Job Hunt Thread

[bigruss]

Depends on what languages you know. I've read the requirements for some programming positions and never even heard of some of it.

 

Here's one for example that I just got in my email:

 

 

 

I couldn't even start to tell you what half of that is much less have any experience with it.

Well coming out of undergrad is a bit different too, the expectations are quite different. That's actually an interesting point though, the company I work for was having in depth discussions on how to market open positions, managers want to list every single program an employee may use as a requirement, thinking that in this economy they can atrract a specific candidate that does everything they want.

 

That position is a little silly since IT unemployment was sitting under 4% last I heard (this past summer), and I work in IT security (Identity and Access Mgmt to be specific) and that was even lower. I know we scared away a ton of candidates from the amount of requirements we put on the job description.

[knightni]

Is she single?

 

 

Dibs!

Di--awwww....

[Iwritecode]

Well coming out of undergrad is a bit different too, the expectations are quite different. That's actually an interesting point though, the company I work for was having in depth discussions on how to market open positions, managers want to list every single program an employee may use as a requirement, thinking that in this economy they can atrract a specific candidate that does everything they want.

 

That position is a little silly since IT unemployment was sitting under 4% last I heard (this past summer), and I work in IT security (Identity and Access Mgmt to be specific) and that was even lower. I know we scared away a ton of candidates from the amount of requirements we put on the job description.

 

I've found that a lot of programming languages are fairly similar. Once you learn one, it's not all that difficult to pick up more.

 

When I was unemployed I just started applying for anything that was even remotely close to my skill-set. I figured whatever I didn't know I'd figure out along the way.

 

With my job now even though I'm using the same basic languages I used at my previous job things are just different enough that it took me a little while to get comfortable.

[DBAHO]

For anyone who's ever wanted to work in Baseball;

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=15818

[HuskyCaucasian]

Had an interview and wow was that a waste of my time. Here's an interesting little thing I've never seen before....

I asked about the salary that was posted and if that was in concrete or possibly negotiable. Their response was that ALL IT employees make exactly the same amount regardless of experience or tenure. So, the guy who has been there 15 years makes as much as the person there 1 year (under one year employees make $.50 less per hour).

[Y2HH]

Had an interview and wow was that a waste of my time. Here's an interesting little thing I've never seen before....

I asked about the salary that was posted and if that was in concrete or possibly negotiable. Their response was that ALL IT employees make exactly the same amount regardless of experience or tenure. So, the guy who has been there 15 years makes as much as the person there 1 year (under one year employees make $.50 less per hour).

 

Yeah um...no.

[bigruss]

Yeah um...no.

That organization clearly does not respect their IT department, and they can't expect to recruit any real talent then.

[HuskyCaucasian]

That organization clearly does not respect their IT department, and they can't expect to recruit any real talent then.

That was my thought. I've talked to a few other people and they've NEVER heard of anything like that. The only person in the department making more than everyone else is the department head.

[Iwritecode]

That was my thought. I've talked to a few other people and they've NEVER heard of anything like that. The only person in the department making more than everyone else is the department head.

 

I've never heard of that in any business anywhere.

 

The closest I've ever heard was somebody spending so long at one company that they actually maxed out their raises. It didn't matter if they worked another 20 years, they couldn't get any more raises. Meanwhile the company could hire people off the street at a starting wage near what the person with the experience was maxed out at.

 

That's almost as bad, although it was retail and they probably don't expect people to stay there that long without moving up into management or something.

 

[Palehosefan]

Here's a solid website that tracks the trends in programming languages. I have experience with about 10 languages, and I barely make a dent in the list.

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/pap...tpci/index.html

 

On another note, I get extremely frustrated with the splintering of new languages. Everyone and their mom wants to create the new "IT" language.

[Iwritecode]

Here's a solid website that tracks the trends in programming languages. I have experience with about 10 languages, and I barely make a dent in the list.

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/pap...tpci/index.html

 

On another note, I get extremely frustrated with the splintering of new languages. Everyone and their mom wants to create the new "IT" language.

 

The only languages on the list that I even have a minuscule amount of knowledge about are VB and C++. I took a couple of classes for each one in college and have forgotten most of it since.

 

That's interesting to see Pascal on the list. I remember seeing it in the catalog when I was in 9th grade but they took it out the next year because it was considered out-dated even then.

 

Then I took Cobol in college and have been programming in it and other similar languages since then...

[SoxFan1]

Pretty awesome job market right now in the sports broadcasting industry, especially for a recent college graduate.

 

/no

[southsider2k5]

Broadcasting is brutal to break into. Its why I turned down the offers I had for it out of college.

[HuskyCaucasian]

My major was Radio Broadcasting:Talent/Production.

 

Out of college I was getting married in two months. I had two options: work crap hours for crap pay at possibly crap stations, or take a full time offer in IT for average pay. The choice was simple to me.

 

If I was not getting married, I'd probably have given radio a try, but I needed stability.

[NorthSideSox72]

Depends on what languages you know. I've read the requirements for some programming positions and never even heard of some of it.

 

Here's one for example that I just got in my email:

 

 

 

I couldn't even start to tell you what half of that is much less have any experience with it.

I know what virtually all of those are. And I thought you were an iSeries programmer, right? So most of the upper section should be pretty familiar for you. Are you an RPG guy, or COBOL, or something else on the 400? I worked in the iSeries world for a long time, if you want any info send me a PM.

 

[Iwritecode]

I know what virtually all of those are. And I thought you were an iSeries programmer, right? So most of the upper section should be pretty familiar for you. Are you an RPG guy, or COBOL, or something else on the 400? I worked in the iSeries world for a long time, if you want any info send me a PM.

 

 

No, I'm a COBOL programmer. Did PL/1 for about 11 years which is almost identical to COBOL.

 

I had some RPG classes in college but no real world experience.

[SoxFan1]

My major was Radio Broadcasting:Talent/Production.

 

Out of college I was getting married in two months. I had two options: work crap hours for crap pay at possibly crap stations, or take a full time offer in IT for average pay. The choice was simple to me.

 

If I was not getting married, I'd probably have given radio a try, but I needed stability.

I love it too much, and have too much confidence in myself to no go through with it.

[BigSqwert]

I'm hiring for this position. Forward it to anyone who may be interested.

[SouthsideDon48]

I just graduated with a BA degree in the human resources field. I also graduated with a 4.0 gpa. :-) Now I'm looking around for an entry-level job in the human resources field. The going has been tough, since I've been looking for a job since November.

 

Any leads? Any tips or advice?

[SoxFan1]

I just graduated with a BA degree in the human resources field. I also graduated with a 4.0 gpa. :-) Now I'm looking around for an entry-level job in the human resources field. The going has been tough, since I've been looking for a job since November.

 

Any leads? Any tips or advice?

Your GPA means pretty much nothing, fwiw.

[The Gooch]

Your GPA means pretty much nothing, fwiw.

 

That's not necessarily true. There are a lot of things that mean more than GPA such as experience, internships, major, what school you went to etc. However, most places look for a GPA over 3.0 for an entry level position. Not a big difference between 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, etc. (besides for some internships). After your first job in the field, GPA will mean basically nothing

[southsider2k5]

I just graduated with a BA degree in the human resources field. I also graduated with a 4.0 gpa. :-) Now I'm looking around for an entry-level job in the human resources field. The going has been tough, since I've been looking for a job since November.

 

Any leads? Any tips or advice?

 

Don't dress like your avatar.

[bigruss]

That's not necessarily true. There are a lot of things that mean more than GPA such as experience, internships, major, what school you went to etc. However, most places look for a GPA over 3.0 for an entry level position. Not a big difference between 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, etc. (besides for some internships). After your first job in the field, GPA will mean basically nothing

As long as your GPA is above 3.0 you should be in a pretty good position, obviously a higher one can help but many employers just check if it's 3.0 or higher and move on to other areas of concern.

[iamshack]

You guys are beating Don up a bit here, jeesh.

 

GPAs are less important than one would think, but if he got a 4.0 that is definitely something that shows he can consistently succeed and is a responsible, hard-worker. It's definitely not something I would overlook if I was a potential employer.

[bigruss]

You guys are beating Don up a bit here, jeesh.

 

GPAs are less important than one would think, but if he got a 4.0 that is definitely something that shows he can consistently succeed and is a responsible, hard-worker. It's definitely not something I would overlook if I was a potential employer.

I definitely wasn't trying to knock down that achievement, hell it's one that I never could even dream of doing.

 

Just have good interviewing skills Don and you'll be a great candidate