Comment by at-fates-hands | Hacker News Reader

Comment by at-fates-hands | Hacker News Reader

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I can absolutely vouch for this.

After a 6 month contract gig, the employer told me they were going to bring me on full-time. I stopped interviewing thinking I had a full-time spot. They told me two weeks before the end of the contract they didn't have anything else for me and I was cut at the beginning of January after our project ended.

I did find a job with a small company, but after three days, realized they were looking for a Javascript developer, not a front-end developer. From then on, I was out of work for almost four months. Luckily, I picked up a freelance project which filled the gap during the time I wasn't technically "working".

On my resume, I put it was a private freelance project that lasted the time I was unemployed (four months). Since it was relevant to my work history, nobody asks about it, or just wants me to go over what we did and the technologies we used.

The interesting thing is when recruiters see "freelance" projects they instantly equate it with being unemployed. While the actual HR people at the companies I interviewed with never made the same connection. To them, work is work as long as its relevant to your career.

What if you simply got a business name for yourself? A DBA license isn't too hard to get, and would probably look a little more professional (even if unjust) than freelance.

You don't put "freelance" on your resume. Being "freelance" means you're operating your own company, with its own presence, branding, etc. The least you can do is to name your consulting company and declare yourself as the owner. Even with something as simple as <last name> Consulting. Because, at least according to the IRS, you are. Take advantage of it.

I think you will find is that a lot companies don't like hiring small business owners either. Even successful ones. Companies might expect them to be 'arrogant' or "want do things their own way".

Then perhaps that isn't the company you want to work for.

Realistically, I have not met any hiring managers who had a problem with my consulting. I have not met any recruiters that had a problem with this. I focused on describing the project/product in all of employment history rather than who employed me, or what my job description.

To be fair, software developers are generally in much greater demand. If you're a software dev looking for work, the best way is a combination of:

(1) Going to technical meetups that have a strong cross section of "developeneurs". There are generally recruiters there in addition to startup founders looking for technical founders. They usually flock to places rich with developer contacts. The recruiters at this kind of meeting are voraciously hungry for leads, with the regular members trying not to roll their eyes and ignoring the recruiters. Anyone new gets pounced upon. Just by showing up, you're pre-qualified, pre-screened. And you get free food.

(2) Participate in open source projects. Yes. You want to eat. Set aside some time while waiting for people to call back. Even things as simple as maintaining the docs. You can hear about the most active open-source projects by going to the meetups in (1).

Both of these methods builds up your network, something far more valuable than a mere job. Jobs come and go, but your contacts tend to persist over the lifetime of your career. If you're only sending out resumes, then you're not using everything that is available to you.

>Then perhaps that isn't the company you want to work for.

If you've been out of work for six months you no longer get to choose which companies you want to work for.

I've been out of work for more than six months and got back into the thick of things. I chose the area of specialization I got back into. I did it by focusing on the project, rather than the company. I think, your chances of employment is actually lower, if you do not focus your search. If you're going to make an effort to focus on your search, you might as well choose, not just simply sending things out and seeing what sticks on the wall.

That you have focus, a drive, a goal, all bleeds through your body language. People want to go where you're going. If you're lost and desperate, people avoid you; it's sad, but people in general avoid needy people like the plague. This "knowing where you are going" is what people are really looking for when they screen out someone who has been unemployed for six months.

I have a friend whose favorite mantra is, "adapt, improvise, overcome." Ok, so recruiters have software that screens out anyone who has been unemployed for more than six months. Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. Don't send out resumes to recruiters; go to where the employers are. Or better yet, stop looking for a "job" (and all the things that go with it, such as social status, peer acceptance, etc.) and look for a project.

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