
Ask HN: Finding it very hard to get a job - seancork
Hey Hacker News,
I&#x27;ve been applying to a lot of developer jobs(junior) in my area(Cork, Ireland) within the last 6 months and finding it very hard to get any sort of job. I&#x27;ve had a few interviews but some companies don&#x27;t give feedback, another said I did not fit the role and another company just never got back to me.<p>Would be great to get some tips or best places to brush up on interview skills.
also here is my cv: seanoneill.me&#x2F;cv.pdf
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auslegung
If I gave you any interview tips, it would be the result of a google search
that I'm sure you've already done. But I hope I can provide some other ideas.
I'm in Florida, USA so I have no clue if what works for me in my part of the
world will work for you, but here's how I got my first 2 jobs after
transitioning from social work to software.

First, network as much as possible. I primarily used meetup.com to find events
where I could meet people. You don't have to limit yourself to only software-
related meetups, either. You can bring a lot of value to the other people at
an event because you're the only software person in the room.

Second, stop applying to jobs, and start stalking companies. Rank every single
company in Cork (and anywhere you're willing to relocate to) that needs what
you have. Decide which ones you really want to work at, and stalk them. Learn
about the company, the leadership, the team you might work in, and the
technologies you would use if you worked there. Find out where they hang out,
and start hanging out there. Ask for an informational interview. These can be
way more powerful than a formal interview.

Third, once you find out what technologies your favorite companies use, start
learning those. It will give you a focus and purpose to your learning which
will make it more joyful and productive.

Applying for jobs always felt like a slow death to me. I hated it. I call my
method "Company Hunting" because you're not just looking for a job, you're
looking for an entire company to be apart of, and to add value to. It feels
much more focused and intentional to me.

PS if you feel you really need help with your resume, interview skills, etc,
you may consider paying for a career coach. If you land a job 3 months sooner
because of them, think of that career coach as giving you 3 months of salary.

~~~
seancork
Thanks for the reply, Started making a list of mainly small companies I like
to work for yesterday.

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shubb
You are in that awkward position of applying for entry level software jobs a
couple of years after graduation.

Was your most recent training about devops? Is there nothing from it that you
can pull out in your skills list? Devops is hot right now and you are in a
hosting hotspot.

I'd apply to smaller companies and gov departments or internally at your
current one. Talk to your manager and if no luck hr at your current place.

You could try putting your degree in the header, and then unifying education
and training into a single section. Also add some words on the training saying
what you learned. I can't what level the post degree training was at from this
and it is wierd android or aws are not in your skills list so maybe you didn't
like the courses but put that stuff .

Anyway good luck, first job in a given field is the hardest.

~~~
seancork
After i got my bachelor degree, I went back and done two other courses cloud
computing and android development, then ended up in technical support, since i
am no longer with that company I wanted to get into development, since that is
what my degree was in.

~~~
shubb
Don't tell me, write it in your CV :-)

You should be able to add android and java to your skills list.

I suggested devops because if you have that training and know those tools
there is a skills shortage so it is an opportunity to easily get recruited and
overlaps with software dev.

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f_allwein
Interview skills: join Toastmasters,
[https://www.toastmasters.org](https://www.toastmasters.org) , which will help
you develop your public speaking and leadership skills. Several clubs in Cork,
apparently.

~~~
seancork
Thanks, never heard of Toastmasters before.

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TomMarius
Come to the Czech Republic, there is a huge abundance of offers. My company
would hire you immediately, for example.

~~~
seancork
Might look into Czech Republic, I loved it when I lived in Prague before.

