All the world's a very narrow bridge:
The essential thing is not to be afraid.
-- Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (18th century)
With unemployment in the US at its worst in 30 years (and
the EU sure to follow soon) I thought it might be an opportune
time to gather together some of the past posts on job transition.
Here are a few I've found via Super Search:
Thoughts on transitions - by choice and otherwise:
- New Languages to Learn - if my company is merging and I'm about to
lose my job, what should I do? Learning new technical skills
can help, but it is only a piece of the picture.
- Changing Jobs - Various thoughts and experiences related to
changing jobs, sometimes by choice, sometimes not.
- Why do monks put up with it? - constructive ways to deal with jobs/technology
you hate and why telling your fellow monks "I'd quit!" or
"Put up or ship out" is not a good idea. - written in Sept, 2000
after the dot.com bust - a time that looks like a picnic today.
- (OT) Programmer Job Search How-to - a thread started by a parent looking
for suggestions about how to help his son, a recent college graduate with a CS major, find a job. Contains a number of creative suggestions that might also apply to people looking for that next job.
- (OT) What should I do with my life (career advice sought)? - a thread targeted at those whose programming
skills developed incidental to their "real" job - some thoughts
on how to present a resume and look more like a software
developer.
- Perl Jobs - suggestions if you are looking for entry
level perl jobs
Making yourself more marketable/employable:
How we see ourselves influences the way we present ourselves and search for jobs. Here are some threads that may provide food for thought:
Formal employment at a company may not be the only option. Here are some thoughts on alternatives to "yobs":
Getting a perspective on where our industry is going may also
help in the job search. Recessions often rearrange the job market
causing old professions to die and new ones to rise up (see Job Losses Hnt at Vast Remaking of the Economy @NY Times for a recent essay on this topic). We can't
predict the future, but we may be able to make some reasonable
guesses by looking back at how others read the market 5, 10 years
ago and what has changed since then. So...
- Easiest city to find Perl work: - although this was a poll (from 2006), it
triggered some discussion about which cities likely have the
greatest concentration of jobs. It is three years old so the
list of cities might not be the same today, but the reasoning
behind each person's opinion might inspire some ideas of where
to look for the next hot market. One interesting factoid: the
most popular answer "Where I live; I telecommute" clocked in
at 38%
- (OT) Where is programming headed? - when does a programming language become
obsolete? Who decides? This thread reflects the wars at the
turn of the century between OOP, procedural and functional
programming. But there will be new wars and the issues raised
by this thread will shape the next language/skills/paradigm
debate - whatever that is.
Whether you are looking for a job or consulting gig, here are some thoughts on handling interviews and negotiations:
Thoughts on keeping yourself busy between projects: Long job hiatuses can make one look rusty and out of date. One way to avoid this is to start a programming project of
your own. Here are some threads that might help you:
And finally some thoughts about how to use PM during those
down times:
- New levels and new habits - Not really about jobs - but does suggest
that getting involved in asking and answering questions might
be a good way to keep Perl skills fresh and networking alive while
one is between projects or jobs.
- Serious & personal meditation - on the pros and cons of PM infatuation.
What are some of the best PM threads you remember on job
hunting, dealing with job loss, retraining, career development
and learning Perl? Are there some particularly astute non-PM posts
on the topic that you would like to share?
Best, beth
Note: there are a lot of links here - please message me if you notice any broken ones, I'll try to fix it promptly. Thanks, in advance.
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