Maturity is relative

These idiots e-mailed again. The ones who said I was charging too much the day I got two offers at that rate. I wouldn't have talked to them at all, but, you know, economy, etc, and it's the first contact I've had in two business days. They still say I'm charging too much, but at the number I quoted them, they're right.

I got two e-mails and a phone call today. Which would be great if I hadn't said to use e-mail and removed my phone number from my public profile (now that I've double checked this, I'll be asking anyone who contacts me in the future how they got the number), and it wasn't the third contact in four days from one particular company, asking for the same information. I checked my records, and what do you know they did the same thing a year and a half ago, when my resume wasn't even available: three e-mails from two people over a week and a half. Once more and I will seriously consider outing them on this blog, except I can't see how that would accomplish anything, they already look like idiots to anyone they try to recruit. I suppose the company they contract for, and it's only one company (you've heard of them), might care, but I doubt it. I'm still debating how snarky my reply should be. One on hand, the economy sucks. On the other hand, their are 400 companies that contract for the megacorp, 200 of which recruit for them alone, and they all have my e-mail address. And it would have to be a boatload of money to justify putting up with these idiots.

Speaking of idiots: today's phone call had something in common with Monday's (which was from my stalkers enthusiastic fans): a triumph of hope over reality. Monday's caller was really, really hoping I'd be available to start in two weeks, despite the fact that the availability date I gave me was five weeks in the future. It didn't hurt to ask. Today's caller was hoping I had five years experience testing databases. Now, recruiters* are stupid, so I can see how he couldn't tell from my resume I only had a year of DB work, because it's all greek to him. But maybe he could have noticed that I only had three and a half years of post-college experience, and my college work wasn't testing. That's just math, although there is the tricky thing where you have to remember years are base 12.

I really, really want to reward the good recruiters. Despite what I said above, my recruiter is actually quite good, and actually understands the things he recruits for. But a given agency only has so many jobs, and I'm not actually willing to take a pay.

Don't be anonymous on Dice

Turning off anonymity on dice, got two e-mails by end of day. This seems dumb, since I included my real name and e-mail address on my resume. I vaguely remember a similar effect the first time I used dice, although not so severe. What the hell?

I'm also fairly annoyed at one recruiter. He chose the earliest possible time I gave to talk on the phone (which was not my preferred time), then called 20 minutes late. When I refused the call, he did not leave a message, but called back an hour later. I picked up but rescheduled for- wait for it- the preferred time I gave in the original e-mail.

The economy sucks and dice is selling out

My current contract doesn't end for a month (assuming they stick with this end date- it's changed three times already), but the economy sucks so I put my resume on dice this morning (around 10 AM). It's gotten four views in the intervening 16 hours, and no one has offered me a job at all. I'm really glad I held off making fun of all those people who couldn't find work.

Of course, the economy isn't the only explanation. I put my resume up anonymously because there's no way to share your name but not your phone number, and I'd like to avoid taking 400 calls while I'm working in a conference room with a dozen other employees. I suppose I could use a 555 number, the way certain job posters do, but that seemed cheap, so I just put my real name and e-mail address in the resume.

Or it could be Dice's new policies, which I am not at all happy about. You can pay a fee to get more information about whose searching for you, and to get bumped to the top of searches. I don't see how it could possibly be worth it- eyeballs are abundant compared to resumes in the tech industry. But beyond that, there's no way this could possibly be ethical, since they take money from corporations to search resumes as well. I'm beginning to look for alternatives, but monster does the same thing, plus has terrible database security, and hotjobs hs never impressed me. If anyone has other alternatives, please post and let me know.

The hell is wrong with you people

Got one phone call today, from the same company that e-mailed me, but apparently it was an independent incident, working from an entry in their private database. Given that, I don't think he had a right to get angry at me for not being available on his timetable. And no, rephrasing the question does not change the fact that I have a pre-existing commitment going well past the day you want me to start your job.

Found a job I'd be perfect for while screwing around on dice. It requires one year less experience than I have, and I tend to try for jobs requiring 1-2 years more, but I'm well suited for it, it would further some goals, and it looks high level enough that I'm considering applying. It's listed by an agency though, so I'm going to give them some time to see if they contact me first.

Note to recruiters: if you're going to copy and paste a text message, rather than translate it into a real requirements list, at least cut out the gender specific pronouns.

On the plus side, the economic collapse has done wonders for my traffic numbers

I usually post on a substantially delayed schedule, to preserve anonymity. Of course, there's some topical things that simply doesn't work for, and the economy is one of them. Of course, I haven't had much to say on it for the past three months, but shhh.

So here's my impression of the job market I'm facing: SDET contractors are still okay. According to my inside source, the number of contracts coming in is normal for the year, although more people are coming to my relatively well off metro area to compete for these jobs. I'm still getting harassed by agencies desperate for a good SDET. So my hypothesis that contractors are

The employees that have jobs aren't doing much better. Benefits have taken a massive cut, and payroll deductions are on the table. My salary has stayed exactly the same.

As for developers, I just don't know. My best source is a co-worker who loudly proclaims that there are no jobs to be had, one just has to sit in the mud and wait for the economy to recover. She's a nice person, but I get the feeling she has higher self esteem than her performance warrants. She's been laid off four times, the longest of those lasted a year (after the tech bubble popped). So we'll call that "no information." If anyone has a story to share, feel free.

Lies my recruiter told me: really, actually lies

Long ago I wrote that it was best not to indicate one had a long term career goal during an interview, because employers don't want to be your stepping stone. This is bullshit. Or rather, it may be true that they don't want to be a stepping stone, but they really don't want to hire an idiot with no ability to plan for their own future. I have heard this from multiple people with hiring influence at multiple companies. My new advice is as follows:

1. Indicate that you have a plan, if not a goal. It's okay if that plan is "learn more about industry X and discipline Y and reevaluate in 3 years."
2. Your plan should not be set in stone.
   
3. Goals are okay too, with the same caveat that they should not be set in stone.
4. The plan you give should have a space for the job you're applying for.
   

Good news everyone, the recession is over.

Two phone calls while I was in an interview, one e-mailed dev contract, two perm positions (one dev at a company that had previously turned me down, one test at my former employer), one large contracting company that had already contacted me (four times) but apparently failed to put me in their database, one test contract I'd already rejected from another recruiter (that one I was completely unqualified for).

I was going to blow off the recontact from the large agency, but figured it couldn't hurt to check. Turns out I'd never gotten into their master database. I suspect the problem was that I told my first contact that I couldn't give her a salary range without hearing their benefits, and she never e-mailed me those.

Are you even trying anymore?

One half-hearted form letter not specifying a position, one incredibly enthusiastic letter for a position whose requirements have almost zero overlap with my qualifications,* and for a dev position. Well done, internets.

Still the prettiest member of the fellowship

I was beginning to get concerned when I didn't get any e-mails today. I even initiated a couple of recontacts that came to naught. Then, as I was leaving work, I got a call from a very interested recruiter with a very appropriate job. He's driving out to meet me tomorrow, and I may end up with an interview on Thursday. When it looked like transportation might be an issue, he said he could arrange it for me (it ends up working out). And the job looks quite interesting.

Apparently recruiters don't work on Fridays

One phone call. At 5:30 PM.

One invitation to interview for a position in another state.

I don't see why people are so worried about the economy.

Only one fresh contact, this time for a permanent position. I don't think they're used to being told you're only looking for contracts. (or "contracts", as she referred to them). Two invites to interview, one of which I've taken and another (from the same guy, same company, different teams) I might follow up with during vacation.

One phone interview, set up by my current agency before I posted my resume on dice. It went okay but not great- they wanted academic knowledge, and I had 0 time to prep since I'm in wrap-up mode at my current job. But they seemed to accept that explanation, and I had some very classic know-what-you-mean-but-not-the-vocabulary-word moments that backed it up. This particular job has a bitch of a commute, so unless they raise the offer another 10% (after raising it 10% just to get me to interview), it's a practice interview anyway.

Job updates.

5 contacts, one interview request (rejected)

Day 1 back on dice.

3 contacts.

One at a company I already talked to, who asked for a copy of my resume and asked for times to call me.

one who led with a demand for several pieces of information she already had, and wanted to know when she could call me. Based on the (short) description and (barely existent) requirements, I think I'm vastly overqualified, but it looks like a short commute so I wrote back anyway.

One who did not ask for information he already had, but did ask for me to call him when convenient, if I was interested. His company website lists benefits, for both salaried and hourly employees. Guess who's getting called back first.

I found one additional job that I am absolutely perfect for, and would really enjoy, that uses some esoteric skills I picked up in college. I liked it so much I actually applied, with a cover letter and everything.

The Saga Continues

My contract job ends in four weeks. I was going to enjoy two weeks visiting my friends and family, but I've got minor oral surgery two weeks after that, which means I'll either still be interviewing (nothing like five hours of talking when you can't feel one side of your mouth) or just starting a new job (drool makes a good impression, right?), so I'm going to see if I can at least get a couple of leads before I get back from vacation. To that end, I sent off updated resumes to a couple of recruiters today. I'm not super-hopeful, since contracting jobs tend to work on a faster pace than that, but I feel better for having done it.

Wish I knew this before the court date

In job hunting, as in so many things, there's a fine line between enthusiasm and stalking. Ask a Manager has a post up on how to avoid a restraining order alienating a potential employer. The rule of thumb is: if you look enthusiastic over this job, it's a good thing. If you look enthusiastic over a job, it's a bad thing.

My personal fault is probably under-enthusiasm. I generally don't get particularly excited about individual jobs, due to a combination of not wanting to be disappointed, fear of looking like a stalker, and genuinely not caring which job out of a set I got. As I get more experience and learn what I like and dislike, I predict I'll start actually turning down interviews and expressing a corresponding enthusiasm for those I do pursue.

Jack's Job Hunt

The incompetent recruiter has thrown: one attractive job, one completely unrelated job, and one marginally related job.

The good recruiter has thrown: one very appropriate job

The recruiter that gives referral bonuses is on vacation.

Adventures of Jack

Starting today, we'll be following my friend Jack, an employed dev who has decided he maybe doesn't want to work himself into a stress based illness and then be yelled at for not keeping himself healthy enough to work another 120 hour week. Today I sent his resume out to a few recruiters I worked with: The Good One, The Incompetent I Currently Work For, and The One That Gives Referral Bonuses. Updates as they become available.

Proof I'm not talking out of my ass

My apologies if I sound like a dead englishwoman, I was listening to the thirteenth tale on my mp3 player and its affected my brain. Anyways....

I have a friend who has been SDET contracting for many years. His latest contract finished, and he's looking for permanent work. On my advice he posted his resume on dice last Saturday. I also forwarded his resume to a number of agencies that had contacted me last time. By EOD Thursday he'd had five recruiter interviews and two technical phone interviews, which is all the more impressive when you remember that Monday was a holiday. And that there's a recession. And that he's looking for a perm position, which is a slower process. In contrast, I believe it took two months to find his last job (to be fair, part of that two months was Christmas season). And that was during a fairly good economy, for a temporary position.

Posting resumes. It works bitches.

It's not you, it's me

Back when I was doing the job circuit, I had an interview I thought went really well. Really, really well. But I didn't get the job. I was surprised, but put it down to the fact that the HR rep who found me so impressive had evidently been fired.

Last week I met a friend of friend who worked for that company. Apparently there have been a number of potential hires that the engineering team wanted but were shot down the CTO, who's an idiot and has really antagonized the engineers by doing so.

This isn't the only job that rejected me six months ago and is still unfilled- and the jobs weren't fresh postings when I looked at them. Even the start-up with 0 testers still hasn't hired one. I can't help but think that maybe I wasn't the one with the problem. From now on, I resolve to blame every failed interview on a bad CTO or companies that expect to hire awesome developers who are also testing demons for the same rate they pay the click monkeys. 'Cause there's no way I was at fault. Not at all.