Ask HN: Am I hirable?

3 points by dayon 10 years ago | 4 comments

Here's my brief story. I'm a 30 year old white male in the USA. I have a bachelors in psychology, an incomplete graduate degree in psychology (60 out of 66 credits), no criminal record, good credit, over 50k in student debt, and a failed startup to my name. I spent the last three years learning to program because I had an idea for a website. I created it, but frankly, I don't have the business background nor the proficiency to be a one-man startup success story. I've learned MySQL, PHP, Javascript, jQuery, Laravel, HTML, CSS, some Python, and a lot about general computing. I'm an excellent typer, and I'm savvy with most tech. I have a variety of skills that involve computers, counseling, writing, and critical thinking.

I'm writing this because I feel like I'm telling myself a story that I'm not currently hirable. I read job requirements, and I feel like most startups or tech companies would choose someone with a computer science degree or more legitimate programming skills. I tell myself that I can't get a job as a counselor since I don't have a Masters degree. I also feel like my limited references (having worked for myself the last 3 years) will hold me back from getting any position that pays over 40k a year.

The frustration here is that I am extremely valuable to many companies, but without a strong résumé, I figure I'll be glossed over for a stronger on-paper candidate. I'm a fast learner, very resourceful, and I'm great with optimization. I love improving methods and systems to produce greater efficiency and effectiveness.

I can also move to anywhere in the USA, and I currently have enough money saved up to relocate immediately.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

jerf 10 years ago |

In addition to outericky's post, consider if you can present a sample project to employers. You say you had an idea for a website; do you still have it? Is it running? Put that in your resume, link to the source code if you can. (Perhaps take a bit to clean it up if necessary, or make sure to highlight what it is and where the best stuff is.) There's a lot of places you can get a foot in the door if it's a decent website. You probably do want to stay away from anywhere with heavy HR screening.

You may also want to consider trying to angle for a management track. I'm not sure you can jump straight there, but if you can find something a little bit larger than a 5-person startup, and can find something growing, you may be able to work you way up that path; put a bit of that under your belt and you'll probably be in pretty decent shape.

Perhaps some people who have gone that path could offer some insight?

But, upshot, with some hustle you seem hireable to me based on the given info. You just definitely aren't in a position where the job will hop into your lap right now.

Tomte 10 years ago |

It's hard to say from afar, of course, but I believe you are not only hirable, but potentially a very valuable employee.

Writing skill is a big plus, even if many people (including HR people) don't realize that immediately.

Psychology can be valuable, as well, especially if you find a tech field to "dock on". Maybe some user experience stuff or so? Security (social engineering)? I don't know, but it would be a shame to totally abandon that amount of knowledge.

The problem is, as you have realized, that it takes effort on the hiring manager's part to correctly evaluate your potential value to the company.

Write your resume more in the direction of cross-disciplinary projects, show the (very different) things you've done of your own accord.

And (although this may be very tricky to do, depending on your personality) don't go into it as a supplicant competing with recent university graduates. Paint yourself a career changer, a bit apart from the masses.

Still, hiring tends to be conservative, so I wouldn't want to give you high hopes of immediate success.

Depending on the time frame you're contemplating, maybe use your writing skills and curiosity, paired with technical skills, to impress people.

Julia Evans (http://jvns.ca/), for example, is much admired here on HN. I don't know her backstory, from my point of view she simply showed up one day with an interesting blog post, then another, then another.

And while all of those blog posts are kind of basic, maybe even boring, to people who are deep in whatever she's writing about, she managed to write about lots of different subjects competently, gaining lots of respect and job offers, IIRC.

outericky 10 years ago |

Run a test. Hop on angelist, and see what some early stage companies think. Show interest in their job postings. Don't mislead anyone about your skill set.

Large companies often times get many resumes, and have to go through a weeding process. Normally that's degree/years of experience thing. But smaller startups (especially less popular ones) may give you a shot. Start there, get some experience and re-valuate.

cberrios 10 years ago |

Ping Alex (alex.moore@headspring.com). She's our recruiter and currently looking for "college graduates" willing to start in June. Austin, Dallas or Houston. You can mention me (Cristian) if you like.