

Ask HN: I'm rebooting my life, and could really use your advice. - throwaway202

I'm rebooting my entire life.<p>I'm moving to a new city (Philadelphia), I'm getting married in six months, and I have over $100,000 in personal debt ($70k credit card, $30k IOU to my co-founder) resulting from the failure of my previous business.<p>My focus is on being a reliable provider for my soon-to-be family.<p>As such, my immediate goal is to get a corporate job, but I need some advice:<p>Question 1: How do I find somebody to help me write my resume?  I want to find somebody who can understand the cross-functional role I played as a founder/COO and help me express that experience and my skills effectively in a resume.<p>Question 2: Once I'm happy with my LinkedIn and my resume, how do I go about finding a good recruiter and/or appropriate jobs in a town where I have thin personal and professional networks?<p>I'd really appreciate any guidance at all.  I'm hoping to start the job hunt in earnest in early January.
======
willheim
I think you're going about it backwards. Let me get this straight: You're
moving to a new city without a job and getting married in 6 months with 100k
in debt? Yikes. You're resume and LinkedIn can wait (or be done on the side at
night). Start networking NOW! Job 1 is getting a job. Best way to get a job is
to be introduced. Talk/email/call/bang on the doors of everyone in Philly.

Good luck with the reboot.

~~~
throwaway202
Not to be daft, but what all would you do to 'start networking now'?

I've added a few possibly relevant professional events to my calendar, and I'm
trying to get to know my neighbors but it doesn't feel like nearly enough and
I've had trouble finding more (particularly with the holidays, which seem to
have killed a lot of the late december events).

~~~
willheim
"Possibly relevant professional events" are the 5-10% of what you need to do.
Most of those events are just drinking and schmoozing with little benefit and
even less follow-up.

Have you identified potential places of employment? Have you posted on
relevant local boards? Have you called up/met with any recruiting centres that
focus on Philly? Have you contacted the HR departments of companies that may
fit? Have you spoken with the Philly board of trade/commerce? And stretching
out, how about the local chapters of the Knights of Columbus/Shriners/other
social groups? How about your university/college alumni? Facebook? Have you
extended your possible career choices to include teaching at a community
college (I know one guy who did that)? Have you checked with the city and what
jobs they have (municipal governments are all hiring IT guys these days)?

There are lots of ways to find a job. Sitting in front of your computer,
browsing Monster/Craigslist/etc. is not the best way. The holidays definitely
put a crimp on opportunities available right now so you should, IMO, be taking
the initiative to introduce yourself to those who may have openings in the
next couple of months. First the introduction, then the reintroduction after
the holidays. That shows drive, determination, and desire.

~~~
throwaway202
Thank you so much for an incredibly helpful post. I've done about half of what
you suggested, which means that half of it is new to me.

One follow-up question for you: Do you have any advice on how to contact the
HR department of a candidate employer and have a conversation that's deeper
than 'yes, I will send a cover letter and cv'?

Thank you again for taking the time to list some specific ideas that I hadn't
considered.

~~~
willheim
That's a tough one. Persistence and lucky timing could help if you can't get a
direct and personal introduction. Till you get the introduction it will all be
about persistence.

------
codeslush
I'll take a stab at this. First, a few assumptions:

1\. You have no children 2\. You are currently single 3\. You are technically
savvy 4\. You are healthy, probably relatively young (20's) and able to work.

If those assumptions are all accurate, then I offer this: Hit the power button
and reboot again.

Marriage, as someone else said, can wait. Finances cause a lot of marital
problems. This, of course, is optional. Get married if you want. But I think
it would be better to do so with a clean slate. Your first years of marriage
should be joyful and full of intimacy. It's hard to do so when you're
financially strapped. It's just an extra source of stress you don't really
need.

Since you currently don't have other baggage (kids, wife, mortgage, presumably
pets) -- how about another stab at doing a self-employment thing? Do some
consulting work to get some cash flow and build work on a business you might
enjoy. Once the wife and kids and house and dog and cat and picket fence come
along, that's going to be a real bitch of a thing to do without significant
cash reserves. I know, because I've got first hand experience and have limited
myself and my options as a result of my choices.

A lot of people fail at their first (and subsequent) business attempts. Surely
you've read this all before. Wouldn't it suck to quit right before you got it
right?

But, forget all that crap! Right? I get it. You want a little stability. Good!
But, will you be happy? Will your corporate job fulfill your passionate needs?
Will that steady paycheck make you happy? Perhaps. If so, do it!

How about getting that corporate job and seeing if you like it? Before
marriage! Hey, if this person loves you, they'll wait. No rush my friend,
right? Or am I wrong? If I'm wrong, then maybe you better think twice.

Now, you got your corporate job, you aren't married, you have no kids or house
or pets and picket fence --> you have options! Selfish options at that. Step
out and get back to your thing.

Oh hell, I probably said too much. Good luck and smart choices to you.
And...my sympathies for the debt - but don't let it destroy your spirit. Life
is a roller coaster - the nice upside will pay you visits in your future and
you'll look back at this as a great education.

~~~
throwaway202
A few reactions to this:

\- No kids, engaged, I have strong technical skills (10+ years of dev and ops
experience, lots of IT project management experience), I'm healthy, in my 30s,
and I am ready, willing and able to work.

\- Marriage rescheduling isn't on the table. The wedding was supposed to
happen last year but got nixed because my business had just entered free-fall
and I was a ball of stress. Now the situation is crappy, but well-defined, so
I no longer panic about finances. She would wait again if I wanted, but that's
not what I want, either.

\- I did quite a bit of consulting in the past year, as we were winding down
the company. The positive side was that the pay was fairly good and it helped
scrub a lot of debt (there was a point where I was down close to $200k.) The
minus side was that I felt stressed by having what was more of a collection of
part-time jobs than a business or a career. This downside is amplified by the
fact that I stopped enjoying dev work, hate doing outside sales, and I
legitimately miss having to go to an office each day.

\- Right now, a steady paycheck is exactly what I crave. I have a roadmap laid
out that includes both a corporate and an entrepreneurial fork, but both start
with me working in the PMO or IT PMO of a relatively large corporation for the
next four years, then move to Singapore and attend INSEAD.

\- Thank you for your post. I'm extremely grateful for everyone who took the
time out to offer their thoughts.

\- The debt really isn't that bad. I paid $100,000 for a transformative
experience. If you gave me a time machine I'd do it again.

~~~
nopassrecover
It's tough but if you made 100k consulting could you either a) do it again or
b) tell (charge) others how to do it?

~~~
throwaway202
Here's how I did it, for free:

I spent the first month putting together a 'web dev' resume. This took a month
because most of my experience was non-public, involved large teams, and/or
NDAd. As such, I supplemented my resume by writing a few applications that
while not overly complex, were clear demonstrations that I can do more than a
basic CRUD app. (After all, I've got more than a decade of dev experience,
it'd be weird if I couldn't do that.)

I further emphasized that competence by opening a github account, submitting a
few minor patches to other projects, and open-sourcing one full application of
my own.

Once I finished that, I started scouring everything I could find for jobs and
contracts where I might be a good fit, and I applied to approximately two per
day. I started with a 'take anything, as long as it's short' approach, and got
pickier over time about what I'd do, and the rates I wanted.

After about two months, I wound up working with a client who was incredibly
impressed with me, and wound up buying about 50% of my capacity for $100/hr on
an ongoing basis. Most weeks I wound up working 20 hours for him, and the rest
of my time was spent trying to land small-ish higher-pay contracts, or working
on those higher pay contracts.

Altogether, I grossed about $160,000 in a year with almost none of that coming
in during the first two months. The vast majority of that cash was used to pay
off corporate debt that was personally guaranteed.

The only reason I don't want to repeat this is because while it would help
clear the debt, it left me deeply unhappy. I don't enjoy coding anymore, and I
don't enjoy working alone.

~~~
signal
That's a great story and a good strategy, which you pulled off admirably.
Reading that, I don't think you should pull a 180 once you get to Philly.

I hear what you're saying about your distaste for the 'lone wolf coder' role
but you can use your skills and experience to hit the ground running instead
of hunting for jobs until you catch one. The networking advice is all well and
good but it doesn't pay the bills and it's not a quick fix. You network so
that you can call on your contacts in times like this, starting now just
delays the payoff and poisons your interactions with dread that you have to
hit them up with your plea sooner or later - or worse, right off the bat.
Networking is about building a rolodex, give and take, but mostly building
relationships. If you need something right away it ruins the premise and
people can smell it.

My advice is this: Philly must have coworking space. That will solve your 3
problems. You can be with people. You can help them, and receive help. You can
advise, consult, contribute. Make money, join the community and networking
will be a part of your life. You can hunt for a job for a few hours a day, but
help people and they will help you. You'll become a part of your new home, and
your new life. You may even like coding again.

~~~
throwaway202
Thanks for suggesting coworking space. If I decide to burn off the rest of my
debt via freelancing, that'll give me at least a shot of sanity.

------
maxawaytoolong
You should write an ebook on how to find a fiance and move to a new city while
being unemployed and having $100K in debt. This would be more interesting than
any of the advice you're going to get about how to find a tech job in Philly.
Maybe you could sell enough of them to pay off your credit card. I'm only
being about 10% tongue-in-cheek. I'd buy it...

------
kirinkalia
Sounds like you've thought this through. Congrats to your fiancee for landing
a great gig. You are a true partner for making this move.

Since no one else has said it, find out which alums from your university are
in Philly and set up informational interviews with ones in fields/jobs you
find interesting. Everyone loves to talk about what they do/how they got to
where they are. Key: follow up with a hand-written thank-you note. This is far
more memorable than an email! (and do this for everyone who takes time to talk
to you)

I would also set up an informational interview with these Philly folks to get
a better idea of the local scene: <http://www.dreamitventures.com/> I totally
get that you want a job-job, but they will "get" your background and may even
put you in touch with one of their companies and/or introduce you to others in
the Philly tech community.

I'd also check out <http://asktheheadhunter.com/> for advice on how to treat
your job search the way a recruiter operates in matching companies and talent
(essentially, you research the heck out of a place where you'd want to work
and then show them how they need you). The "Ask the Headhunter" book is a bit
repetitive but may be worth picking up as well.

Best of luck! And don't be too hard on yourself. The process will most likely
have its setbacks.

~~~
throwaway202
Awesome ideas. I've had coffee with people who were far more successful than
me many times in an effort to understand how they did it. It hadn't occurred
to me to do the same in this situation.

I just added a todo to my calendar to contact DreamIt as soon as I'm in
Philadelphia full-time, because that is absolutely brilliant. I might be able
to go "corporate" by working for a portfolio company, or perhaps somebody in
their network would clearly understand what I bring to the table.

And frankly, even if none of that works, once my debt is cleared my wife wants
to found a startup so it'd be great to have a better handle on what DreamIt is
doing.

I know this isn't a memorable hand-written note, but I can't tell you how
appreciative I am for the advice and ideas. I truly appreciate it.

------
rudin
Me being blunt.

Find someone to help you write your resume? Why can't you do this yourself?
You are just offloading responsibility. It takes a day to do and is fairly
easy.

Find a good recruiter? Cannot you just start applying for jobs now? Why do you
need a recruiter? They can be helpful but as you need a job as soon as
possible you shouldn't limit yourself here.

Finally, starting the job hunt in early January is procrastinating. Get up and
start applying now. There is a pre-Christmas lull in many offices that make it
a good time to hire.

Good luck with your job search.

------
lmai
Network first. Start with your network locally and ask if they have contacts
in Philly. Join some meetups in Philly.

You write your own resume. Don't spend more money doing that. You know
yourself best. Then get your friend to review.

------
carlrice
From a young developers perspective Philly was fun. Lots of events, low living
costs for a decent city and tons of web work. I was able to easily freelance
with few contacts.

A previous co-worker on the other hand (usually working in the very top of a
company) found Philly to be difficult as he had too much experience in high
positions and expected to find it again and again with a cushy salary too
boot. Its been over a year and I still think he is out of work.

Pharma while soul crushing will get you the fast cash you need, is abundant
and should be easy enough to get into.

------
switch007
With $100k of debt, I'd consider a marriage a "luxury" that could wait.

~~~
shortlived
Why? You don't need a lot of money to have a unique and meaningful wedding.

------
mast
Don't expect to get the perfect job right away. Get any job and start paying
down your debt! Once you're settled and your network is more established, you
can look for other opportunities.

