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pewpewlasergun comments on Open Thread for February 11 - 17 - Less Wrong Discussion

3 Post author: Coscott 11 February 2014 06:08PM

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Comment author: pewpewlasergun 12 February 2014 02:10:36AM 5 points [-]

Does anyone have advice for getting an entry level software-development job? I'm finding a lot seem to want several years of experience, or a degree, while I'm self taught.

Comment author: fezziwig 12 February 2014 06:58:44PM 10 points [-]
  1. Live in a place with lots of demand. Silicon Valley and Boston are both good choices; there may be others but I'm less familiar with them.
  2. Have a github account. Fill it with stuff.
  3. Have a personal site. Fill it with stuff.
  4. Don't worry about the degree requirements; everybody means "Bachelor's of CS or equivalent".
  5. Don't worry about experience requirements. Unlike the degree requirement this does sometimes matter, but you won't be able to tell by reading the advert so just go ahead and apply.
  6. Prefer smaller companies. The bigger the company, the more likely it is that your resume will be screened out by some automated process before it can reach someone like me. I read peoples' githubs; HR necessarily does not.
Comment author: jkaufman 12 February 2014 10:29:01PM 3 points [-]

Live in a place with lots of demand.

Alternatively, be willing to move.

Comment author: ChrisHallquist 12 February 2014 02:28:10AM 12 points [-]

Ignore what they say on the job posting, apply anyway with a resume that links to your Github, websites you've built, etc. Many will still reject you for lack of experience, but in many cases it will turn out the job posting was a very optimistic description of the candidate they were hoping to find, and they'll interview you anyway in spite of not meeting the qualifications on the job listing.

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 12 February 2014 09:35:12AM *  5 points [-]

links to your Github, websites you've built, etc.

This is just a guess, but I think it might be helpful to include some screenshots (in color) of the programs, websites, etc. That would make them "more real" to the person who reads this. At least, save them some inconvenience. Of course, I assume that the programs and websites have a nice user interface.

It's also an opportunity for an interesting experiment: randomly send 10 resumes without the screenshorts, and 10 resumes with screenshots. Measure how many interview invitations you get from each group.

If you have a certificate from Udacity or other online university, mention that, too. Don't list is as a formal education, but somewhere in the "other courses and certificates" category.

Comment author: ChrisHallquist 12 February 2014 04:54:24PM 1 point [-]

I think ideally, you want your code running on a website where they can interact with it, but maybe a screenshot would help entice them to go to the website. Or help if you can't get the code on a website for some reason.

Comment author: ChristianKl 14 February 2014 12:14:04PM 1 point [-]

This is just a guess, but I think it might be helpful to include some screenshots (in color) of the programs, websites, etc.

You want to signal a hacker mindset. Instead of focusing to include screenshots it might be more effective to write your resume in LaTeX.

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 14 February 2014 07:31:24PM *  1 point [-]

It depends on your model of who will be reading your resume.

I realized that my implicit model is some half-IT-literate HR person or manager. Someone who doesn't know what LaTeX is, and who couldn't download and compile your project from Github. But they may look at a nice printed paper and say: "oh, shiny!" and choose you instead of some other candidate.

Comment author: jkaufman 12 February 2014 10:28:09PM *  1 point [-]

Practicing whiteboard-style interview coding problems is very helpful. The best places to work will all make you code in the interview [1] so you want to feel at-ease in that environment. If you want to do a practice interview I'd be up for doing that and giving you an honest evaluation of whether I'd hire you if I were hiring.

[1] Be very cautious about somewhere that doesn't make you code in the interview: you might end up working with a lot of people who can't really code.

Comment author: maia 12 February 2014 08:16:25PM 1 point [-]

If you have the skills to do software interviews well, the hardest part will be getting past resume screening. If you can, try to use personal connections to bypass that step and get interviews. Then your skills will speak for themselves.

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