Programmers misconceptions about employment
- Transfer
It is a translation. The article was published in June 2018.
I did not immediately get a decent job. I had enough technical skills, but I just restrained myself. There was no reason for this, other than stupid assumptions about what the employer wants. I went to shit work and spent all my free time on Github commits to improve my profile. I did not know then that this code was of little interest to decision makers.
Four years have passed. Now I understand better the procedure of employment and how to increase my chances using the logic of the employer.
In the style of the famous article by Patrick Mackenzie about names , here is a list of the main misconceptions that programmers (especially beginners) may have.
In my estimation, fewer than 3-4% of applicants have a significant contribution on Github. In the past year and a half, I have practically committed nothing, and yet I receive more job offers than during the days of former activity on Github. Significantly more important than LinkedIn communication and work experience.
Most companies understand that good programmers can develop quickly. Technologies in any case change every few months, so why rigidly require knowledge of a specific framework?
The ability to communicate clearly, work well in a team and understand business goals is actually valued higher than the ability to program.
If you are truly competent in your field, people will be happy to give you a recommendation.
Exaggerating competition is a kind of survival error. If you were competing with star programmers, companies would not spend months, as is often the case, to close one position.
More about the negotiations . In short: there is always a big field for maneuver, and employers respect you more if you start negotiations.
Be sure to send another email. People have a lot to do, and your resume may simply not be noticed. No one considers it daring to try again if you are polite and respectful. Not once did it happen that I stopped after one or two letters, and later I learned that the HR manager simply forgot to answer. All my fears seem annoying were unfounded.
Read the article "Search for excellent developers . " A pool of candidates is usually teeming with resumes from incompetent professionals who send resumes to all firms.
Employment is an unorganized and fuzzy process. Sometimes even companies do not know exactly what they are looking for. Sometimes interviewers have excessive expectations without a good reason. Even candidates who are perfect can fall into the black line, which has nothing to do with their abilities. So keep trying!
Good candidates can summarize the work without giving details. In my experience, a long resume with multiple keywords is more likely to correlate with incompetence.
Mass mailing rarely helps. Before you apply, understand the company, their product and use this knowledge in a cover letter. This in itself will put you above the rest, who did not do simple homework.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The main job hack is communications. If you have extensive contacts, and your abilities are known to everyone, then you can find out about a job before it reaches the official page. At the interview you will immediately be treated as a reliable candidate, and the interviewers are guaranteed to see you in a more positive light. Building a network of connections takes time and not everyone likes (not exactly me). However, over time, it pays off handsomely.
Know other misconceptions? Let me know , I will add to the list.
I did not immediately get a decent job. I had enough technical skills, but I just restrained myself. There was no reason for this, other than stupid assumptions about what the employer wants. I went to shit work and spent all my free time on Github commits to improve my profile. I did not know then that this code was of little interest to decision makers.
Four years have passed. Now I understand better the procedure of employment and how to increase my chances using the logic of the employer.
In the style of the famous article by Patrick Mackenzie about names , here is a list of the main misconceptions that programmers (especially beginners) may have.
1. Mandatory input to Github open source projects.
In my estimation, fewer than 3-4% of applicants have a significant contribution on Github. In the past year and a half, I have practically committed nothing, and yet I receive more job offers than during the days of former activity on Github. Significantly more important than LinkedIn communication and work experience.
2. A company that uses a specific framework (say, Angular.JS) will not consider anyone who does not own it.
Most companies understand that good programmers can develop quickly. Technologies in any case change every few months, so why rigidly require knowledge of a specific framework?
3. Technical skills are most important.
The ability to communicate clearly, work well in a team and understand business goals is actually valued higher than the ability to program.
4. It is inconvenient to ask colleagues for a recommendation.
If you are truly competent in your field, people will be happy to give you a recommendation.
5. You have no chance, because you are competing with monsters who have thousands of Github stars and super cool projects.
Exaggerating competition is a kind of survival error. If you were competing with star programmers, companies would not spend months, as is often the case, to close one position.
6. If you ask for a big salary, then such a greedy, ungrateful asshole will be rejected almost immediately
More about the negotiations . In short: there is always a big field for maneuver, and employers respect you more if you start negotiations.
7. Failure to respond to the application means that the summary was thrown into the basket and subsequent actions are useless.
Be sure to send another email. People have a lot to do, and your resume may simply not be noticed. No one considers it daring to try again if you are polite and respectful. Not once did it happen that I stopped after one or two letters, and later I learned that the HR manager simply forgot to answer. All my fears seem annoying were unfounded.
8. If a company employs 1-3% of candidates, then you are competing with hundreds of talents.
Read the article "Search for excellent developers . " A pool of candidates is usually teeming with resumes from incompetent professionals who send resumes to all firms.
9. A series of failures means that you are a terrible programmer. Like this one
Employment is an unorganized and fuzzy process. Sometimes even companies do not know exactly what they are looking for. Sometimes interviewers have excessive expectations without a good reason. Even candidates who are perfect can fall into the black line, which has nothing to do with their abilities. So keep trying!
10. Excellent resume - long with many keywords
Good candidates can summarize the work without giving details. In my experience, a long resume with multiple keywords is more likely to correlate with incompetence.
11. Newsletter resume for all companies increases your chances
Mass mailing rarely helps. Before you apply, understand the company, their product and use this knowledge in a cover letter. This in itself will put you above the rest, who did not do simple homework.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The main job hack is communications. If you have extensive contacts, and your abilities are known to everyone, then you can find out about a job before it reaches the official page. At the interview you will immediately be treated as a reliable candidate, and the interviewers are guaranteed to see you in a more positive light. Building a network of connections takes time and not everyone likes (not exactly me). However, over time, it pays off handsomely.
Know other misconceptions? Let me know , I will add to the list.