The Industry Is Unfair: What I learned from my last Jobhunt
And Recruiters get a scathing feedback from me
Excuse my link bait title.
I’m done with my 3rd major jobhunt. Two years ago, I naively started my first big hunt that ended with a great position which I thoroughly enjoyed. Last year I did a couple of hunts that I like to group together and it landed me a great, wonderful job.
So what’s different about my third hunt? Well, basically, I’ve realized the IT world has a huge rift in it in needs and values. I’ll call one group the “PLUS”, because it works in my favor, and the “MINUS”, because it doesn’t.
The MINUS
I’m fortunate enough to be in a position that hyper-inflates my value as time goes on. My pay is not linear, it’s exponential. The MINUS has trouble dealing with that. And it shows. Any company that’s been around for longer than 5 years gave me the same response and was always surprised at my resume and at me applying. Here’s why:
- I don’t have a degree
- I’m very young (22)
- I have varying experience that starts when I was a teenager
- I wanted a Senior/Management position
I’ve received some crazy responses from both recruiters and companies alike (mainly recruiters). Many recruiters tried to low-ball me, finding jobs that were only 5% above my previous pay. 5%? Are you kidding me? While other recruiters tried to get me to interview and accept positions, wait for it, 5-10% UNDER my current pay, with less responsibilities and all-in-all, not worth it for me. Which is ridiculous as hell.
They would cite reasons as to why my pay requirements (I told them 20% above my current pay is the absolute minimum) were too far-fetched, why a “Senior” position was out of my reach, and why I should wait another decade before I go this far:
- “You don’t have a degree, you can’t prove what you know”
- “This is the standard pay for someone with your experience”
- “Your experience puts you at a Junior level”
This is what recruiters told me, a Lead Developer that created an entire (NDA-locked-up) platform that increased revenue, efficiency, and oversight of my last company. Okay, okay, ego, calm down. Anyways, so here are some of the offers I’ve gotten:
- 10% lower than my previous income, Junior developer.
- same pay as before, less responsibilities at a small company
- 5% higher, Junior developer
It was definitely an interesting experience especially in comparison to the offers of the PLUS. What’s more interesting is that the median pay for someone with my experience in my field in my city puts me about 20% above my then-current pay.
The PLUS
The PLUS does not necessarily mean “new businesses” or “startups” or non-corporate. I’ve interviewed at a variety of places and with a variety of recruiters. The PLUS provided an interesting contrast in value. While the MINUS told me I needed 10 more years of experience to get what I wanted, the PLUS squarely put me where I wanted to be. Actually, it was the other way around. The PLUS TOLD me where I should be, I accepted that, and looked for more, similar opportunities. Want to know what they looked at instead of my college degree absence, age, and other factors listed above?
- my github account and the variety of projects there.
- the technology I used at my last job and how I used it (without disclosing the actual nature of the platform, of course)
- my way of understanding and solving issues
- my blog, what I talk about and what I do.
- my social media accounts
- my past jobs and what I did (which the OLD…ignored?)
From what they could see, I was a very good bet for them. They could see I learned quickly, I had confidence in my code, and I was outspoken and social, thus a great choice for a senior dev.
My first offer came in at 50% higher than what I was making. To put this into perspective. One HR person sent me a job…with a pay 50% higher than my current pay…while a recruiter on the phone told me “5% less is the best I can do”. What’s interesting is that I met my prospective boss, the team that I’d be leading as a senior..wait, senior? “You have to wait at least 10 more years for that,” Looks like I won’t have to. So what were my offers?
- Senior/Leader of a team, 50% higher pay, various benefits
- Lead, 5% higher pay + bonuses based on profits of company
- Equal with others, 50% higher pay, badass benefits
- Lead, 30% higher pay, various benefits + hiring responsibilities
Each company justified their expense and trust in me in a different way. From “we’re looking for someone who can quickly learn”, to “we see that you’ve been in this position before”, to “we need someone well rounded” and so on. So what did they appreciate exactly?
- I’ve worked with many different programming languages from Java to PHP to C#.
- I’ve worked in a team, solo, as a freelancer, and other various positions
- I’ve worked on small systems, big systems, custom systems, and single one-off sites.
- I’ve worked with old proven tools, and new libraries alike
- I learn VERY quickly.
So what’s interesting to me, in the end, is that these companies saw potential and profit in me, unlike the MINUS. I’m VERY happy with the position I’ve found and honestly, this gig is long-term. Hell, I picked an apartment where I’ll move to so I can be closer to it.
So what does all this mean?
You need to learn how to value yourself. And you need to realize that there’s a divide in demand. There’s no clearcut answer. It used to be Degree + Experience (in terms of time). The formula is not that simple anymore.
I’ve had a recruiter, tell me straight up, that I won’t find a job in my price range. And she was right, I didn’t. I found a job that paid MORE. Actually, I found a couple of jobs that paid more and suited my personality, needs, and experience better. And I learned that I can be valuable. I learned to see work less as “how much will the company pay me” and more as “how profitable will I be to the company” and thus I learned how to value myself better and attain skills to be put me in that position.
As a job hunter (especially in IT), you should learn how to be a marketer:
- find the right audience
- find a comfortable price point
- market the right skills the right way (you’re selling a product: yourself)
- adjust the formula based on feedback
As a negative last note
I’ve had SUCH a bad experience with recruiters this time around that I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the best thing to do is contact companies directly. Look for company websites that have specific job sections and apply through there once you find their opening on monster/linkedin/wherever.
Good luck!
As a positive last note (and a disclaimer)
Look, companies will pay you according to many different criteria, not just “how profitable will this person be?” and for a variety of reasons. Some companies don’t want “rockstar developers” because that can easily be paired with attitude and want to expand in places where expansion is not necessary.
All in all, I honestly can’t critisize businesses, they do what’s best for them and I’ll do what’s best for me. If they need someone who’s rock-solid with WP and has worked with WP for 5 years, then they’ll get that person.And pay them accordingly. Just like if they want a Senior maintenance developer, they’ll find someone who has 10 years of experience programming big systems, not a 4 year-experienced developer who STARTS projects.
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