Resume Advice Thread - March 05, 2019 CS Career Questions |
- Resume Advice Thread - March 05, 2019
- Daily Chat Thread - March 05, 2019
- I was recently hired by Zytech, a consulting company that creates fake portfolios for their employees. They instructed me to lie in order to get senior-level jobs that I’m not qualified for.
- I got my dream internship in my dream city!!
- Do not get discouraged.
- Job Offer Rescinded because I wasn’t willing to screw my current team over.
- Will VB6 kill my career?
- Landed 300k job
- Eight year anniversary of working a fantasy job.
- Best way to deny an unreasonable "take home" technical exam
- When will I feel ready?
- People are leaving, am I dumb for staying?
- Should I really expect Cost Of Living increases when moving to New York?
- Feedback on React Developer Hiring Process
- Top paying companies
- I am concerned about my Security Clearance (any advice is welcomed)
- UBS Summer Technology Analyst Role
- Was I racially profiled by HR?
- Developers who left the job after 3 months -- why?
- Anyone else here work a second job outside of their full time 9-5?
- How much do you reach out to your network when applying for positions?
- Should i take a risk in a bootcamp or continue with a CS degree?
- Did I ask for too much money?
- So just a question on Michigan State University hiring?
| Resume Advice Thread - March 05, 2019 Posted: 04 Mar 2019 11:06 PM PST Please use this thread to ask for resume advice and critiques. You should read our Resume FAQ and implement any changes from that before you ask for more advice. Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk. Note on anonomyizing your resume: If you'd like your resume to remain anonymous, make sure you blank out or change all personally identifying information. Also be careful of using your own Google Docs account or DropBox account which can lead back to your personally identifying information. To make absolutely sure you're anonymous, we suggest posting on sites/accounts with no ties to you after thoroughly checking the contents of your resume. This thread is posted each Tuesday and Saturday at midnight PST. Previous Resume Advice Threads can be found here. [link] [comments]  |
| Daily Chat Thread - March 05, 2019 Posted: 04 Mar 2019 11:06 PM PST Please use this thread to chat, have casual discussions, and ask casual questions. Moderation will be light, but don't be a jerk. This thread is posted every day at midnight PST. Previous Daily Chat Threads can be found here. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 01:36 PM PST Having recently completed Udacity's Android Developer Nanodegree, I felt like I was finally ready to start applying for junior level Android developer jobs. I applied for over fifty jobs in one week, scoring a few interviews, and receiving a job offer from one of them: Zytech. After speaking with Zytech's CEO over the phone, I was informed that they are a company that takes developers who are just starting out, trains them to get them job-ready, and then assigns them to one of their existing clients. The only catch is that I'd have to be willing to relocate anywhere in the US based on the client's location. They offered $30 an hour plus benefits, which seemed amazing to me (the most I've ever made is $11/hr). I was ecstatic, and accepted the offer instantly. As soon as I was assigned to a client, I'd be making more money than I ever had, with guaranteed semiannual raises. Sounds great, right? Zytech is based in Atlanta, and I live in Phoenix, so all communication was done via email or phone. Before I could speak to clients, I was first asked to review three apps that their former consultants had worked on, to make sure that I knew my stuff. I reviewed and recreated an Activity from each of them, trying to improve them as much as possible to show off my skills. I was extremely excited and ready to get in touch with clients. Below you can see videos of my apps running alongside the actual apps (mine are on the right). Fly Delta | CVS Pharmacy | Prime Video Once I had completed all of the app reviews, I was nervous as I didn't know what to expect. I actually never ended up receiving any feedback whatsoever on my code (that I had spent hours of time and energy on), but, I was told that I could start talking to clients. As it turns out, they didn't have me work on the apps to show them that I could code, rather, they wanted me to work on them so that I could lie and say that I had actually worked on the published apps. When I say lie, I'm not exaggerating: they fabricated an entire portfolio and resume in my name that says that I had worked at these companies for *years*. Remember – the only experience I have comes from personal projects. I was told that since I was employed by Zytech, I was allowed to "borrow" their other employee's experience. Friday was the first (and last) day that I spoke to any clients. I was told to follow the resume that I was given when speaking to clients, which included lying about jobs that I've never had and saying that I have experience doing things I've never done. And the sad thing is, it actually worked. In one day, I had spoken to a dozen clients, completed a video interview, and set up several interviews for the next week. I didn't feel happy or excited though, I felt terrible. I was lying to everyone I spoke to. One of the clients I spoke to was really impressed with my (fake) resume, which just bummed me out even more. I discussed my disdain with two of Zytech's staff, the president and performance manager, who both told me that while it is technically lying, since I can do or learn most of the stuff anyway, it doesn't matter. They also told me that this was a necessary process as I don't have any real-world experience, and that this is just the way that it is. I stopped all contact with Zytech that day. There is no doubt in my mind that this would have worked, but I am not going to lie to someone to get my dream job. It's just not worth it. If I don't know how to do something, I can learn it, but I'm not going to sit there and lie to recruiters and interviewers to get something I don't deserve. Unfortunately, though, other people will. I wish this story had a happy ending, but here I am back on the job hunt, with a company out there stealing a large share of the job market by way of absolute fraud. I tried my best to research the company beforehand to make sure that they were legitimate, but there is little to no trace of them on Google (several similar-named companies come up when searching for Zytech), so I hope this can at least be a warning to recruiters and prospective junior developers. I just wasted the past two weeks of my life for this company, so I'm hoping I can at least save someone else's time. [link] [comments]  |
| I got my dream internship in my dream city!! Posted: 05 Mar 2019 05:17 AM PST I've been interested in front end web development for as long as I have been a student in CS. It's the reason I switched my major from art to computer science. My experience is mainly in HTML and CSS (from graphic design/web design classes), plus the Java and C++ I've learned through my studies in the computer science department. On a whim, I applied for a front-end centric web development internship in Denver and I just signed my acceptance letter yesterday!! I will be living in Denver this summer and I am so excited! I never thought, as a former art student, I could get an internship like this and I am so excited not only for the job itself but also the possible doors it will open for me in the future. Just thought I would share my own little "success story" for all of those feeling hopeless about their job search. You can do it!! :-) [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 05:01 AM PST For reference I graduate at the beginning of this May and had applied to probably well over 650+ jobs without much luck in a couple of interviews. I eventually got three jobs offers this past week all at once. One being 60ishK in a low cost of living area, another 72.5k in a low cost of living area and finally a 75k offer for a low-medium cost of living area with great performance bonus potential and benefits. Just keep going and trying eventually you will find something. Also for reference I had two full-time jobs while I was in college and still had some struggles finding stuff even with a solid work performance and resume. Just keep going that's all you can do anyways. [link] [comments]  |
| Job Offer Rescinded because I wasn’t willing to screw my current team over. Posted: 05 Mar 2019 02:58 AM PST So I was given a job offer last week that I was super excited about. Big pay jump, great location, advances my career, and it would be a new and great challenge. When I interviewed, I told my would-be program director that I was going on vacation (first one in 2 years) the first two weeks in March. The vacation was to the UK, so cancelling wasn't possible. The program director said it was okay, and it would not be an issue in terms of timeline. Two weeks after I interviewed, I got the job (yay) and my recruiter sent my start date of April 1, since I was offered the job the day before I left for the UK, and I'd have to finish my last two weeks once I got home. In my current role, I am essentially doing the job of 3 people, since two people were laid off on my team and I got to inherit their duties. The new employer told me that they wanted me to start the day I got back, since my vacation would be my two-weeks notice. I told them that where I work, vacation can't count as your two weeks, and honestly, I didn't want to burn any bridges and really screw my team over. I offered to start at the new spot on a part-time basis for those first two weeks, even offering to work on the weekends. It wasn't good enough. They rescinded the offer, saying they needed someone right away and weren't willing to wait for me. I know I shouldn't be upset about this—it's only a job and sh*t happens—but I'm pretty gutted about it because I don't know what I did wrong. I was honest about my vacation, and I would think they'd want a person who respects their team and isn't the type to screw anyone over. What could I have done differently? Anyone else experience something like this? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 06:03 PM PST So I'm lucky to have gotten my first dev job right out of a bootcamp (I have a background totally unrelated to tech), and have been assigned a project using VB6. It seems I'll be working with VB6 long term as well, because that's what the company is asking of me, even though other developers at the company get to delve more into C# and .NET. I'm not sure what to do. I feel lucky to have gotten a job in software development at all, considering my background. But I'm worried that working with VB6, a dead and obsolete language, will make it impossible for me to get another job. Please advise... [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 03:41 PM PST Hey fellow redditors, I've been reading this sub for a while. So I know how hard it's to find jobs, and especially to find motivation to keep on trying. I've been writing software professionally for 10-15 years, loved it all the time, but wanted to share my recent experience. I saw some posts when people do not like programming, they find it boring, and don't think it's exciting. I always loved programming, but in the last year I got totally demoralized by my manager and some team members. I joined pretty big corp (let's call it "ABC", the real name is similar, and it's german). Moved there from startup because of a big buck. And it didn't worth it. First, they were working on weekends. Time to time, but pretty often. Second, late hours. They were asking if I wanna join DoorDash delivery and eat something. Third, there was a lot of pressure. I have lots of years of experience. And initially I thought I can handle that. I started working on weekends, working hard, I was new and didn't want to delay releases - they release every week. I was learning the system, borrowing the time from my family. I didn't notice how I started being rude with my wife and 2 kids. I was constantly thinking about my performance. I'm in the company for less than a year, but my manager told me twice that I'm too slow, and he wants more results, more bugfixes, more features. He mentioned 3 times that my compensation is better than what other folks have, but they perform better than me. So every minute outside of work I was thinking about that. I'm not lying, I was falling asleep with this thought. I started feeling pain in the chest, and I realized that how much harm I did to myself. I got demotivated, depressed, but I was able to see that and understand that before it's too late. I was sitting on a powder keg, and I was very close to being fired with mouths to feed, depression, and poor emotional health. So I started looking. Applied to some companies, had onsites. And finally got pretty good offer from non-FANG company. I loved the team, and new project, still employed by ABC, but looking forward to join my new company. Last year was kinda rollercoaster for me. For every junior fella it would be the end of their career. They would hate the job for the rest of their lives. I was raising some concerns with my manager, but I was told "it's like that everywhere". But for the old dog it's was just unpleasant experience with some scars. I'll get some time to recover and going to enjoy software development again. This is what I like and going to do until I retire. Sharing some numbers:Salary before 190k, bonus before 30k, stocks before 30k/yearSalary after 200k, bonus after 30k, stocks 70k/year Advice to all juniors who feel about the same: don't believe your manager, other jobs and teams are better. Don't let depression to ruin your life, don't work on weekends, leave too demanding jobs for less money (not the case for me, but I would accept that offer too). [link] [comments]  |
| Eight year anniversary of working a fantasy job. Posted: 05 Mar 2019 10:19 AM PST I have an on demand remote DBA weekend shift job where I work Fri-Sun 7AM-7PM and I get the other four days off. This month marks the eight year anniversary of having this job. With this job, I feel like I'm already living the retired life with so much free time on my hand to pursue any hobbies I desire. In addition, I get 7 weekends off which if I take separately amounts to almost two months of holidays. The hobbies I picked up due to this are travelling internationally a lot (5 trips each year), walking 12 miles a day (even on weekends) and took up drums. I want to ride this job out as long as I can. [link] [comments]  |
| Best way to deny an unreasonable "take home" technical exam Posted: 05 Mar 2019 06:19 AM PST Hi all. I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm a SWE with 2 years experience. I'm round 2 with a company that requires a take home technical test before advancing. Usually this is no problem, however with this test I estimate it will take a full weekend (16+ hrs) to produce a polished, tested result. My rule is I'll spend about an hour maximum. I'm currently employed, so if the company insists on this test, I'm simply going to walk. My resume contains my GitHub of personal projects. Many of them are Django projects that can also be tested out. What's the best, most diplomatic way to tell this company I'm still interested, but I'd like them to consider my past work or an on-site technical test, and if they can't, "thanks but no thanks"? Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 05:08 PM PST I am in my third and final year towards my Bachelor's in Arts and Science with an emphasis on computer programming but I feel like I have no job prospects. Due largely to depression and to trying to get my life together in my mid-twenties, I feel like I haven't learned nearly as much as I would like. I have dabbled in Python and Java, but mostly C++. I know how to compile and do basic stuff in a Unix terminal. I have made a few programs with a single function. I have made a single word console game. I know a tiny, tiny bit about how packets travel across the internet. I have begun learning about big-Oh notation and data structures. In summation, I know a miniscule amount about a lot of topics. I have learned what forums are useful (including Stack Overflow obviously) and how to look up documentation. That all being said, I don't feel like I would be able to secure a programming job given my current knowledge base. I always feel like I can't accomplish what I would like to since I am so mentally ill (I am currently trying to find a doctor who will take my insurance). I just feel hopeless. To those of you who have CS jobs, what did you have to know to get the job? How many hours a week did you have to work on CS stuff to become hireable? If you have mental illness, how did you overcome it? [link] [comments]  |
| People are leaving, am I dumb for staying? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 10:31 AM PST I've been at my job for almost 5 years. I love it here. The people are great, I feel very appreciated, compensation is good, work is fun and challenging. I have no issues outside of just minor things that you deal with at every job. But lately we've had competition start to move into town, and many of our senior people have jumped ship. It's demoralizing seeing some of our best people going. I don't hold it against them, and I'm happy they have opportunities. Management is certainly aware of the problem and doing their best to stem the bleeding. To my knowledge no one is leaving because they dislike the place, they just have opportunities and are jumping on them. But I can't help but wonder... should I leave too? I am being actively recruited as well, but I'm happy with where I'm at, and I don't see any reason to leave aside from the fact that I'm afraid this might be a sinking ship and I don't want to be the last one off. I don't know if this is normal attrition and will ease out over time or if it's something to be worried about. Mainly just looking for suggestions and advice. What would you do in this situation, or if you've been in a similar situation, what did you do? [link] [comments]  |
| Should I really expect Cost Of Living increases when moving to New York? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 08:13 PM PST Hey there! I'm a recent grad currently in Philly making around 110-130k per year doing system design, but would like to move to NYC in the near future. I know that I should factor cost of living into what kind of salary I go for, but what does that translate into? Wolfram Alpha says that an equiv. salary is ~280k, is this a number I should be shooting for (2.5x increase)? [link] [comments]  |
| Feedback on React Developer Hiring Process Posted: 05 Mar 2019 10:17 AM PST Hi all! I'm not sure what the best sub-reddit for a post like this would be (I'm open to suggestions). I'm looking for some feedback on a new developer hiring process, mostly something that can help us qualify some basic technical proficiency in a low-touch manner. Any feedback at all, particularly on the GitHub project (linked to in the post below), would be greatly appreciated! https://codehangar.io/react-developer-03-2019/ Example of part 2 of the application process: ----------------------------------------------------------------- For reference, our previous hiring workflow was along these lines:
While effective, the above process just requires a lot more man power than our small company can handle, so we're trying to essentially convert Step 3 into Step 1 with a more hands-off approach involving a simple GitHub-based React-app application process whereby candidates need to clone a repo, run the project, commit some (what should be) simple updates, and create a Pull Request with their updates (that would include a link to a resume). This would result in an updated workflow along the lines of:
NOTE: We are not actively hiring right at this moment, but may have the need in the very near future, so we're trying to refine this new hiring process to hopefully allow us to bring someone on board easier, when we're likely already busy with our typical day-to-day development work. ----------------------------------------------------------------- TLDR: Trying to develop a new low-touch GitHub-based React coding challenge hiring process and need feedback: https://codehangar.io/react-developer-03-2019/ Example of part 2 of the application process: [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 07:56 PM PST I have worked for a FANG for almost 4 years, (let's call it I work in the Sunnyvale campus), I haven't been promoted despite I have strongly exceed expectations on the last 3 cycles and was hired at lower level (L4).back in 2015. Long story short I joined this new team (internal transfer) 6 months ago just to realize my manager is very new/ and has no power over other organizations, hence very little chance to grow. I want to ask what are the companies that pay more in Bay Area for SWEs, Solutions Architect, TPMs, (15 years experience) [link] [comments]  |
| I am concerned about my Security Clearance (any advice is welcomed) Posted: 05 Mar 2019 07:55 PM PST so I just completed a background check form for the government and it said that I consent to them checking personal character references. In the "application of employment", I listed my team lead as my supervisor (though for the current employer in the name section, I listed the manager). He said that he would tell people that he felt that while I was a very, very hard worker, I was just not a good fit, and that I needed a lot of personal mentoring that couldn't be accommodated. I was dismissed for poor performance. In my second interview I was candid about the situation without actually saying fired: "We mutually agreed that I was not a good fit. I've since left the company." There were some issues, admittedly, but there were a lot of things that I didn't like about the company. It was a Two days after I got a call from my dream company for an interview, I was fired for performance. I am honestly freaking out because I think that his feedback may completely ruin my chances at this dream company. The manager said "I won't confirm anything but salary and dates of employment", but the other guy said "Depending on the position, I'll tell them that you'd do much better in a role with a lot more personal mentoring. You were a very, very hard worker, but you need to be able to handle these big tasks rather quickly." I am honestly freaking the fuck out. I'm set to start in a week's time (they already ordered my computer, etc) but I am just freaking out because my job needs security clearance, and my employment is dependent on satisfactory background checking. They were all very impressed with my ability in the interviews (especially the one where I was told that I did better than a large number of other grads), and seemed excited to give me an offer. My friend seems to think that it's unlikely that it will be rejected, as I mentioned that I've since left the previous employer after mutually agreeing it was a poor fit. I feel pretty good, but I also don't want to get my hopes up too high as the clearance may come back "rejected" based on my firing. Should I actually be worried and start handing out applications for other jobs, or am I actually freaking out for nothing? [link] [comments]  |
| UBS Summer Technology Analyst Role Posted: 05 Mar 2019 07:54 PM PST Has anyone interviewed for the Summer Tech Analyst role at UBS? If so, would you mind sharing interview structure for the superday and if technicals were concept/OOP based or more of algorithms/DS&A? [link] [comments]  |
| Was I racially profiled by HR? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 07:53 PM PST I usually don't care about race and all, but I felt that I experienced a subtle but blatant form of racial profiling by the HR lady who was coordinating the interview process with me and the hiring team. I end up getting an email saying that the role is not sponsoring anyone and she had terminated my application from consideration. I had never mentioned my US residency status to her as being under a student visa like the many other Indian people that come here on that basis. I am actually a naturalized US citizen, but I'm assuming she blindly grouped me with the rest of the people doing their graduate degree under a student visa. So once I corrected her for it, she requested that I reapply and was able to allow me to continue through the interview process. I thought this incident was really odd and made me wonder how many other tech companies look at my race and assume that I need visa sponsorship and dismiss my application without explanation under this reason. I even added my work authorization in my resume and some online apps ask if I am authorized to work without sponsorship, but I doubt they pay attention to that given how many things they have to do. Now that I think about it...I feel very fortunate to continue my application process given that the HR lady has been so willing to communicate thoroughly with me and gave me actual the explanation rather than the generic "we are not proceeding with your application" message [link] [comments]  |
| Developers who left the job after 3 months -- why? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 12:11 PM PST Has anyone ever left the job after 3 months and why? Does it look bad on resume? [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone else here work a second job outside of their full time 9-5? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 12:03 PM PST I'm wondering here if anyone works two jobs outside of their 9-5 full time IT job? I've had a slow few months on this project and I'm here for another year. I work a full time job 9-5 right now but am considering doing some remote part time CS job or something else technical (not looking to be an Uber driver or sales). Anyone do anything else to make extra money and grow technically? [link] [comments]  |
| How much do you reach out to your network when applying for positions? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 07:29 PM PST How much has your network (any degree of connection from LinkedIn or in real life) helped you in landing an interview/offer? I'm starting to get real desperate here, the interview landscape has been ruthless and frankly I'm having trouble keeping up with the competition. Case in point, I could ace my interview rounds with most people on the panel, but flunk with one one senior/decision maker and have his/her "no" override anyone else's "yes". Or, in other instances I'm asked an LC hard or medium that I'm not familiar with and totally bomb it, or ... [insert excuse for failure here]. I'm looking at other strategies to increase my chances. Isn't this what LinkedIn is really for? Shouldn't I be reaching out to my network, whether past colleagues/friends or in-house recruiters, and ask for referrals? Not sure how much of a leg-up it would be, and I definitely find it awkward reaching out in these cases after not having spoken for a long time...anyone else struggle with the awkwardness reaching out or "cold" messaging a connection on LinkedIn? [link] [comments]  |
| Should i take a risk in a bootcamp or continue with a CS degree? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 06:56 PM PST Hey yall, Im sure this question has been asked plenty of times already but i wanted to ask with my particular situation. Long story short, i worked as a financial consultant from 2012-2018. I quit in August and have enough money to survive until May of this year. My expenses are about $1000 a month and im working 20 hours a week taking 3 classes this semester. If i want to graduate in 2 years, ill have to take about 5-6 classes per semester until i graduate. I feel like this is the best way because ill graduate faster, which means ill save more money. Less semesters spent = more money saved. However, i have no clue how im going to survive the next two years without financial help. I know myself, and i know that i cant working full time and take more than 2-3 classes at a time. I live in a very toxic household, and id like to move out as fast as possible (im 27 by the way) which is why i want to graduate. Any advice would be helpful. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 05 Mar 2019 06:37 PM PST I am a new graduate looking to get my first job out of college. A company I interviewed with wanted to me to pick between two positions, QA engineer and a Developer position as well as provide my preferred salary and and start date. I used a friends salary in a different city in Colorado and used the cost of living difference to adjust accordingly. The benefits for the two positions were very similar. The company has around 300-400 employees. I asked for $80,000 a year. Do you think my salary was very far out of the expected range? [link] [comments]  |
| So just a question on Michigan State University hiring? Posted: 05 Mar 2019 06:07 PM PST In December I applied for a position at Michigan State University. The position is apparently still opened and I have reached out to the HR department person who interviewed me. Basically a check in email because the date when I would hear back had passed. I assume I didn't get the position which is ok it happens and so no problem. However this is a place I have targeted as a place I would like to work for. So my question is the experience I have had is this normal for MSU to not reach back out to you? Is it a good place to work in IT? Is there a trick to getting in? [link] [comments]  |
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