Applied at over 100 jobs, no interview

I’m in the same boat. I’m probably over 100 applications now as well but couldn’t even get a single call.

Based on your other post, you’re in NYC right? Happy to get coffee some time, let me know if you’re interested. :slight_smile:

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I came across a quote from http://www.alexbanayan.com/ while reading a blog entry by https://haseebq.com/farewell-app-academy-hello-airbnb-part-i/(Great blog btw. Haseeb is a super inspiring guy).

The quote basically states how all successful people treat life like a nightclub. You either go through the front door(everybody), back door(rich and famous) or the 3rd door(go through a tons of obstacles).

Take the 3rd door…be different in your approach in your job hunt.

Lastly, if you haven’t heard of https://triplebyte.com/ they are a startup company which services Web Dev/Software Engineers candidates seeking employment. They believe a person background and credential should not determine their qualification but what they are actually capable of should.

Good Luck!

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Sure, do you attend meetups? There’s an upcoming ReactNYC meetup in manhattan. The bronx FCC fb group also meet up from time to time.

It is very hard to get a job with just a front end certificate, especially in the Bay Area. I would start learning a framework and/or build some full stack applications so you know how the front and back ends work together.

Join the next Chingu Voyage cohort. Doing a team project through there will help you a ton in your search. You’ll learn how to work as a team, get familiar with Git/GitHub and expand your skills. You can apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7eeorRF3kWj98X9Q342VrQdriGoDoBfu6ELOEeDuxrQ2wgw/viewform

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@ericmiller777

Your website could use a better styling layout that is easier on the eyes and your GitHub shows your Git Commit’s are not well done. You shouldn’t be commiting after a single minor adjustment or line of code. Do a commit once a feature is finished or if you’re done for the day. Also make sure your commit messages are detailing what you have done. “test” multiple times thru your commit history is not good.

Also you need good documentation for your repo’s. Employer’s want to know that you can write good notes and documentation for your code.

Keep plugging along. If you don’t quit you will succeed if you put in the proper work.

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Oh course, I’m still working on the other certificates, Ive been looking for something to work on with others, I’ll try that.

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Occasionally, but since I don’t use React or live in the Bronx probably not those two. :wink:

I might see about dropping in on one of the Manhattan FCC meetups.

85% of jobs are found through friends. Go to lots of meetups (meetup.com). Target companies you like and go to events they hold to start making connections. Offer value by doing small talks, volunteer, teach workshops locally to build your profile and network. You probably could get summer time work through ID tech camps or work at local schools that need after school programs.

Also have people review your site and run it through spellcheck. I’m seeing a LOT of minor misspellings like, Twich for Twitch, responcive for responsive, qoute for quote, releating for relating, etc. That makes a poor impression.

Example:
“Uses the Wikipedia api to let the user search, and returns links relateing to the query in a informative, and well organized way.” [API, relating, AN informative, no comma needed after informative]

“A Responsive, and well organized site” - No comma needed. Even if you listed three things like: a plum, a carrot and a walnut - you don’t need a comma before the ‘and’. I think you are trying to say it is “A Responsive Website Design”. Not sure what you mean by well organized- that is like saying it is a pretty site- probably let the reader/viewer draw those conclusions themselves.

Read up about articles: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/. Use ‘an’ when the word begins with a vowel like ‘a aspiring’ should be an inspiring.

The best step you made right now is asking for help and feedback- that takes some bravery and self reflection. You are off to a good start!

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Using a recruiter is a good idea when you’re first starting out, but the downside is the amount of money they pocket. For example, if a job is paying 80k for a position, Robert Half takes 30-50% of it and presents the job to the candidate with a reduced salary offer. The candidate wouldn’t know any better since they’re going through the recruiting firm.

This happened to me a few years ago out of college. I took a government accounting position through Robert Half. They said the local cities’ accounting team was offering me the the position and it paid $20/hr, and told me it was a good offer. Being in that role, I had to account for various things such as governmental projects, construction, and salaries. One day, some paper work came across my desk and it included my name and the amount to be paid to Robert Half for my position. They were paying $45/hr, but I was only getting 20 of it. Now, I wasn’t naive; I knew they took a chunk out since that’s how they make money. But pocketing over half was ridiculous.

Anyhow, they helped me find a job so I was thankful for that. Eventually, they tried steering me into other positions with low-ball salaries. I did my research on the positions and companies and realized I was getting screwed with their offers, so I went off on my own.

I still get occasional e-mails from them in my spam folder :no_mouth:

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Hey man you’ll get there eventually. I’ve been in that position and it sucks, but it will pay off if you stay at it.

Others have mentioned the importance of networking, which is great advice. To abstract that even further, though, what’s important is to get your name out there in whatever way you can. Coding is only part of the job, and sites like freeCodeCamp have made it easier than ever for everyone to get those skills. This isn’t a bad thing, but as more people learn to write code, you need to find other things that make you stand out.

I got my start in tech with writing, believe it or not. I have a degree in English, which helped, but I’m one of maybe three technical writers I’ve ever met that has it, so it’s not necessary. Start writing blogs on Medium about what you’re learning. Or better yet, host your own blog - Wordpress is easy to set up, and you also have other options like Ghost, which is my personal choice. Write a post every week or two about something you learned, and keep tweaking your site to make it look awesome.

Talk to people on Twitter. Be helpful and supportive, and share what you know. Just participate in coding discussions (#CodeNewbie is a really good hashtag to follow - they do a weekly chat on Wednesdays with a lot of great people) and get to know some people. Share blog posts (not just your own) with people you know.

It won’t take off right away, but it does work. I’ve gotten a lot of part time and contract work based on my personal blog, which helped me break into the industry full time. I’ve also seen people get job offers based on the connections they made on Twitter - at my company, we constantly work with (meaning pay) people we find there because it’s just such a good environment for finding smart and talented people.

Getting started is rough, I know. Job hunting in a new field is like coding in a lot of ways - you don’t know what you don’t know. The final piece of advice I’ll give you is that working in tech is really not so much about your skills as who you are. Finding someone who can knock out a web page is much easier than it used to be. What companies look at more these days is whether a person will be a positive contributor in other ways, like bringing new ideas, creativity, and good energy to the team. It sounds counterintuitive, but don’t put all your focus on your coding skills. Those are important, but once you get to a certain level of proficiency, they’re usually not the difference between getting a job and not getting it.

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:100:

It’s easy to train a new hire to be a productive programmer. (given some baseline level of proficiency).
It’s hard to train a new hire to be a pleasant person.

You (probably) need hard skills to get an interview, but you (probably) need soft skills to get and keep a job.

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1)you havent committed to github in over 2 months now. Dont let those windows happen. You need to be building stuff all the time. show your passion for it by doing it everyday
2)Read books about OOP and functional programming, Design patterns… everything you can think of. EAT IT UP. (you can put these on resumes)
3) Code Katas (great for the portfolio)
4) Pair Program (maybe do chingu?) (or try meetup)
5) Put your work on code review asap and fix the issues in your github repo’s
6) build fullstack applications on your own.

optionals: Lynda.com (free through the library) and check out open source society github repo for free online courses that mimic a CS degree.

good luck in the kitchen.

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Try using this site when applying for jobs. Most HR departments use what is known as the ATS to filter through the thousands of resumes they get. Usually only resumes whose match roughly 80% or higher of the keywords in job descriptions are actually read by HR managers.

Using this site to scan for matching keywords helped myself and many people get more interviews. Good luck, man. You got this!

Thank you all for your reply and encouragement :slight_smile:

U of Michigan… sorry but I f-ing FELL IN LOVE with their teaching style.
If there is anything in JS here, plus the Microsoft Academy, they have a very amazing angularjs teacher

Hey Eric,

I’m recruitor but not from US, if you show me your cv and portfolio I’ll be able to give you carrier consultation for free.

I’m also not a graduate but I have 3 years experience in media and carrier development certificate from Edx to be a recruitor.

I’m studying business administration but I fail because I love what I do and I don’t like to read everything just on the paper except the real experience. Do you know how hard it is to get that kind of paper(cer) and to get a record from just a company what we call the university. It is not a vital if you have skill and a strong passion.

After that,

The first thing that you will need for the first new carrier is presentation, before you get an interview. This is your cv and in some case you may need to consider how to apply.

Some companies do not look at their applicant cv from a free job posting platform.