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Unemployment ?

4,407 Views | 32 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by koadie
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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So I have been out of work since last February. I just exhausted unemployment while striking out on yet another opportunity. I vaguely recall there was a federal extension of such benefits, up to 99 weeks, but I have not been able to find any evidence that supports that as still being the case. Anyone have any knowledge of that? Is that a program that has since ended?

I am a software developer with more than 20 years of experience working with tools such as .Net, C#, Visual Basic, Delphi, SQL Server, classic ASP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, VB Script, XML, Crystal Reports, MVC, Razor, HTML, CSS, RESTFul API, and Entity Framework. I am in Katy and primarily looking in the Houston area.
hangman
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My benefits lasted for 6 months and the total was about 1 1/3 months salary. The extended benefits in Texas were available until 2013 when unemployment was high. Of course the oilfield gets the shaft when it's our time in need.
zooguy96
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Off topic - have you looked at having your resume edited or done some networking?

This may be pointless for your situation, but the first has helped my family recently.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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zooguy96 said:

Off topic - have you looked at having your resume edited or done some networking?

This may be pointless for your situation, but the first has helped my family recently.

I recently had a fellow software developer friend help me edit my resume to bring out more of my expertise than I previously had listed. I have received lots of calls from recruiters and had a few interviews as a result, but like I said earlier, I've been striking out on these interviews. Feedback I am receiving is that while they like me, they don't feel my skill set is exactly what they are looking for.
PlanoAg98
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AG
I work in IT but am definitely a programmer. I've done some hiring for my company and those skill sets look like many of the ones we've hired in the past. Unfortunately I'm in Dallas. Are you not looking at contract work?
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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AG
I am looking for whatever I can get, although admittedly my preference tends toward a direct hire rather than contract.
Chipotlemonger
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Personally, I would jump on a contract at this point. It's been almost 12 months, and only good can come of it really.

Edit: Assuming you keep an ear to the ground for other FT opportunities.
PlanoAg98
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AG
Also as an FYI... when I am reviewing resumes, a long absence from work raises and eyebrow. I'd jump on contract work. Any contract employee can gracefully bow out with 2 weeks notice and no bridges burned. I've seen many contractor do that because they said they've found a full time gig. I took no offense and understood.
danny_ag10
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I've been working as a developer for the past few years it's not the first time I've heard of this scenario. You have an impressive and diverse skillset and it seems like you'd be able to land a job relatively quickly.

Have you heard any feedback from companies? I know having recorded interviews made me recognize mistakes I was making when interviewing. This really worries me and I'm really considering finding a different career path. A disturbing trend I've noticed is companies only hiring contractors (easier to dump) or age discrimination (cheaper and easier to overwork). Is this what my future as a developer holds?

At face value, it looks like you did well and not only focused on one niche skillset which runs it course. It seems that even continuing to learn and progressing really doesn't make a difference
PlanoAg98
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Quote:

A disturbing trend I've noticed is companies only hiring contractors (easier to dump)

This is definitely the reason. Having worked in IT for years, budget for big companies is very fluid. Money is taken from one area to fund another. If you have too high of an employee %, your budget can't be this fluid. If you are the decision maker at this big company, you can move this money by letting go of contractors in project X, move the money to project Y, and hire contractor qualified for project Y. With employees, most likely they will not have the skill set to move between projects. Bid companies (AT&T, Toyota, etc.) don't want the bad press of laying off employees.
SlackerAg
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AG
Have you tried networking at Meetups for the areas with your skillset? There are many for JavaScript, .NET, SQL, Hadoop, etc. I have seen members make announcements for jobs openings & recruiters attending too. Worst case, it keeps your skills up to date.

When I was in an industry away from IT/engineering for 2 years, one trick I did to fill my "gap in the resume" was to include a "startup" business I had on the side which was related to IT. The project's uniqueness (consumer hardware + machine learning) ended up being the strength of the interview. And my credentials are nowhere as thorough as yours. The key is to stand out because everyone has the same list of languages & software.

Another "weird trick" to "broaden the resume" is to install whever projects you've done onto a Raspberry Pi or Arduino. Those are basically PC's, and can run Linux or Windows (Mono or .NET extensions). So there's nothing new you need to modify -- now you're in the embedded space, which I believe has a good future & is trending up.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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PlanoAg98 said:

Also as an FYI... when I am reviewing resumes, a long absence from work raises and eyebrow. I'd jump on contract work. Any contract employee can gracefully bow out with 2 weeks notice and no bridges burned. I've seen many contractor do that because they said they've found a full time gig. I took no offense and understood.
The absence thing is a concern, certainly. When I have spoken with recruiters, I have been clear that I am willing to take on contract work but that my preference is the direct hire route. Perhaps I should not make known my preference?
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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AG
danny_ag10 said:

I've been working as a developer for the past few years it's not the first time I've heard of this scenario. You have an impressive and diverse skillset and it seems like you'd be able to land a job relatively quickly.

Have you heard any feedback from companies? I know having recorded interviews made me recognize mistakes I was making when interviewing. This really worries me and I'm really considering finding a different career path. A disturbing trend I've noticed is companies only hiring contractors (easier to dump) or age discrimination (cheaper and easier to overwork). Is this what my future as a developer holds?

At face value, it looks like you did well and not only focused on one niche skillset which runs it course. It seems that even continuing to learn and progressing really doesn't make a difference
On occasion I do get some feedback, although that has typically not been real useful. I did walk in to an interview where I was set to discuss a position where it had not been made clear that they were looking for someone with good hands-on experience in Sharepoint development. Not something I have - I have Sharepoint experience from a user's perspective. Once we got that out of the way up front, we had a great conversation regarding their project and what they wanted to do, but it was a situation where I knew I was not what they were looking for. That one was actually a great interview, but it was more for practice for myself as it turned out. Typical feedback I get tends to be that they liked me but there is some other skill they need, or more of a particular skill that they need. Vague stuff like that.

I am not really sure what the future holds for someone in this position. It is obviously not one where you can ever rest on your laurels. You must continue to learn. Even when you're pushing 50 such as I am.
aggieactor01
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AG
Sent you a PM Cinco.
CapCity12thMan
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AG
there has to be more to this. With the skills you have listed (taking them at face value), you should not go 12 days without a job much less 12 months. you get into an interview and they tell you you don't have the skills they were looking for then why did they bring you in to begin with? Something doesn't add up here.

Do you have some sample work, apps, sites on the web you can show where you have contributed? Do you participate in open source development or have a repo or two you contribute on GitHub? Something that can show your work other than your resume?
Duncan Idaho
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Since you hit a year, you need to address that employment gap.

remove any months off of your resume to hide the gap.

Take a contract of any kind for any amount.

Since you have 20 years, start a bull**** startup and do any kind of work for any friends that have businesses.

Do something with Arduino and raspberry Pi's and say you develop IoT software/hardware

Basically, as a guy, once you cross 6 months, people start to wonder what is wrong with you that no one has hired you. After 12 months, they don't even bother to ask

koadie
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

So I have been out of work since last February. I just exhausted unemployment while striking out on yet another opportunity. I vaguely recall there was a federal extension of such benefits, up to 99 weeks, but I have not been able to find any evidence that supports that as still being the case. Anyone have any knowledge of that? Is that a program that has since ended?

I am a software developer with more than 20 years of experience working with tools such as .Net, C#, Visual Basic, Delphi, SQL Server, classic ASP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, VB Script, XML, Crystal Reports, MVC, Razor, HTML, CSS, RESTFul API, and Entity Framework. I am in Katy and primarily looking in the Houston area.
Thought about working in the public sector? Doesn't pay as much but you know....
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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AG
Duncan Idaho said:

Since you hit a year, you need to address that employment gap.

remove any months off of your resume to hide the gap.

Take a contract of any kind for any amount.

Since you have 20 years, start a bull**** startup and do any kind of work for any friends that have businesses.

Do something with Arduino and raspberry Pi's and say you develop IoT software/hardware

Basically, as a guy, once you cross 6 months, people start to wonder what is wrong with you that no one has hired you. After 12 months, they don't even bother to ask


While I have not officially begun a startup, I have been doing some volunteer work that is related to what I am looking for (ie, building a web site using ASP.Net with C#, MVC, scaffolding, Razor etc for use by my wife's Girl Scouts troop). This is included on my resume to address this gap that I suddenly have on my resume, plus it keeps my mind actively focused on the kind of work that has been very profitable for me personally.
PlanoAg98
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AG
Quote:

This is included on my resume to address this gap that I suddenly have on my resume, plus it keeps my mind actively focused on the kind of work that has been very profitable for me personally.

This.

Just show that you were an independent contractor. You can show the client and the type of work. I would not state that it is volunteer work. But stating your an independent contractor performing this type of work is not a lie.
drumboy
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Cinco, email me your resume. I'm a developer in Katy using similar skillsets and we're likely hiring another FT dev soon.

mrerik@gmail.com
drumboy
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AG
The responses you mentioned are quite indicative of age discrimination but there's no way to prove it.

I've been in the industry 15 years and it scares me to hear stuff like this.
lunchbox
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Since you have a programming/dev background, you should look into becoming a salesforce developer. Salesforce has their own online free training program (https://trailhead.salesforce.com) that allows you to create your own test environment and go to town.
bbb78
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You might look for remote jobs. Here is a site that has quite a few sw developer jobs.

https://weworkremotely.com/#intro
Pro Ag
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AG
You may already be doing this, but a couple additional thoughts:

Your web stuff should be hosted in the cloud.
Read up on DevOps, many of the things from the dev side you are probably already doing. Be able to speak to that.
Focus on what you have learned recently and are currently learning, given your current skills people should not be passing you over for not knowing something specific if you can talk to your continuing ed which sadly is a constant for software.
CapCity12thMan
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AG

Quote:

Your web stuff should be hosted in the cloud.
curious as to why this needed to be stated

drumboy
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CapCity12thMan said:


Quote:

Your web stuff should be hosted in the cloud.
curious as to why this needed to be stated


It's the hot thing now and having 'AWS', 'Azure', 'Bluemix' is just another acronym a hiring manager would like to see.
CapCity12thMan
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well, yeah. Just didn't see any reference to where OPs stuff was being hosted )if any) and why anyone these days would have it anywhere other than AWS and the like (although I am an AWS customer so my preference is there). The comment just seemed out of place and I thought I missed something.
Duncan Idaho
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The idea of moving his volunteer work to the cloud and rebranding it as a cloud-based company that provides technology services to nonprofits is absolutely brilliant
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Unfortunately this is the kind of crap I have seen way too often. Despite my qualifications,

We have reviewed the information you have provided and unfortunately your application was not selected for further consideration.

We encourage you to review and apply to other positions posted on our careers site. We wish you every success in your future career.

This came from a place recommended to me on this thread. Now I am grateful for the recommendation, please don't get me wrong on that. I guess I am just flabbergasted over the recruiter reaching out to me after I submitted the application, who tells me I am a fit for the position ... and then, less than 24 hours later, this e-mail. Hiring manager apparently does not think much of my experience.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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AG
littlebrotherag said:

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

So I have been out of work since last February. I just exhausted unemployment while striking out on yet another opportunity. I vaguely recall there was a federal extension of such benefits, up to 99 weeks, but I have not been able to find any evidence that supports that as still being the case. Anyone have any knowledge of that? Is that a program that has since ended?

I am a software developer with more than 20 years of experience working with tools such as .Net, C#, Visual Basic, Delphi, SQL Server, classic ASP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, VB Script, XML, Crystal Reports, MVC, Razor, HTML, CSS, RESTFul API, and Entity Framework. I am in Katy and primarily looking in the Houston area.
Thought about working in the public sector? Doesn't pay as much but you know....
I will take whatever I can get. I did interview for a position with the IT department for Ft. Bend County late last year; never heard back from them. Someone told me, completely speculative, that I never heard back because I was (a) wrong skin color and (b) wrong gender.
koadie
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

littlebrotherag said:

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

So I have been out of work since last February. I just exhausted unemployment while striking out on yet another opportunity. I vaguely recall there was a federal extension of such benefits, up to 99 weeks, but I have not been able to find any evidence that supports that as still being the case. Anyone have any knowledge of that? Is that a program that has since ended?

I am a software developer with more than 20 years of experience working with tools such as .Net, C#, Visual Basic, Delphi, SQL Server, classic ASP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, VB Script, XML, Crystal Reports, MVC, Razor, HTML, CSS, RESTFul API, and Entity Framework. I am in Katy and primarily looking in the Houston area.
Thought about working in the public sector? Doesn't pay as much but you know....
I will take whatever I can get. I did interview for a position with the IT department for Ft. Bend County late last year; never heard back from them. Someone told me, completely speculative, that I never heard back because I was (a) wrong skin color and (b) wrong gender.
Having worked with FT. Bend County, I would be shocked if it were true, and hope it's not. I work for Harris currently and we often are hiring IT.
zooguy96
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

Unfortunately this is the kind of crap I have seen way too often. Despite my qualifications,

We have reviewed the information you have provided and unfortunately your application was not selected for further consideration.

We encourage you to review and apply to other positions posted on our careers site. We wish you every success in your future career.

This came from a place recommended to me on this thread. Now I am grateful for the recommendation, please don't get me wrong on that. I guess I am just flabbergasted over the recruiter reaching out to me after I submitted the application, who tells me I am a fit for the position ... and then, less than 24 hours later, this e-mail. Hiring manager apparently does not think much of my experience.

I feel your pain, although I am thankful to have a job, lets say I'm none to happy to be teaching right now. It seems that I'm only getting interviews for positions that I'm exactly qualified for (so far natural resource education), and have no idea what to do when it comes to finding a job, given that the field my resume says I'm qualified for is very small and the fact that I don't want to move any longer.

I'd suggest talking to the gentleman who edited my wife's resume (and who I will have change mine) as this is highly helpful - James Shelley.

I'd also suggest tailor making each application for whichever job you are applying for, and finding a specialty recruiter who recruits specifically for your field (they have none of these for my field; I'm basically batting at the fly in the breeze with a tooth pick).
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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AG
littlebrotherag said:

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

littlebrotherag said:

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

So I have been out of work since last February. I just exhausted unemployment while striking out on yet another opportunity. I vaguely recall there was a federal extension of such benefits, up to 99 weeks, but I have not been able to find any evidence that supports that as still being the case. Anyone have any knowledge of that? Is that a program that has since ended?

I am a software developer with more than 20 years of experience working with tools such as .Net, C#, Visual Basic, Delphi, SQL Server, classic ASP, ASP.Net, JavaScript, VB Script, XML, Crystal Reports, MVC, Razor, HTML, CSS, RESTFul API, and Entity Framework. I am in Katy and primarily looking in the Houston area.
Thought about working in the public sector? Doesn't pay as much but you know....
I will take whatever I can get. I did interview for a position with the IT department for Ft. Bend County late last year; never heard back from them. Someone told me, completely speculative, that I never heard back because I was (a) wrong skin color and (b) wrong gender.
Having worked with FT. Bend County, I would be shocked if it were true, and hope it's not. I work for Harris currently and we often are hiring IT.
Like I said, purely speculative. I would not want that to be true as I believe in hiring the best person, regardless if that person is wearing a skirt or not, has Caucasian skin or not, etc.
koadie
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AG
Cinco, I'll keep an ear out and shoot you some info over pm if you're okay with it. We let two IT guys go a few months back for a less than professional representation in the workplace. So we may have openings with us.
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