Junior programmer who wants to be a senior developer

[guest2013-1]

Thanks AcidRaZor for the advice, I do apply a lot, and I do get replies, but most of them are not willing to risk for someone who doesn't have experience, I just came here looking for advice on how programmers application or CV should look like when applying. I also thought of lying because right now i'm helping some who has a programming job but forgot most of the basics, that's the experience i'm getting right now.

Most of us actually get breaks from family or friends. So why not tell your n00b-programmer friend that you're looking for a job and he should ask around even if there's no open positions. You'll be more than willing to work for a lower salary just to prove yourself. If he doesn't help you, you don't help him And in the end he looks like the idiot

For a CV, keep it nice and simple. Most people put on Hobbies and Interests and **** like that. Prospective employers don't care, they want to see your core skills, what you have experience in and what education you received. My CV has a list of skills highlighted in a table top right of the CV, on the left my work experience starts (this is where you might put in your education etc, but maybe start off with a short introduction to show them how passionate you are about working in the field. Short & Simple)

It should be a two-pager. Leave out all the crap about drivers license and ID numbers and if you're married or have kids and what their names are and crap like that. I have my name/age and contact numbers as the header of the page (so it displays on all pages) with a nice "Page 1 of x" at the bottom with a repeat of my email address.

A CV should give the employer a quick overview of what you can do and what type of person you are. And being coherent using simple words and conveying "who" you are in simple text while they can immediately see your skill set to the right, will get you an interview at least. In the interview you can go on about how you lost your leg in Vietnam or how your kids are all grown up or whatever you want to talk about.

99% of the feedback I got from my CV was "it was really easy to read and gave me exactly what I wanted, you have no idea how hard it is sometimes to see what the person's skills are"

And that is what recruitment agencies usually try and do, with their skills matrix and stuff.... my CV was re-written to a 15 page CV... and I told the guy "Look, I'll bet you I can get more interviews for myself within a week than you can get in 4"... I could hear his jaw drop when I told him I had 11 scheduled for the week I was in Cape Town when he asked me if I had time for the 3 he was able to get for me.

Having been on the other side (hiring people), I can tell you now that when I received an email with a CV attached saying "attached please find my CV" with absolutely no information on which position you're applying for or who you are, I usually skipped it entirely. Simply because when I opened it, I had to actually try and figure out what you studied in and what you wanted.

Sometimes I'll even reply to the mail giving them a few tips on how to get more response on their CV's being sent out, and once I got a snotty reply from some arab douche bag saying that he didn't bother to read my email... wow... really? After I politely explained to him what to do to get a better response and what he did wrong in the email saying that I didn't read his CV but here's a few pointers in introducing yourself better...

Anyway... Where there is a will there's a way. If you're going through a recruitment agency, make sure they know IT at least (enough to distinguish where you will fit in at a company, you have no idea how many DESIGNER interviews I was sent on only to find out it was for graphics designer and not programming... to them "you work with PC's, so you must be able to do that" is good enough)