Be
Okay, So I don’t want to be what I am. News flash.
I’m a PHP Developer, at the moment. I’m reasonably sure I’m quite good at it. People have looked at my code and failed to scream in horror, which is good, I’m still digging up and using code I wrote when I was first starting PHP, which scores high on the code-reuse stakes, and I know it works because I use it daily. Well, some of it doesn’t work, like the bug that caused me to lose diary entry 5 because I forgot to save the state of a combo box, or the minor thing about lists in comments (They Don’t Work). Minor bugs that will be fixed.
So what the hell am I doing wrong?
LoneCat, my girlfriend, has had countless interviews since she moved here last September. I’ve had One. Singular. It was for the Designer post at IDL, and I got it (I interview fairly well). But no matter how many CVs and coverletters I send off, how many application forms and emails I send out, how many phone calls and recruiters messages I take, I haven’t had a single interview? I know I have employable skills, and I realise it’s a sucky time to be looking for a job, but still…
Ideal job? Webmaster for the community site for a games company. No question. Building bespoke content-driven database-accessing web applications is something I can do, and want to. Esspecially in PHP, or even in any language given a few weeks to learn the basics of it. I’m applying for Junior SysAdmin roles, because it’s a job I’d like to do, and even designer things, because it’s a job I can do. But almost every “PHP Developer” role I’ve seen requires ASP. WTF?
So, I’m no longer convinced I’m unemployable. Yay. Go Me. This isn’t, currently, helping me find a job. Positive Mental Attitude is a requirement once people are talking to me, so the question is how do I get people talking to me?
Since it’s patently obvious I have no idea, I’ve put my CV online, minus a couple details. If anyone has any comments on it, shoot. If you want the rest of the CV so you can employ me, Great :-)
Ignoring layout for now (The real version is a word doc, the real HTML version is coming soon) What do you think?
- 2003-03-10 22:31:41
- Updated 14 weeks later
- By Aquarion
- From The Geekhouse, Cambridge
- More Journal Entries
- Filed under Personal & The Great Move
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Corinne:
Hmm. I have the opposite problem. My CV is fabbo great and I always get the interview, but then I don’t get the job. Just a few points, dispense with the whole “interests and hobbies” thang, call it all “skills” and have done with it. None of that “in order of experience” stuff either, you’ve either done it or you haven’t. I would put PHP, MySql, Javascript, VBscript, ASP, dHTML, etc on my CV with equal weight, regardless of my actual expertise, mostly because I know enough about them to fudge and/or work really hard at getting better just as soon as I’ve got the job.
Put work experience above everything, and make the most of what you have. Tell them what skills you used, communications, the number of people you were responsible for. If you were Acting Manager on Saturdays then you were “regularly given managerial responsibility”, etc. Read Dilbert, you’ll get the hang of the lingo ;-)
Good luck!
Ian Hickson:
You’re not the only one. The feedback I’m getting is just “we’re not hiring”. At all.
dearg:
Hah, I’m not even getting that :)
All I get is ‘your application has been unsuccessful’ (they aren’t hiring, it’s not just that I’m unemployable, honest). I know that I’m applying for techie jobs as opposed to sales, and the big companies just aren’t hiring new techies, and small companies want experience.
Darn jobs for a lark, where can I get paid £30K+pa & benefits for playing games ‘n’ hacking websites? I will talk to colleagues occasionally, if absolutely necessary (just keep the customers away from me, pleeeease!)