Land the Tech Job You Love

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1. lstamourApr 2014
   This was a key takeaway for me from "Land the tech job you love" published by Pragmatic Programmers. Highly recommend this approach, with the caveat that you should either find out what the company is willing to pay in advance or really want to work for the company. Remember, money usually isn't the primary reason to leave a company. That said, I'd also suggest a little negotiation. I played this game and forgot it was an offer... ;-)
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2. lstamourOct 2013
   Many of them. :D

   Pragmatic Programmers was always a fun start for me back in the day, even some MS Press and plenty of O'Reilly.

   Most of what I learned came from blogs and time spent at a computer, however.

   There's no substitute for practicing the art of programming to learning actually useful programming skills. Write, run, rinse, repeat. Have fun :)

   Oh and when applying for jobs, I found http://pragprog.com/book/algh/land-the-tech-job-you-love useful.

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3. adrianhowardApr 2013
   I've got three good old fashioned book recommendations:

   * Johanna Rothman's "Hiring Geeks that Fit" (https://leanpub.com/hiringgeeks) does what it says on the tin - her blog is a useful resource too http://www.jrothman.com/blog/htp/

   * Andy Lester's "Land the Tech Job You Love" (http://petdance.com/book/) is written for job seeker - but is actually a good read for folk on the recruiting side too [bias warning: I was one of Andy's tech reviewers on this book]

   * Lou Adler's "Hire With Your Head" which completely changed my approach to interviewing for the better and made it vastly more effective. His accomplishment based interviewing technique is very effective in my experience.

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4. adrianhowardJun 2012
   If I received this I would be thinking that he author had spent a lot of words telling me:

   * They like foursquare

   * They've nearly finished an MBA

   * They have ideas

   * They used to play professional poker

   None of which are useful in any way in understanding whether the author would be any good in a Business Development Manager role (well... maybe the professional poker one... :-)

   The cover letter is the sales pitch for the resume. It's only purpose is to get me to read that resume in a positive frame of mind.

   This cover letter says to me "I would really like to be a Business Development Manager at foursquare"... and that's it.

   It doesn't even let me know that the author has a good understanding of what a Business Development Manager role is (Not saying they don't - just that the letter doesn't demonstrate it. You'll be shocked at the number of applications folk get from people who do not understand what the job role entails.)

   I don't care about skills. Everybody you're competing with will have the skills. Give me an achievement or three. Something you've actually done that shows you're a good fit for the role.

   The ideal cover letter should say "I would be a damn good Business Development Manager because I've achieved X, Y and Z" - where X, Y and Z are all accomplishments that show how bloody excellent I am at Business Development Management.

   [BIAS WARNING: I was a tech reviewer of this book, and have an anecdote in there somewhere about a terribly interview I sat through in the nineties]

   I'd recommend getting hold of a copy of Andy Lester's "Land the Tech Job You Love". Lots of good advice. It's aimed at devs more than it is other roles - but the advice is general.

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5. bphoganNov 2011
   Andy Lester's book "Land The Tech Job You Love" (http://pragprog.com/titles/algh) covers this topic in exactly the same way. I highly recommend this book.

   It's excellent advice, and it really is important to keep in mind - some companies use this information not to just lowball you, but to ensure they stay "with the market" in their salary ranges.

   Consider the salary a secret of your employer. You can give a range, but never tell anyone what you make right now.

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6. gmodenaSep 2011
   As a reference on the topic, I found Andy Lester's "Land the Tech Job You Love" (PragProg) an informative and entertaining reading.

   It contains a few useful tips & hacks on how to tailor your CV and "hunt" jobs that match your expectations (backed by real life stories and examples). Some of the treated aspects - imo - fall under common sense, but I would suggest anyone with little (or none) experience on the job market to pick it up nonetheless.

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