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Ask YC: Finding a New Job as a (Semi)Recent College Grad

13 points by nbroyal ↗ HN
I graduated in April 2007 and joined an established company in a software development position that seemed rather promising. After spending nearly a year there, I can certainly see that it's not really a good fit for me. I crave something much more technical than the role I currently occupy.

At this point, I realize I need to move on. Only problem is, I really don't know how to conduct a job search. I know that sounds ridiculous, but in college this was like shooting fish in a barrel. Between job fairs and friends being employed at various places, paths to employment were bountiful. Now I find myself wading through pages of uninteresting job postings on various internet sites.

All I’m looking for are interesting and challenging places (big or small) to work in the Bay Area that would hire a recent college grad. Anyone know any quality job search websites? Also, I’ve heard good things about head hunters. Anyone have any experience with them and/or recommendations?

Any suggestions at all would be fantastic. Thanks.

8 comments

[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 34.4 ms ] thread
berecruited
Good post here about finding a start up job: http://ryanspoon.com/blog/2008/05/18/landing-a-great-start-u...

Also, what's your skillset? Depending on, I have a couple available opportunities... how should we contact you?!

nbroyal
Wow, totally missed this link before. Thanks.

As for my skill set, I'm most proficient in C++ and Java with most of my professional experience in the application development space. I have done quite a bit of web development personally and in the classroom, so I'm quite familiar with PHP, HTML and CSS as well,

While I'm more interested in staying in the app dev space, I really just want a challenging development role -- be it desktop apps, web apps, or what have you.

Also, I've updated my profile to contain my e-mail.

tejava
Not sure your email is actually on your profile. Maybe add it in txt in the about portion... I'd like to chat too!
nbroyal
Ahh, yes. Now it's visible. Good call, thanks.
prakash
You pretty much answered your question, your friends, previous internships are the best bet.

Rather than looking for the right role, first look for the right company and then a development role that interests you.

Here's a list of companies for you to start your search: http://www.crunchbase.com/companies

good luck!

nbroyal
Thanks for the feedback, prakash. Unfortunately, only one of my friends landed in the Bay Area and, yes, I've already been in contact with him. Just don't want to put all my eggs in one basket :)
dimitry
Pretty much in the same shoes as you. 2007 grad. 1 year in a big web company and looking for a change, so good timing on the post :)
len
Relax and network.

Do your homework on companies that are interesting to you and then try to interact with the employees or go straight for the hr dept.