So I’ve been out of work for over a year now. I’m a software engineer with 20 years experience in Java, I have experience in over a dozen other languages, I’ve worked for companies of around 30 employees as well as big multinationals.

Over the last year, I’ve applied for literally hundreds of jobs, and I’ve gotten one interview, got all the way to the final stage of the process but missed out to someone with more experience of that specific framework they wanted. I was told that they really liked me, that my code was good even though I was learning that framework while doing the code test, and that I would integrate with the team very well, but they needed someone with more experience with the framework they use. They did say that if another position opened up this year that they’d get in touch.

So my question is, what the fuck do I do now? I’m still applying for every programming position that comes up on the job boards, I’m emailing recruiters to try to get my foot in the door, I’m teaching myself different frameworks and languages and building small demo apps to show what I can do, but I’m getting nowhere.

Five years ago, I had absolutely no issue getting a job. I’d literally have several job offers within a month of looking. Now there’s nothing. For context, I’m in the UK.

So what are my options. What can I do to get work as a programmer in today’s market? What else is there for me to do? How would I get started freelance if I’ve never done that before, and is that even a viable option? Are other people experiencing the same at the moment?

Please help, I’m getting desperate.

  • souperk@reddthat.com
    1021·
    3 days ago

    Hey, I was fired last July and I went through the same process, I actually asked a similar question on Lemmy and the feedback I received helped a tonne in landing more interviews.

    Here are the steps I believe helped me:

    1. Make sure your CV is machine parseable, search for open resume, upload your cv see what it detects. Ideally, generate your CV using that tool.
    2. Create your own portfolio website, here is mine for reference https://souperk.gr/ (I have a public repository, feel free to copy if CSS isn’t your strong suite)
    3. Check that toggle on LinkedIn to signify you are actively searching atm (don’t remember how, but you should see a ribbon on your avater if it’s active)

    For me, landing more interviews was the hard part. Once I got a few interviews going, landing an offer was easy.

    • tabris@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      2 days ago

      Thanks very much for your advice. I’ve reworked my CV using Open Resume and updated it on all the job boards I’ve been using, hopefully that gets me further.

      I’m also continuing to update my portfolio website and building out apps in different languages and frameworks to demonstrate my skills.

      It just looks like the job market sucks at the mo and I just need to keep trudging through.

      Thanks again.