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Best Way To Land Entry-Level Job?

Posted by timothy on from the pick-a-field-with-no-advancement dept.

chemicaldave writes "I'm graduating this May and have been seeking a programming position for months. It seems that the biggest hurdle to landing an interview is getting past the doorman that is HR. After reading this entry from Coding Horror describing the lack of programming candidates who can actually program, I can't help but scratch my head. I can program! (See how I put that link in?) If I can't land an interview, then even a short online evaluation of my coding skills would suffice. I just want a chance to prove myself. Alas, sending resumes to companies has rarely led to anything but an auto-confirmation email of my submission. I understand that sending resumes online is not the best method to landing an interview, but I come from a small rural school so job fairs rarely offer anything more than IT support positions let alone a programming position. It seems to me that developers are always looking for talented young programmers. We're out here looking for you too. Am I missing something?"

3 of 441 comments (clear)

  1. Missing something by xSauronx · · Score: 0, Troll

    It appears that you missed some level of social networking during school. I volunteered to work for the sysadmin at the community college I go to...I graduate in may and will go to uni in the fall, in the meantime, he put in a good word for me and it helped me get an internship at a sizeable area hospital that will look *great* on my resume (if they dont hire me when i finish uni)

    --
    By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth. -- George Carlin
    1. Re:Missing something by lalena · · Score: 0, Troll

      He's graduating now, so that means at the end of his second year he couldn't figure out why a string named string was a problem, and today he's not smart enough to create multiple online personalities so that these old posts don't trace back to him.
      I agree with others who state that they only hire the best people they can find. If this is the only thing I know about the person (besides the resume), then he will end up in the reject list. There are plenty more applicants without negatives. As others have said, open source projects will help, but this late in the game it will look like what it really is - a last ditch effort to build the resume. What did this person do with his summers since starting college? Any co-ops or side projects? Or did he deliver pizzas and play video games all day?

  2. Re:show off your programming skills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    You don't seriously think anyone would hire the Google's kids? The problem with them is not that they can't code (some of them can). The problem is they are very unlikely to fit into any paid position. A person is hired because they can set the self-goal of creating value for the enterprise and achieve that goal. Someone who joins a vanity competition is interested in praise over value. He is not gonna have cultural problems with the secrecy required in a competitive situation. He is more likely be a liability than an asset.