Perhaps the hardest part of my transition to being a full time web developer is still ahead of me. I guess I thought the hard part would be over once I actually completed the course at The Iron Yard… Turns out it wasn’t.
Finding a job to apply for easy. Simply search for a Ruby junior level job and apply… right? Well not exactly.
Maybe I’m too picky, but I want to work at a place where I am actually interested in what is going on. That isn’t just anywhere. Finding places like this actually takes quite a bit of work.
Most job postings are hidden behind the “fog” of a recruiter. While I’m sure most recruiters are wonderful people, I would much rather work directly with the company who is doing the hiring instead of a “middleman.” The other part that makes this difficult is that most job postings by recruiters don’t actually tell you what company they are working for… so it’s a bit hard to know exactly what kind of a job/company you are applying for…
Instead of digging through most of the major hiring sites (I’ve been looking there too) I’ve been digging through actual Ruby shops to see if they are hiring. Whether this pays off or not… we will see.
It doesn’t end with just finding a company to deal with directly. I really want to dig into what that company actually does, what they are passionate about and whether it fits who I am and what I want to do.
Writing apps is hard, but at least you have a decent idea of where you are going or what the end result is supposed to work like. Finding a place to work is an entirely different ballgame!
Now that my portfolio and resume have received some feedback and tweaks, it is indeed time to start applying for jobs… If you know of something you think I’d be interested in I’d love to hear about it! 🙂