Where to acquire/polish programming skills in the area (San Jose: unemployment rate, school)

[CatWarmer]

I know someone who has a CS degree from a great school and worked for a year after college in San Jose, then got caught in a massive layoff. It's been almost a year and he hasn't found another job, partly because he was slow off the mark, and partly because he's no good at networking. He's worked with recruiters, contacted alumni (no answers), asked around, filed online, etc. He's had periodic interviews and made it to various points in the process, but no offers.

At this point, I think he needs something fresh to add to his resume to make it more attractive. He's very bright and a good employee but really doesn't have much to show for his time since the layoff. He has been working online trying to pick up new languages, currently Ruby. He's also tried to develop a program to put in a portfolio, which he doesn't really have yet.

Is there anywhere in the San Jose area where he can either acquire additional skills that would make him more employable, or anywhere he can volunteer/assist to get more practical experience? He's got a decent amount of savings so can afford to work for nothing for a few months if that will help. Are there any programs at local colleges that are viewed favorably by Silicon Valley companies?

He's been given every generic kind of advice possible and been advised that he may need to go to grad school. He really just wants to work, though.

[80skeys]

It sounds to me like he needs to improve his interviewing skills, rather than trying to learn new programming languages. He should consider paying a consultant or take a community college class to help him with that.

[exploringtim]

For programmers at least, a resumé is less important IMHO. I couldn't care less where someone went to college, rather, i'd want to see them being involved in the open source community: building awesome things that other people are using is a living, breathing, public resume. If he's not on Github, get on there and start contributing.

For me personally the my most recent job move was solely based upon a profile i'd built by doing things for free in the open source community... and I'm not alone with that kind of story.

Hope that helps!

Tim

[CarawayDJ]

This isn't a programming problem. This is an interview/resume writing problem. No programmers should be out of work right now, especially if they are willing to move a little bit. The unemployment rate for sw engineers must be around 1% (purely a swag).

[exploringtim]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

This isn't a programming problem. This is an interview/resume writing problem. No programmers should be out of work right now, especially if they are willing to move a little bit. The unemployment rate for sw engineers must be around 1% (purely a swag).

Doesn't that assume all programmers are equal? As with all industries, there is a wide variety of skill levels. Although I agree, companies are heavily recruiting at the moment - i'd still prefer to see actual output work rather than a resume any day... it just says so much more (from a programmers perspective, granted)

[CatWarmer]

Thanks for the advice. Is Github a supportive community? If someone is trying to build a portfolio (is that the same as a profile) and going slow, is there a way to get help? I asked about the languages because he knows that the kind of jobs he wants ask for languages he hasn't worked in. He hopes to get into quality testing kinds of positions rather than initial programming creation, if I've explained that correctly.

All these companies that are heavily recruiting - what's the best way to get your resume/profile in front of them if you don't have contacts?

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by CatWarmer

All these companies that are heavily recruiting - what's the best way to get your resume/profile in front of them if you don't have contacts?

1. create and populate your linkedin profile (World's Largest Professional Network | LinkedIn)
2. apply to jobs from craigslist, monster, indeed.com
3. contact high-tech recruiters, send them your resume and ask them to start looking for jobs for you

[CatWarmer]

He's done all three. Different recruiters have contacted him. How do you find the most reliable recruiters?

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by CatWarmer

He's done all three.

Then be patient.

How do you find the most reliable recruiters?

Hit and miss.