I graduated in May of 2010. It took me 4 months before I had prospects respond to me. Like you I spent every day working on my resume and searching for jobs. As others have stated, I spent time to Taylor my resume to each job I was working on. I didn't have as much experience as you, so I tried to tailor as much as I could. But I also wanted to show my broad experience.
Uou seem to have more experience and can likely cut some of it out to only the experience that directly relates to given ad can stay in the resume.
For me, after 4 months I went to a job fair at my university and I applied to a job online. There was a recruiter at the job fair that'was interested and gave me the info to apply for opportunity.
The recruiter for the online ad called me and asked me a few questions. And then asked when I would be available for a phone interview. The job was in another state. The point of view was scheduled the next day and very quickly afterward they gave me an offer.
I took the offer and started working two weeks later. That was then this is a whole another market and it's unique to the current situation.
But just take it one day at a time, give yourself time to breathe and reevaluate what opportunities you actually interested in. There's no point in applying for a job if you don't think it's interesting to you or that you would be engaged in it every day.
However, one big piece of advice I would give you is concerning after you get a job offer. As a Junior level person, you may not be able to negotiate the salary much. But do take a look at the cost of living where the job is located and make sure that the salary offered Will be able to help you live there.
For me, I moved to Washington DC and had a $49,500 salary. At the time that, covered my rent and utilities but didn't leave much for savings. Luckily, after 9 months I found a place I could split with a roommate. Stayed there for 3 years and I never paid near the same rent as I did when I lived alone.
I do understand that the current climate has its own unique challenges. I think more companies are offering remote-only roles right now, which actually could be a factor that works in my favor. But, like you and others pointed out, I was going about it all wrong.
There is one wrinkle to all this I didn't mention before. It is a bit maddening, but I can only laugh about it now. When I attended Flatirion, I was slated to graduate in January, but I was struggling with the JavaScript section, and even though I could have pushed on, I decided to re-do that section over. I switched to a different cohort with a new teacher and new classmates, and I am incredibly glad that I did. It was just the right environment for me and I learned how to push myself and found the passion for coding that was missing prior.
However, my first cohort graduated in January and they were able to attend in-person meetups (before everything shutdown) and I know that a few of them landed offers and roles almost immediately. Flatiron had a lot of resources to help new graduates make connections and connect with employers. Unfortunately Covid disrupted a lot of those resources. And that's when my cohort and I graduate. Mid-march when all the s*** was hitting the fan. Shortly after that everything shut down.
Had I graduated in January I might have had the face to face time with companies. However, in my heart I know I would have still been struggling, not in love with coding, and not nearly as strong a candidate.
I think that's partly why I threw my resume at anything and everything. Almost like a panic move, because I wasn't going to get to meet employers face to face, and I wanted my name out there. I am pretty sure I received advice from some to just apply and apply and apply. What's the worst that can happen?
Well, apparently you can get a bad reputation!
I know we are all doing our best. I just need to do my "best" differently.
Thanks again for replying and hopefully sooner than later I look back at all this and laugh a little.
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Hey James,
I graduated in May of 2010. It took me 4 months before I had prospects respond to me. Like you I spent every day working on my resume and searching for jobs. As others have stated, I spent time to Taylor my resume to each job I was working on. I didn't have as much experience as you, so I tried to tailor as much as I could. But I also wanted to show my broad experience.
Uou seem to have more experience and can likely cut some of it out to only the experience that directly relates to given ad can stay in the resume.
For me, after 4 months I went to a job fair at my university and I applied to a job online. There was a recruiter at the job fair that'was interested and gave me the info to apply for opportunity.
The recruiter for the online ad called me and asked me a few questions. And then asked when I would be available for a phone interview. The job was in another state. The point of view was scheduled the next day and very quickly afterward they gave me an offer.
I took the offer and started working two weeks later. That was then this is a whole another market and it's unique to the current situation.
But just take it one day at a time, give yourself time to breathe and reevaluate what opportunities you actually interested in. There's no point in applying for a job if you don't think it's interesting to you or that you would be engaged in it every day.
However, one big piece of advice I would give you is concerning after you get a job offer. As a Junior level person, you may not be able to negotiate the salary much. But do take a look at the cost of living where the job is located and make sure that the salary offered Will be able to help you live there.
For me, I moved to Washington DC and had a $49,500 salary. At the time that, covered my rent and utilities but didn't leave much for savings. Luckily, after 9 months I found a place I could split with a roommate. Stayed there for 3 years and I never paid near the same rent as I did when I lived alone.
Thanks, Stargator, for sharing your experiences.
I do understand that the current climate has its own unique challenges. I think more companies are offering remote-only roles right now, which actually could be a factor that works in my favor. But, like you and others pointed out, I was going about it all wrong.
There is one wrinkle to all this I didn't mention before. It is a bit maddening, but I can only laugh about it now. When I attended Flatirion, I was slated to graduate in January, but I was struggling with the JavaScript section, and even though I could have pushed on, I decided to re-do that section over. I switched to a different cohort with a new teacher and new classmates, and I am incredibly glad that I did. It was just the right environment for me and I learned how to push myself and found the passion for coding that was missing prior.
However, my first cohort graduated in January and they were able to attend in-person meetups (before everything shutdown) and I know that a few of them landed offers and roles almost immediately. Flatiron had a lot of resources to help new graduates make connections and connect with employers. Unfortunately Covid disrupted a lot of those resources. And that's when my cohort and I graduate. Mid-march when all the s*** was hitting the fan. Shortly after that everything shut down.
Had I graduated in January I might have had the face to face time with companies. However, in my heart I know I would have still been struggling, not in love with coding, and not nearly as strong a candidate.
I think that's partly why I threw my resume at anything and everything. Almost like a panic move, because I wasn't going to get to meet employers face to face, and I wanted my name out there. I am pretty sure I received advice from some to just apply and apply and apply. What's the worst that can happen?
Well, apparently you can get a bad reputation!
I know we are all doing our best. I just need to do my "best" differently.
Thanks again for replying and hopefully sooner than later I look back at all this and laugh a little.