part. I even told my current employer that I had one, and it didn't seem to scare them away :-)
Take Care,
-GreyGreyhawk68#
It helps if you don't see "Replication or Save Conflict" in your response list though ;-)Bob Obringer#
I guess that companies might want to hire someone with a track record of communication and industry viewpoint with public experience. But most coding shops just want coders.
Do people with blogs make better coders ? Perhaps not. You need highly focused folks. Bloggers might be construed as folks who spend a percentage of their time blogging.
To the original question - is this a good time to get headhunted ? Perhaps. The UK market is feeling a little less anaemic than in the past - but its still not 1999. Those days are gone, unfortunately.
In terms of personal situation, there are a few times in life where "joining the dark side" in terms of going contract is a very bad move. Specifically, if you feel your current employment is stable, and you have small kids for instance. I do know *some* people who have made this work - but considering that some contract jobs involve staying away for weeks at a time - perhaps not a good fit with your personal life.
Lastly, the bigger the company, the more insane their internal systems and the worse their payment record. IBM is probably the worst, with at least three caledar months between getting the invoice in and actually seeing money. Know this in advance so that your cash-flow doesnt dry up.
I'm not usually one for recommending that you DONT jump to the dark side - but its certainly something you want to consider carefully.
---* BillWild Bill#
Bill: good points for sure. We’ve discussed this before, and I appreciate your input when it comes to talk of contracting.
(** - in case anyone missed the joke, this site is hand-rolled)Ben Poole#
?ReadViewEntriescan be quite handy… ;-) Ben Poole#Having only had contact with you through blog and Lotus forums I'd say the blog has helped. I know I'd hire you purely on this…
Ben (no the other one)Ben Rose#
"Hey I see you blog and I see that you like blah, blah, blah.". Not only are blogs good and bad for somone seeking a job, but they are also a way for someone to learn stuff about the people they may be working with. Then again, I am almost 42 and have had two jobs in my life after college. I wonder how many more jobs I will have between now and retirment? :-)
Cheers,
BruceBruce Elgort#
BruceBruce Elgort#
In the long run, I am hopeful that this "experiment" wil lead me to client(s) or employers that have vision and understand that people can work remotely and be successful or offer me an opportunity in a city/locale/country where my family can be together 7 days a week instead of my only seeing them on weekends (2 years now and it is incredibly hard on all).
Certifications mean nothing without work and substance to back them up. Resumes are a starting point, but blogs really give an insight to a person, who they are and how effectively they are able to communicate in writing.
Just my 1.5 cents worth:-).Christopher Byrne#
Teenage angst-ridden poetry should stay in wee exercise books, not upon the world wide interweb…. :-D Ben Poole#
For the record, my resume did list my blog url and I listed the published articles.
OK, that being said, the awareness of blogs has grown much over the past year or two, and I expect that any future job search would prove that blogs DO matter now.Joe Litton#