I am experiencing a hard time 😔 to find a job as a programmer and I don't know why. Let's see what I am doing wrong. 🤔
I have been programming for 3 years ⏱️, I started in 2020. Since then, I have only got one "job" experience in a company. I used colons 📆 because it was more like a freelance job where every month I get a little pay 💰 but without a contract, so it is more like a freelance experience.
Don't get me wrong ❗, I have had a few freelance jobs, from landing pages to CRUD frontend apps, but nothing really amazing, just freelance jobs to buy some stuff, less than $300 💸.
People that I know, who know less than me about code, are getting their first job and I am really enjoying that. I am very proud 🙌, but I'd like to know why things happen, so I made comparisons with them.
Let's take an example of one of my friends:
- He knows only a few JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, with nothing fancy.
I have made a bunch of really good projects with complicated designs using frameworks, libraries, etc.
His CV is literally two pages and is full of Udemy courses with nothing interesting and any experience.
My CV is really user-friendly, and many people have told me that it looks nice.
My CV:
- He does not have a portfolio.
- I have a really good-looking portfolio. 😎
- He doesn't create content for social media.
I create content for social media (Like this. 😉)
Follow me!He doesn't have a good LinkedIn profile.
I think that I have a good LinkedIn profile.
I also send a bunch of CVs to any position, write on Discord communities, and send messages to recruiters on LinkedIn.
So, there are a bunch of reasons that make me think. Maybe he is luckier than me, and well... I cannot handle that, but I really want to know what I am doing wrong because I have to be doing something wrong for not getting any job in 3 years ⌛.
I am happy 😃 that my friends are getting really good jobs, but I want to as well because I love programming, and just thinking of working on this makes me full of excitement and keeps me working.
So, my question for you is... What do you think I am doing wrong? What do you recommend to me? 😕🤔
Top comments (3)
So right off the bat, you should not compare your journey to someone else's. It'll only drive you mad and not help your mental state. I know some devs who got their first job 3 months out of bootcamp and others that have degrees and it took them 2 years. There is no expected timeframe. Having said that, here are my thoughts:
1) Have you tested your resume against an ATS site? I'd try to keep your resume as basic and straight forward as possible for readability and to pass ATS.
2) Networking is key! I see you're posting articles and are active on LinkedIn but are you making connections and actively building relationships? This will help you get more eyes on you and your portfolio.
3) Are you getting interviews but just not landing the role? If so, it might be your soft skills that need work and not necessarily your technical and vice versa.
4) Lastly, I know you said you apply to all jobs but have you considered expanding your scope? I see some devs hyperfocus on a certain industry and ignore others. A lot of different industries (construction, retail, hospitality, healthcare, non-profits, etc) all have a web presence and internal tools they use. It might help to search for roles in these fields as well.
Best of luck, Jose!
Thank you for taking your time to answer me! The only thing that I struggle is making connections cause I hyper focus on creating content I don't pass much time taking to people. I will take your advice!
I think if you posted this question on Quora, you could get an answer faster.