starting, andy says be on time listen and learn play like hell when I need you to - some football guy "all you can expect from a programmer" traditional wisdom: saturate job boards - everywhere you can until someone bites list everything you ever knew in reverse chronoorder "as god intended" for conventional wisdom, go read any book anywhere. please leave anyway, it doesn't work bill and andy started talking about hiring at dinner people started taking notes they were mindblown it should be a talk! now it is topic areas: finding job resume / cover letter job interview portfolio management key concepts: a job is a relationship you MUST think of it this way if you lie, you lose - you'll get caught - even if you lie to yourself; do what you want, don't convince yourself think like the hiring manager he wants to hire someone his schedule doesn't slow down because someone leaves he wants the position filled and life back to normal but he's protective about his department he doesn't want a putz make a successful relationship easy! it's not a numbers game if you try to apply to everything, you can't spend the energy you need to "if you treat it like a crap shoot, you'll get /a/ job (or crap) but maybe not the job you want" think of "what you SAY" versus "what they HEAR" the dream want ad (for andy) - solaris - mod_perl - mason - good pay what could go wrong: bad management maintenance only bad boss bad location no benefits crappy hours unreasonable expectations insolvent company ad != job uncreateive no oss lame team awful coworkers unqualified uninteresting industry <-- (that's what actually did) so the real question is: who are you? assess yourself: strengths (and how can you use them?) you may not be able to tell; you probably haven't noticed listen to when your co-workers compliment you weaknessess what can you do to overcome them? what are you going to live with? what's important to you: management new projects good boss location benefits hours industry stable company creativity dress code using and supporting OSS good team feel know what you'rel ooking for BEFORE you start looking! where do you look? monster? 1.40% of hirings come from Monster others: tiny also personal contacts result in 60% - 70% of hirings importance cannot be overestimated! "I would rather hire someone I know..." "...or someone known by someone I trust." personal contacts coworkers former coworkers friends and family usergroup members OSS community contacts mailing list / newsfroup members where else? want ads jobs.perl.org find a company you want to work for: p5p, cpan, etc directories of local businesses industry magazines sometimes the search for a good company will help establish contacts for the future focusing your search ...is key there aren't 100 jobs for you eliminate bad jobs early spend your time on what counts do your homework before you send your resume... learn about the company decide if you want to work there ??? the company website know what they do obvious but you'd be surprised! hiring manager's name news/list postings by employees conferences, trade shows, etc if your resume is your first contact with the company, you lose -- billo not just google! company PR department local newspaper, business publications local public library hiring manager himself http and mail headers: maybe they use IIS and exchange! (ack!) this is not creepy any good manager will welcome it you are not stalking you are doing your homework if the manager thinks it's creepy, you probably don't want to work there the resume you are a unique and beautiful snowflake summarize at the top tailor it to the job emphasize what's important if you lie, you lose (see above) no lies no fudging no objective no "references available" no salary history nothing illegal! Tales! From! The! Inbox! july 2001 - present spraying bugs * applied incesticides (sprayed) * precisely tracked assigned paths (read a map) * maintained accurate service records (filled out timesheet) It's ok if you were out of work for a while! Programming people don't want bug sprayers. ...and a year of COBOL may be the same as the year of bug spraying. summary at the top what've you been doing? be precise embolden key points everything else, then, is detail don't include stuff that you don't want to do! it might be all they read! the cover letter this is not the resume! rule #1 - write one rule #2 - write one for the specific position letter << UGH Dear Prospective Employer, Your Advertisement on jobs.perl.com for a Sr. Prog. for library book wholesaler caught my attention. UGH put it in plaintext explain relationship with contact, if any explains what you're looking for and what you can rbing to the company shows that you care enough to send a personalized cover letter shows that you know about the company you will have the time to do this when you don't apply 100[0[0]] places the interview this is day one on your new job! (be in that mode of thinking) your mission establish a relationship with your new boss show that you can do the job the way they want you to make sure you want the job ...and let your new boss know it get a job offer (or get to the next step)! three keys to a great interview: 1. prepare 2. prepare 3. prepare how to prepare: know what you're doing before you're in the chair have a list of questions based on your research more googling! you can't know too much find out where the company is. test-drive to it what to bring: at lest five copies of your resume you never know who'll want it your portfolio a list of questions have things to talk about! paper and pens you need to be prepared! you know you'll be filling out forms! the real you portfolio your best work. wow me! code samples network diagrams project schedules magazine articles don't violate NDAs!! code samples your best work meaty and relevant, but also a variety somebody sent billo /just/ a switch statement two copies, syntax highlighted electronic copies on CD plan on leaving it andy would be looking for: how experienced is the coder? clarity, good design good mechanics attention to detail is all your code under an NDA? well write some that isn't! what to do prove you're right the person for the job tell me that you want the job it should be the natural end of the converation if it isn't, maybe the interview went badly but tell them. what not to do give the interviewer work to do tell the interviewer your problems sit quietly and passively be pushy mention money and the number one sin... don't lie. even a little. you have no job security what if you had to get hired tomorrow? building your brand brian d foy has an interview "we don't need to talk about your skills; my guys know your stuff" rjbs: wow your resume is a career tracker sales sheet of you have your added to it in the past 3 months standing still is falling behind what have you done? cool projects at work cpan modules writing articles organizing user groups administering sites etc etc etc etc have a google presense work projects are boring? make your own projects to enhance your portfolio words used in describing this: "cool," "love" people with those qualities are who Andy wants what are you known for? around the office? around the intarweb? what's your google footprint? your rolodex is power who do you know? (remember above, 60-70% from personal contacts?) enhance your rolodex who knows you? your work? at work mailing lists perl mongers prior job interviews yapc! the best way to make contacts is to be someone worth knowing, yourself the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago the second best time is today you don't need to become a "perl celebrity" but know people. books ask the headhunter the brand you 50 rainmaking