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Ask HN: Been job hunting for two years. No luck. Do I need a personal project?

3 points by jeantherapy ↗ HN
I have a degree and was a professional full stack .NET for 10 years. I used to think I wasn't getting hired because I looked like a job hopper but now they tell me it's because I haven't been working as a developer in two years. I am still just as knowledgeable and I don't apply to jobs that require me to know the latest tech anyways. So I am applying for things I am qualified for and know how to do.

I'm pretty much on my last limb and really need a job at this point. I don't know why I can't convince anyone to hire me. Like, I've seen your guys' code, lol. Like, I can't even find work fixing someone's junky windows forms app. I can program, really.

I am considering doing a personal project. I don't know if that will even help because I suspect 9/10 hiring managers aren't even considering me.

I don't have any friends or a LinkedIn. I just know how to program. I will do a great job wherever I find work. How do I trick these people into doing their job good and recognizing a good developer?

6 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 37.4 ms ] thread
imwillofficial
Get a LinkedIn, get a professionally done resume, practice interviewing skills. Most of all, don’t give up.
yitchelle
Getting a LinkedIn profile will help here. Depending on how well your profile is, you should get some hits from recruiters.

Aside from interviewing skills, networking skills on various social media platforms (Twitter, Reddit, etc.) will also help as well.

Also mirroring advice from imwillofficial, don't give up!

PaulHoule
I've had painful job searches where I nearly succumbed to despair. Reading Bob Firestone's writings on the subject turned my psychology around

https://job-interview-answers.com/

I have no fear of job interviews anymore.

For me a good side project "changes my life" in about 18 months. For my current project, I started out printing anime characters on a cheap inkjet printer and soon it was art reproductions, then photos I took. I realized I couldn't give them away without explaining where the images came from so I started adding a QR code that links to a "web side" and invented the "three sided card".

Somebody asked me to explain my motivation for choosing images and when I thought about it, 90% of my thinking was about the system itself and the needs of the system. Sometimes today I feel the cards work through me, just because I practice so much when the opportunity arises I can take 70 square inches of vacant space and make it mine.

That's what a "life changing" side project looks like to me and it's how hard you have to throw yourself at it and even possibly lose yourself.

moviewise
Is there a website or pictures/examples of the "three sided card"?
PaulHoule
I was writing a manifesto but haven't gotten finished because my practice has been changing so rapidly (e.g. I talked about all kinds of problems that I used to have but felt like I had to fix them instead of complain about them publicly)

There are 48 of them on the wall opposite my workstation

https://gen5.info/$/XQ*42RXF-TLY:$B.8/

there is a placard which links to that URL. Those are 8 inch squares and it covers 30% or so of the wall so it has a major effect on radiative transfer in the room. I had to replace many of the images with less bright images because the effect was uncomfortable and unsuitable for a video conferencing background.

moviewise
Just want to offer some encouragement and to second the advice to create a LinkedIn page to follow the accounts of companies/groups you are interested in, as well as try to connect with people in the same field and/or similar educational background. This way you will receive notifications on new positions available and sometimes can directly apply pretty easily.