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Almost a Call For Help
Aug. 14th, 2009 06:53 pmI don't normally use blogspace to talk about myself. Really. With IRC and Twitter, I have more than enough characters to rant when the mood strikes.
But this time, I truly need the extra space, if only to paint a vivid picture in words.*
For those that have absolutely no idea what I'm on about:
I'll be moving to a new city (Seattle) in four days. I've only managed to book a month on the first go, given my modest financial resources and concern over the state of the economy. And I currently have no job prospects.
How this happened:
For the past three years, I worked at a small anti-virus company with rather big clients (as in, Google). I made them a few million dollars, but it was time to go. I stated as much. In May, I left the company, with interviews in my back pocket and some bright prospects lined up.
And then the first one fell through: a company I'd worked with for five years, developing OSS tools, turned me down for a paid position. The second fell through: a solid government job, right up my alley. Then the third. The fourth.
Friends in companies couldn't get me an interview. My former manager (now with another company) stopped returning my calls. A business failed; independent consulting at my level just didn't pay the bills. And the job boards, well, we won't speak of those.**
Now, what's funny is I'm not a terrible person. I made a mint for my last job. I left them on favorable terms. I have two degrees: one in computing***, the other a generic MBA. I had a good GPA in college, though certainly not the best (3.58). I have a solid credit rating. And I have three years of excellent work and an advanced degree at a relatively young age (24).
And yes, I truly believe I know my stuff. I have a solid grasp of Shell Scripting, Python, C++, C, ASM, and just a ton of stuff. Did I mention we were reverse-engineering polymorphic malware? And programming an anti-virus product? And an x86 emulator?
What's terrifying: I can't even pull a phone interview.
Really.
Before quitting, I'd been searching since December. By now, I've run out of professional contacts. I don't want to beg friends for a job, if it can be avoided. I've already tried LinkedIn and job boards; I'm lucky to get auto-responses for even modest positions (temp worker, help desk, PHP developer). My headhunter contacts have all gone cold. And I really, honestly, don't know what else to do without completely abandoning my career as a programmer.
I also have my heart set on Seattle. I'll be moving in with my mate, and will be near some very awesome people. Seattle is one of the best cities for what I do. But, jobless, I only have so much time before I break the bank or am forced back home.
Given the situation, what would you do? I'm genuinely hopeful, if quite afraid.
I welcome all feedback.
---
* Of course, I'm posting this to LiveJournal only. After all, that's what it's for!
** At the time of this writing, I'm easily pulling several thousand applications on Monster, DICE, Gamasutra, USAJobs, Craigslist, and many private listings.
*** Actually, a BBA, with an undeclared minor in Computer Engineering and major in Computer Information Systems. I took the extra time to study computing on my own, since I felt I wasn't getting the best education in the classroom.
But this time, I truly need the extra space, if only to paint a vivid picture in words.*
For those that have absolutely no idea what I'm on about:
I'll be moving to a new city (Seattle) in four days. I've only managed to book a month on the first go, given my modest financial resources and concern over the state of the economy. And I currently have no job prospects.
How this happened:
For the past three years, I worked at a small anti-virus company with rather big clients (as in, Google). I made them a few million dollars, but it was time to go. I stated as much. In May, I left the company, with interviews in my back pocket and some bright prospects lined up.
And then the first one fell through: a company I'd worked with for five years, developing OSS tools, turned me down for a paid position. The second fell through: a solid government job, right up my alley. Then the third. The fourth.
Friends in companies couldn't get me an interview. My former manager (now with another company) stopped returning my calls. A business failed; independent consulting at my level just didn't pay the bills. And the job boards, well, we won't speak of those.**
Now, what's funny is I'm not a terrible person. I made a mint for my last job. I left them on favorable terms. I have two degrees: one in computing***, the other a generic MBA. I had a good GPA in college, though certainly not the best (3.58). I have a solid credit rating. And I have three years of excellent work and an advanced degree at a relatively young age (24).
And yes, I truly believe I know my stuff. I have a solid grasp of Shell Scripting, Python, C++, C, ASM, and just a ton of stuff. Did I mention we were reverse-engineering polymorphic malware? And programming an anti-virus product? And an x86 emulator?
What's terrifying: I can't even pull a phone interview.
Really.
Before quitting, I'd been searching since December. By now, I've run out of professional contacts. I don't want to beg friends for a job, if it can be avoided. I've already tried LinkedIn and job boards; I'm lucky to get auto-responses for even modest positions (temp worker, help desk, PHP developer). My headhunter contacts have all gone cold. And I really, honestly, don't know what else to do without completely abandoning my career as a programmer.
I also have my heart set on Seattle. I'll be moving in with my mate, and will be near some very awesome people. Seattle is one of the best cities for what I do. But, jobless, I only have so much time before I break the bank or am forced back home.
Given the situation, what would you do? I'm genuinely hopeful, if quite afraid.
I welcome all feedback.
---
* Of course, I'm posting this to LiveJournal only. After all, that's what it's for!
** At the time of this writing, I'm easily pulling several thousand applications on Monster, DICE, Gamasutra, USAJobs, Craigslist, and many private listings.
*** Actually, a BBA, with an undeclared minor in Computer Engineering and major in Computer Information Systems. I took the extra time to study computing on my own, since I felt I wasn't getting the best education in the classroom.
