

Need advice: Entrepreneur to full-time job - richsin

So, in short, I&#x27;m burned out. I did consulting (Web&#x2F;Biz Dev) for local businesses for almost 8 years.<p>I am guilty of sticking to a small group of clients that paid very well and completely stopped growing my business. I don&#x27;t even have a website or business cards anymore. 2 months ago, I stopped doing work for them completely, the work was soul crushing.<p>My decision now, for many reasons, is to join a company even as low as a junior front end developer or growth hacker. Reasons for starting back at junior if need be:<p>1. My web projects have sucked over the last 3 years, I started focusing on business development and did really well for them with that also, but they hired cheap developers and the work became completely unacceptable for a portfolio. Their expectations were too high and budget too low. I had spoilt them over the years.<p>2. I want to work on a team again. My first time I worked for a startup, we knocked it out the park. That role was in sales. Being on a team building products and being around people again is really intriguing to me.<p>3. I just turned 30 and having never finished a degree (actually finishing one online for personal reasons). I feel completely lost. I have little confidence in job hunting and feel completely off my game. I&#x27;m not used to having my career in another person&#x27;s hands.<p>Here is where I need help, but any advice or guidance would be appreciated:<p>- How can I get a junior front end position or growth hacking position? Should I do some mock projects for a portfolio? How many, what kind? I fell out of touch with some of the modern workflows, but have been spending all my time catching up to getting back to my A game with JS and such.<p>- Any suggestions on the type of roles that may be a good fit for me apart from what I mentioned?<p>- How do I get in front of companies and show them that I am an excellent hire?<p>Thanks for reading this far and I look forward to anything you guys have to offer.
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andrewfarah
>How do I get in front of companies and show them that I am an excellent hire.

If it was flattering for 37signals (read: influential company) to see this --
[http://jasonzimdars.com/svn/](http://jasonzimdars.com/svn/) it will be even
more flattering for not-yet-famous-company-X to see something similar.

1\. pick a company that solves a problem that's interesting to you. or who's
founder said something that resonated (in a talk, interview, or essay) 2\.
research their founding team 3\. write / build / hand-craft / hand-deliver
something (website, message in a bottle, anything, things non-digital like
hand-written letters are particularly effective). 4\. offer or do something
unsolicited (logo, find a new customer, write effective copy for a campaign)
5\. don't attach a resume. just write clearly, use nice paper, and expect
nothing in return.

bonus: follow up if / when you don't hear back.

There is a line between irritating and hungry. You won't always be the latter
but aim for it.

Do this 2 or 3 times, to companies that aren't yet big names (look through
[http://angel.co](http://angel.co)), and you'll floor their founding team with
your level of effort and at least land an in-person.

Don't pick the job, pick the people and the problem. You'll find sufficient
motivation later.

~~~
csmdev
I'm going to be that guy and say that this is a bad idea. When you're jumping
through hoops to get attention, people get used to it. And they start
expecting it by default. Especially when it's for a job.

~~~
andrewfarah
That's especially true in the case of 37signals. It was novel the first time
someone built a website just to get hired. The 2nd time it was probably still
cool. By 5th, 6th or 10th time, the gesture likely lost its novelty.

There isn't a playbook for doing something worthy of a company's attention
(sans warm intro). But there's something to be said for non-traditional,
creative outreach.

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cblock811
Get in front of companies by:

1) Tapping the network you likely have 2) Go to events like Meetups. Make
yourself visible. 3) Might want to build that website and portfolio so you can
show what you did. Sounds like it should be easy for you to throw together 4)
Start applying to jobs. There are tons of positions for people with your
skills. I'm sure you can make it happen. If you want to do front end then do
that. If you want to be a growth hacker then you'll probably get in even more
easily.

~~~
richsin
Hey,

My network is non-existent as it's mostly local businesses, never really
networked with other entrepreneurs or developers.

Any advice on how to leverage meetups or what I should display for my
portfolio?

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awillshire
Hi Rich,

Look around for the kind of company you want to work for. Explore outfits
mentioned on HN, but also on sites like TechCrunch.

When you find a few, explore their tech stacks and see if any interest you.
You don't need to be an expert in the technology, but you need to like it.

Can you visualize a kind of dream role there? It's great that you're ok to
start over (I love starting over, like re-learning French or re-reading my
ancient copy of K&R).

Look for best practice in CV's - google them and see what makes sense and what
doesn't. Revise your CV so it's better. Apply lots, fail lots, take the agile
approach to job hunting. Don't get disheartened when you don't get the one you
really want, you WILL get there!

Cheers, Andrew.

~~~
richsin
Andrew,

Thank you for the advice. This is all very new to me.

You mentioned visualizing a dream role, this is a fascinating thought. Since I
wore many hats over the years as an entrepreneur, if I were to create this
dream role, could I market/suggest it to companies I am applying to?

Surely this would probably only work with smaller companies, of course, but do
you think this is a possibility?

Thanks

~~~
awillshire
Hi Rich,

I would definitely take that approach, as long as it aligns with the company's
own vision. Employers tend to like the idea that you have goals of your own -
as long as you stress that you're happy with the entry level role and working
your way up. All the best and keep persevering!

Cheers, Andrew.

~~~
richsin
I certainly am. Thanks again.

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ctseng01
After being on your own for 8 years, do you really want to leave your career
in another person's hand? The corporate jobs really aren't as safe as 8~10
years ago. People get laid off all the time from their corporate jobs.

I hope that it gives you comfort in knowing the corporate people have a lot of
fear going the other direction, too.

You survived on your own for 8 years, that should give you a lot of
confidence. You have done Bus Dev, you can sell yourself in a job hunt; you
have learned web development w/o a college degree, you can learn JS and PHP -
the languages and DEV platform are getting easier and easier.

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nameless1
You seem to be inherently motivated. As noted you have transferrable skills
that are desirable, and an ability to showcase them. So do so. If this is
where your passion lies, all the better.

Read up: Quora.com Study up: Khanacademy.org

Any potential workplace you meet with will glean far more from your enthusiasm
and expertise of a topic than most degrees.

Hire character, train skill.

Lastly you have to consider relocation as part of the equation. Got to go
where the work is. This may lead to a step back in lifestyle, but is just part
of the ride...

~~~
richsin
Appreciate the kind words. I am very interested in relocating just wanted to
go out a bit prepared before I jump into a new city.

Any advice on how to showcase my skills to garner some attention?

~~~
jason_tko
Hi there - I just quickly went over your posting history on HN, and I'm
interested to have a chat with you. I'm on jay.makeleaps on Skype !

~~~
richsin
Jason,

Just dropped you a request on Skype.

Looking forward to chatting.

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richsin
My job hunt feels like an episode of Seinfeld:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBn8XttrSew](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBn8XttrSew)

And my Hail Mary if all fails:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zpOVmhkEaQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zpOVmhkEaQ)

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jf22
I think you vastly underestimate the current demand for the skills you have.

~~~
richsin
Thanks. Appreciate the positive words.

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slosh
I feel your pain bro

