Forem: Nando

I got a job!

Nando — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 19:59:56 +0000

Not gonna lie, I was a little dramatic in my last post. Every word typed and read was true but it definitely needed to be read in a particular tone to hit home - to convey my stress, my desperateness, my fear of being inadequate in the field of my profession. As a written piece, I love the way came out...

Anyways, I got a job! And yes, you guys told me so, thank you for all the kind words! @adam_cyclones @vuild @xngwng @mgh87 @mondragonda

I know for a fact not everyone bounces back like I just did so I can't even begin to express how thankful I am and how lucky I feel. Yes, my skills and my experience played a huge part but everything worked out so well someone has to be looking out. Dad? God? Aliens? Either way, I'll take it.

With the superstition out of the way, here's exactly what I did, read carefully - I applied EVERYWHERE IMMEDIATELY. Seriously.

We found out officially on a Tuesday. We received the invitation for the announcement meeting the day before on Monday. Maybe an hour after the meeting invite arrived and putting two and two together, I started applying. My first 20 or so applications contained an older resume and a rushed cover letter. Not recommending this at all but that's what happened. In the next couple of days I redid my resume, added more experience and polished up my cover letter. All while still applying to multiple jobs a day. I'm pretty sure I applied to the same job multiple times. I put myself out there on LinkedIn, Dice, ZipRecruiters, Indeed, Sherlock Talent and a few other sites. Most jobs were posted by recruiters which I found annoying but at the end, they actually came through.

For 2 to 3 weeks, I spent most of my day looking and applying. By the middle of the 3rd week I ran out of jobs to apply to, seriously. I was only applying to "full time" or "contract to full time" jobs. I was only applying to jobs I had the experience and skills for. I was only applying for jobs I felt I had a chance to succeed in. When I couldn't find any new jobs that fit that criteria I almost had heart attack. I did what I could and put myself out there but all I could do after that was wait.

In the next 3 weeks I had about 15 different interviews (personal, behavioral and technical) and 5 assessments from 4 different jobs. At the end, I received 3 offers and I somehow managed to chain the offers in a way that the latest offer replaced the last and I ended landing the job I wanted the most!

It is extremely scary out there, so for anyone looking for a job, I sincerely wish you the best of luck!

If I may, the most honest advice I can give is to be true with yourself, your experience and your skills. Be clear on things you actually KNOW, are only familiar with and want to learn. Don't put yourself in a position where you end up a liar or fraud. As cliche as it sounds, SMILE when interviewing - even on the phone, it makes a difference. Lastly, something I just learned, ask questions! Asking the right questions can make or break an interview.

Looks like my luck has run out :(

Nando — Wed, 29 May 2019 17:35:17 +0000

After 13 years of service, I was given my 30 day notice... AWESOME.

That "AWESOME" was sarcastic in case it wasn't clear. It may be "the best thing to happen to my career", as said by a few higher ups, but that's not how it feels like right now; and as the silver-lining, it still doesn't mean much right now. Right now, I'm upset. Right now, I'm scared. Right now, I'm no longer one of the lucky ones I so happily called myself in my last article.

I've been at this a long time and I have nothing to show for it.

Nando ・ Sep 5 '18 ・ 2 min read

#culture #help #career #webdev

I can't get into the who or provide my opinion on the why but we've been dealing with layoffs for months now. The first wave came out of no where and rocked our department HARD. 20+ people gone, including my director. I thought I was safe. I figured this move was for the best. It was my time to shine, lets get it cracking. The second wave came with rumors and half truths, 160+ people gone. Wow. At least the worst had passed... nope. Then came outsourced support, to "help" us, since we lost so many people, obviously. We didn't buy it. I lie, most people didn't buy it... I did. I saw the logic behind it, I appreciated the passing my day to day support to someone else so I can focus on "development and innovation". I was so naive.

13 years... I would've stayed for life! I wanted to move up, run my own team and eventually the department. I looked for better paying jobs but I was never going to leave. Maybe that was the issue. I got too comfortable. But why shouldn't you get comfortable at a good job. This was my second home, I decorated my battlestation dammit!

I'm scared. I'm scared of whats out there. I'm scared of whats NOT out there. I'm scared I'm not good enough. I know for a fact I'm missing some "must have" skills as a front-end web developer. Our web team handle front-end development for static public sites and our programmers worked on applications using AngularJS and React. Meaning, I don't know React! I worked with the programmers on styling their AngularJS directives but that was about 3 years ago. Most front-end developments jobs want React or some other JS framework... I didn't learn it because there wasn't a need. Plus, I was too busy leading development and innovation for the CMS. I'm ROCK STAR at the CMS, I'm a ROCK STAR at using the Velocity Template Language to do all types of cool stuff on render so it still publishes as a static html page. I've even been doing remote contract work for another company using the CMS. I'm awesome! I'm awesome at this very specific, very niche, non mainstream type of work that isn't used often enough for me to find another full-time job. I'm so awesome.

I've been at this a long time and I have nothing to show for it.

Nando — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 20:48:42 +0000

Except a good job with great benefits, 12+ years of professional experience and all the knowledge and skills that came with that experience. I’ve also worked with some great people, my peers respect my professional opinion and I can even call some lifelong friends. I’ve been at this a long time and it’s not that I don’t have anything to show for it (as stated above) I just don’t have what I wish I could show for it. I don’t have an app, I don’t have a popular blog, I don’t have an active community or large email list and that’s ok. I’m ok. I enjoy what I do and I get paid to do it, I’m more than ok - I’m one of the lucky ones.

My name is Fernando Blanco but most people call me Nando. I’m a father, husband and professional web developer. Although the title’s a bit clickbaity, I honestly feel that way sometimes and I bet some of you do as well. It’s hard not to want to release something when it feels like everyone and their mother has a service, framework and/or library. It’s easy to feel inadequate because you’re not using the latest web technology that happens to be the focus of every article in your feed. I understand! The dev world moves so fast you can easily feel left behind by enjoying a weekend without your phone.

I've been at this a long time and I DO have something to show for it.. And so do you! If you’re just starting, at minimum, you have the drive (or you wouldn’t be starting). If you’ve been at it for a couple of years, you have a project or 2 that you’re really proud of or that really challenged you to become a better developer. Career devs, we got it good: we’re in the field that we love and we get paid regularly - FANTASTIC!

If you honestly feel that you have absolutely NOTHING to show for it, not even a drive to continue… then why are you doing it? Personally, being a web developer isn’t only my profession, it’s my passion. I know it may sound a bit corny but I’m serious. I love this stuff. I used to come home after work and get right back on the computer to work on some side project or finish some work stuff that had me excited. I still would if the wife wouldn’t kill me and kids would let me. If I’m reading an article on my phone, 9/10 times its dev related. I frequently forward articles to coworkers after hours and sometimes get comments like “you know it’s after hours right?”. Yes but the article was interesting and I wanted to share!

Anyways, I sometimes feel crappy about just developing at work and/or not coming out with something cool and useful but that's going to stop. This article is step 1 of my plan. :)