I know this isn't a programming question per say, but as a recent college graduate I am curious how seasoned software developers go about finding a new job.
Is it through online listings such as Careerbuilder? The local newspaper? Cold calls? How do you do it!
I've had lots of luck with Dice.com. Landed 2 decent jobs from it. Be prepared for hundreds of calls from recruiters, though!
You'll find that, unfortunately, the best jobs are found by word of mouth. It's very important to start building up a network of friends and co-workers who can help you find interesting jobs.
Failing that, I found job boards to be much better than head-hunters. Even though I'm not looking for a job, I subscribe to Joel's job board posts for my area to keep abreast of the kinds of places that are looking to hire the kinds of people who participate on Joel's forums.
After months of looking, talking with recruiters, etc... I finally ended up finding a new gig when a friend of a friend was looking for a C# developer. The friend was somewhat familiar with my abilities so that didn't hurt.
While recruiters (might) serve a purpose, and sites like Dice and careerbuilder are very valuable, don't underestimate who you know :-)
Recruiters man. Recruiters.
The best thing you could do is start small though. New developers are kind of a dime a dozen these days and competition is pretty fierce so building a reputation and getting the experience is important.
No matter what you do though, make sure your first job is someplace you'll be happy staying at for at least a year. Don't settle for just a paycheck and your foot in the door.
If you are a recent college graduate, it can be difficult. You usually don't know many people in the field, and if you did not participate in an intership while you were in school, you don't really have anyone you can network with.
I would suggest online job boards, and perhaps joining some professional organizations like IEEE or ACM in order to meet some people in the field. Alos, if you do know anyone in the field, friends of friends, neighbors, etc. Mentioning to them that you are looking for a job couldn't hurt.
http://www.indeed.com/ : They aggregate a search across several job sites Monster, Dice , HotJobs and others.
Unfortunately for recent grads the easiest way to get a job is a referral.
My college had a career center staffed with people whose sole purpose in life was to help graduates find jobs. They also had services for former students.
I assumed all schools provided this service, but maybe I'm wrong.
Also, if you live in a major metro area, most papers will publish an annual list of the top 200 public and private companies in the area, with profiles of different sectors, best employers, fastest growth, etc. Check the web or library, and scan it looking for companies that sound interesting to work for, or companies that might have a strong IT need. Then hit their websites and see who's hiring.
Just a fair warning, Recruiters - and more accurately "Head Hunters" - can be pretty cutthroat. Sure you can get placed in a decent spot, but they see you simply as a commodity and treat you as such. Trust me, I know. Also, don't underestimate your local user groups. The organizations that sponsor meetings often have opportunities ... if nothing else, it's a great way to network.
@Jason. Yeah, my school did have a career fair but unfortunately for me I was down and out with strep (when I get sick, it's deathly ).
@Brendan and The Fonz. Thanks for the links. Mostly everyone at my school was using Careerbuilder so hopefully these should give me some other opportunities.
If you're on good terms with your college professors, send them a quick email and ask if they keep in touch with any previous graduates at work. Most of the time, they will at least have a few names that they can give you.
If you can get some names, just drop an email and see if there are any openings. As was said before, most of the good jobs are found by word of mouth.
The best place to network, get references, and hear about jobs is a User Group. Find one in your area, meet people, prove yourself and you will get a job fast.
If i were to look for a job now, i would only need to send one email to my user group list to line up interviews... Not because i'm awesome or especially active, but because people always go through their networks and contacts first.
I always use a mixture of Monster, Dice, and recruiters. I also keep contact information for recruiters that I liked working with in the past. Ex-coworkers can also be very helpful, but if you're a recent college grad then you don't have that option.
I've also started expanding my network on LinkedIn. In fact, my latest interview opportunity came from a recruiter who saw my profile on LinkedIn.
You really can't avoid working with recruiters these days - some companies go through them exclusively or give them first crack at filling jobs before posting them on their website. If you refuse to work with recruiters, you are drastically cutting out potential jobs.
Good recruiters can also be extremely useful for making sure you get a fair salary. They know the current market conditions and know what rate you can command. It's like working with a real estate agent to sell your home instead of doing it yourself. Also, it's in their best interest to make sure you get as high of a salary as possible since their fee is generally a percentage of what salary you are hired at.
t3h intarwebs. As a college student all of my internships have come from finding a company I am interested, check their website to see if they take interns, and then emailing my resume.
I also hear that http://jobs.37signals.com/ is good.
I learned during a job seeking seminar that most available jobs are first advertised by word of mouth. It's much easier for managers to ask around if people know people looking for jobs than to actually put up job postings on Internet. Also, the requirements to land a job that hasn't been advertised yet are typically lower.
About 80% of the available jobs are not posted anywhere. So in this case, the best strategy is to network like crazy. Tell everyone you're looking for a job, do a bit a cold calling and ask if the person knows anybody that's looking to hire, then cold-call them!
If you're a recent college graduate, I strongly suggest trying to connect with alumni/friends from college. I imagine that the college you graduated from has somethings they do well and somethings they do not so well. If you know alumni in the field, they can give you an estimation of what your particular college prepared you well for and what you'll need to catch up on to be successful (or in this case, just get past recruiters).
My first job out of college was at a company where I was recruited by an alumni and it worked out great for me.
FOLLOW UP.
Follow up.
Follow up.
Out of the last 5 technical jobs I've been hired at, 4 were due to me calling the hiring manager within a week of sending my resume, and ask when they'd be available for an interview.
It makes a good impression, it forces them to look at your resume a second time (brand, brand, brand), and it puts your resume at the top of the stack if they still use paper.
Beyond that, I've found great success with local job boards - every state and many economic regions have job boards that the local companies peruse. They are free to the candidate, hiring company, and recruiters, and given that they're locally based they get people in the region. Lots of companies would rather hire locally (to avoid relocation, etc).
All the other suggestions here are great, but out of everything - FOLLOW UP.