No, this isn't a 'plz send me teh codez' question, before you start! I've been looking for a new job lately, and I've found that a lot of advertisements (well, the ones for the places that I wouldn't mind working at), ask for code samples in addition to a CV. I've spent some time thinking about this, as my day job is writing PHP/HTML/C...
I'm starting to send out resumes for a Summer internship. What I'm looking for are some easy ways to set myself apart from the competition. I'm kind of looking at this from a "work smarter, not harder" standpoint as of now. Yes, the best way to set myself apart from the competition is to contribute to an open source project, join a ...
I realize lots of people look upon certifications with some scepticism, but has anyone achieved ScrumMaster and found a big difference in the response they were getting from potential employers? ...
For personal reasons, I'm hoping to get a new job and relocate, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what to ask for in terms of salary. There is a pretty decent difference in cost of living between where I am now versus where I'm hoping to go (+15% vs -15% compared to the national average), and I just don't know how to deal with it....
I'm graduating next week with a BSCS, having decided after my kids were grown to change careers to something actually marketable. I've gained lots of valuable experience co-oping for a local company; however, with the economic downturn I've been unable to find a job. I'm fortunate to be able to continue co-oping at least another semeste...
I am a freelancer. I have been working on and off for the past 2 years for a client, through the headhunter who got me the job originally. Over the past two years, I've done about 700+ hours of work for the client. My question is: If I continue to work for this client as I have been, is it reasonable to expect the headhunter to let me ou...
I've been asked to rank my coding "expertise" by a potential employer. I find I swing back and forth when I judge my own ability. Face-to-face, in my real life I seldom find people that I feel humbled by (if I lived in San Francisco that would probably be a different story). On the other hand, when I do research for projects online, th...
As someone who's bounced around a fair bit in jobs (at one point I had lost 4 jobs in less than 4 years, all of which laid everyone off when they closed their doors) I wonder how much the candidates stability affects hiring decisions. For those of you who do interviewing/hiring, do you look for someone with 5 years in one position? Do y...
Over the last few months i have been looking to change career from graphic artist to web developer. I used to be a senior web developer during the dot com boom, overseeing a few juniors but decided to follow graphics a little more and left software behind as a career. Now it seems looking for a new career in web development, i need 'n' ...
Any help here is really appreciated. I'm looking for new work and I'm working through a recruiter for this one company who "likes my resume", but... The recruiter says that are looking for someone with "commercial enterprise solution" experience and do I have that experience. Does anyone know what this exactly means? Or is it just anothe...
I opened up my CV earlier today for a brush up and noticed that it had crept into the four page realm. Granted, I've been an engineer for over 10 years now and I've moved state-to-state 3 times so I do have a lot of baggage. How-ever, being in the position of hiring myself a couple time during my career I've always kind of raised an eyeb...
I worked as an in-house programmer for 7 years before developing severe burnout and decided to take 6 months off for a surfing holiday. At the time, a recruiter told me I would have no problem finding work when I returned, considering my skills and experience. Six months turned into two years as I explored different parts of the world a...
First, in defense of the question: if I can't work, it's going to be pretty hard to develop my skills. All the ruby or php or c# in the world doesn't do me much good if there's no jobs. I could certainly go freelance, but I don't know if I have the tolerance for that kind of risk. The question: If the US goes into a severe recession an...
I have a BS degree in Materials Engineering. I went back to school to change my career to software development. My engineering school has a certificate program for BS degreed engineers to change careers to computer science. I spent the last couple of years completing this program with a 3.8 gpa. I am in a pretty decent market for sof...
Hey everyone, I have completed a college degree in a major that was essentially pre-med, but now I'm interested in working as a computer programmer. Since I have minimal experience in programming, I realize that I have to (1) learn programming and (2) prove that I'm qualified for an entry-level job. I'm considering these options: getti...
I worked for a company for 18 months as a full-time consultant developer doing R&D and architecture design and the things I wrote for this company literally runs the company. I'm still good friends with most of the senior development staff but considered the anti-christ by the company owners. My crime, refusing to sign a non-compete ag...
Hello, I am pursuing my BA and currently work full time as a PHP programmer. It's a great foot in the door as most graduates do not graduate with any real programming experience under their belt. However, it's web based so I would like to do some software development on the side just to earn extra money, keep my skills sharp, and have s...
I am a junior computer engineering student and will graduate a semester early (December of 2009). I have started applying to jobs and have had a couple of interviews. Two of my internships were in web development and I want to showcase some of my work online. I'm thinking about starting a 'blog' or an online 'portfolio' type of website....
Hello everyone, I'm in the process of trying to move on from my current employer. It is a small college with a very small student population. I've moved around a bit inside the IT department there to fill needs and experience a few things outside of programming. In the process of my job search, I've had a few interviews that were for j...
I've received 100+ recruiter calls in the last month, had about 10 tel screens, 5 in-person interviews. Finally landed a short-term gig. This was in the Seattle market for C#/.Net. What has your experience been? ...