Desperately Seeking Work
Over the last couple of years, when things have gotten close to desperate I've always thought that, should things get truly desperate I could always come to you, my loyal readers, cap in hand, and get some work.
Thankfully it's never come to that. Although, again, I find myself painfully close.
This isn't (but kind of is) me begging for work. What I want to do is ask for advice on how to find work (rather than simply expect it handed to me on a plate, charity-like) of my own accord.
I've always been lucky. Work has always come to me. But this is less and less the case. Primarily, I expect, because I'm best known as a Domino developer and there just ain't as much Domino work about as there once was.
So what are the channels for finding work nowadays? It's been 8 or 9 years since I had to find work and I don't know what to do.
Not Looking For a Job
I'm not looking for a job, per se. I don't want a 9-5 position just yet (I'd have to be on the verge of losing house and home before that happens). I just want project-based work. Which I guess makes is harder to find. There are plenty of avenues for finding a job. But what about finding projects?
What I really would like is to get my foot in the door of some new customers. Customers who don't have a developer or whose developers are stretched to the point they need extra hands.
Are there websites to pair together customers who need IT work doing with the likes of myself? I'm sure I've seen some in the past...
What other channels are there? Can Twitter be used? What about LinkedIn? How about paid Google Ads?
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You could follow the LotusWatch twitter account, which is the one I use to post job openings I find via Google News Alerts for Notes/Domino jobs.
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Hi Duffbert. I've followed the feed on Twitter.
However, these are job jobs. And America-centric from what I can tell.
The only way they could lead anywhere is if I managed to get past the agencies involved and then convinced the hirer they don't need an actual employee with his bum on a seat and that they can farm the work out to a reliable and trustworthy Brit. I'm not sure how realistic that is.
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I shall be watching this thread with great interest.
On the subject of agencies, I've never understood why companies use them and what value they think they are getting for the money/percentage they are shelling out to them. Filtering of candidates pre-interview? Not in my experience they don't!
Jake has hit the nail on the head - the need to easily pair companies who need a job doing with people with the skill set. Immediately.
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How about joining up with some collectives?
Ben Poole helped formed the http://londondevelopercoop.com/ and I know friends of mine have done similar things. Get together with others and bid for larger contracts. Failing that you could try and join a pool - a company we've had some dealings with have a pool of 1300 they call the 'Dream Team'.
http://www.ics-solutions.co.uk/DreamTeam/aboutdreamteam.aspx
Just some ideas. Good luck!
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Might get in touch with LDC and see if they'll let me in. Hopefully you don't actually have to be in London.
I did speak to two of them last week at UKLUG, but I got the impression it was more of a safety umbrella to get round the "what if you're hit by a bus" issue us one-man-bands get presented with. Each of them can take on the others' work if needs be. Whether they actually find and share work for each other I didn't gather.
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As far as LinkedIn goes, it doesn't hurt. Should be another way to network yourself, and I am sure you will quickly get linked in with your readers here, and with previous customers who are on here. I hear that people who are pretty active on it, get lots of requests to apply to jobs. Whether they are full time, or project based, I don't know.
Good luck on this. This is why I got out of consulting during the last recession (internet bust), and a 'normal' day to day job. I didn't have to worry about where my next pay check was coming from. And I have been in this job for 10 years. And I can say that alot of my work is new development, with minor upkeep. And still learning new technology.
Is your worry about a full time job is that you would become in a support type role? Or that you would be 'stuck' in a certain technology and not learning new things? Or the working from home? I find alot of places are allowing people more and more to work from home, at least a part of the week.
Or is it the pay you are normally used to, working on your own, compared to how much you expect to get paid at a 9-5 job? All understandable reasons.
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Yeah, my worries about "going permy" are pretty much as you've set out. Lack of excitement, not working at home, drop in pay etc.
However, if the right job came along and paid enough I'd probably would take it. As long as I could spend most of the week at home.
My absolute worst case scenario is being away from the family 5 days a week. Until the kids are all in school I can't really even consider that.
I guess I could look for a job in Nottingham but the likelihood is I'd take a +50% reduction in income. Again, we're not in a position where I can do that. It's not a very nice position to be in. The pressure is palpable at times.
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Jake what about local work - as in web development / mobile apps development for local small businesses?
I appreciate they are not going to pay the same as project work but the more exposure you have the more chance there is in picking up the bigger stuff.
I would talk to your local chamber of commerce and see whats the best way forward for networking - maybe offer to give a presentation on how blogging / new technology could give these businesses new opportunities.
I have been thinking along these lines myself - I just need to get the company website sorted out first ;-)
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No cold water intended, but two obstacles with local small business that I encountered back during our Domino shopping cart days: small business expects a lot for free, and, they like to pay the day after the day after tomorrow.
If I were to try this market again, I would: look for established businesses with a headcount + 10 semi-professional people, and expect to expend a lot of shoe leather getting the work. Small one man operations that have the vision and funds to understand non-turn-key, out of the box solutions are rare.
If you want to go after the smallest of the small, you'll want to plan for a higher number of turns (more customers, more jobs) to make it profitable and more packaged / ala carte solutions that are easier for them to understand and apply. It's numbers - right? If you need more small customers because they have smaller budgets, the easiest thing is common denominator products and services.
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I wouldn't have believed, in this tight economy, that people would be getting "from home" jobs, but my friend who lives just down the road did exactly that after about a 5 week search. And he's doing a lot of X-Pages, which he is very geeked about. He has to travel once a month to the regional office but he's online all day working with the team.
I think the networking on LinkedIn is valuable and I send people in that direction often when this question comes up. Like any tool, however, it's how you use it that matters. LinkedIn is going to help you raise your profile, but requires a lot of activity on your part for it to be effective in that. You are already very socially active with Twitter and Codestore - what LinkedIn or other professional networking platforms will gain you is a wider audience.
Let me throw out something different to consider. You have passions beyond software... is there a supplemental "from home" business you could start that catered to one of those things? Something that maybe requires you to be out and about for an hour here or there for whatever purpose?
My neighbor recently bought into a franchise after many years of trying out jobs that were not his cup of tea but looked like stuff he could do and maybe make money at. Unfortunately, each was a full time commitment but only really offered part time pay. The Franchise is more the other way around and lets him do his pleasure between appointments.
There are a lot of options if you're willing to widen your frame of reference when considering paying jobs.
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One cool idea I have seen out there is Odesk, Not sure if you have checked this out, but it could be a little bit of work if you find the right employer.
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Hmm. Looks interesting https://www.odesk.com/
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I think you need to use as many channels as you can to find work. For starters, LinkedIn is the obvious choice. I haven't looked at your profile there, but be sure to invest some time in describing yourself well. Next, join a few groups of your interest and locations.
Although I am passive on LinkedIn and not really looking for a new job, I get offers on a weekly basis. Recruiters that I do not know also seem to find me. I think it is because my profile is quite complete.
I would also look to get listed in places and websites.
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Jake, Thanks for your posts. Through the years they have been helpful on some topics out of my range. To help you, given you are not in the US, think about it this way.
There are many sites which match need to ability, you can google them but hooking up with other Business Partners is one way to get side work or project work. We don't do dev work but sub it out usually. In return we sub BES, Domino, WAS work from other people who don't do infrastructure or admin well.
The downside is UK rates are expensive to US people, keep in mind sometimes it doesn't matter but usually it will.
Outside the US, ISSL is made up of BPs usually not in house people.
You probably know the people in the UK, if not drop me an email or IM, but also think about the Aussies who are a different time zone that could benefit perhaps?
As a dev, having an idea and selling it is an option to think about too.
Linkedin is a great place to start because of the connections and ability to find someone or some place specific. If I can help you get to anyone, just ask.
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You are (maybe soon) desperately seeking work but expect lowering your income by 50% if going for a permanent job!?
But maybe updating your 4 customer references would be a good start. At least if you think of starting with Google Ads.
I think you even did not change your "Our" and "We" homepage style. If you expect to get work outside of the Notes and Domino area you need to be much more clear with what you can do, what you have done and who you are. And if you don't want to hire someone you should not say so. At least this is my opinion.
Or maybe you want to get work inside the Notes and Domino area but then you might probably need to change your "pay me for learning new stuff" attitude (and I am not sure if staying with this technology is a good idea anyway).
All the best for you and your company.
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I know, I know. You're right. First thing I need to do is sort my company website out. Dropping the "our" and "we" is first on the list. It's been on my to-do list on my desk for longer than I care to remember now.
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I don't know if it is still out there, but there used to be sites like www.rentacoder.com where you could take on submitted work requests and get paid at the end.
Admittedly I never tried it, having always been in "normal" full time employment but it seemed like an interesting thing when I saw it.
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rentacoder.com is now vworker.com (virtual worker).
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I was in a similar position a couple of years ago. The customers you are looking for have never heard of Domino. Those that have do not hold the technology or its practioners in high regard. Drop the "Domino developer" badge, cop a few lean months money wise, aggressively pursue skills in a more emergent technology and build something awesome with it (whether you are being paid for it or not). People will take notice and gradually the work will start finding you again.
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"build something awesome with it (whether you are being paid for it or not)"
I'm guessing you're referring to Asboromoter? Would you say that one app has got you where you are today?
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Jake, I find it really tough reading this, because you have contributed so much to us all.
My tips.
First, get out there and be social. I know that is a cliche these days, but it really does work. Participate widely, comment everywhere, join in podcasts, drop some of your code on OpenNTF, present at user groups, run a webcast or two. All of these will help raise your profile outside the (admittedly wide) range of your current technical following - after all they wont be paying your invoice.
Secondly, approach the bigger partners in the UK. I can give you a list if you like. Thats how Collaboration Matters got off the ground initially, they can pass you work they can't fulfil and you can help them keep their clients happy. Rates don't tend to be bad either.
Most of all, trade on your reputation. All of us will back you to the hilt, but you have to (as Lisa Duke tells me all the time) sell yourself, and don't let your English reserve get in the way...
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Thanks Stuart. I'll drop you a line separately.
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Jake, I'm going to reiterate what everyone else is saying about LinkedIn--you should ABSOLUTELY be using it--and before you want a job, not WHEN you want a job.
I used to think LinkedIn was like Facebook--only not as fun. I signed up, refused to fill in most of the info (I'm a privacy nut), and found a few of my friends and connected to them, then disappeared, until someone would send me an invite...then I'd accept, look around, and leave again.
Recently, however I've come to realize that it's come a long way since it got started...and it's been invaluable to me, in a number of ways.
First - I find that people I know work at places I want to work. And vice versa. This week, someone I knew saw that I worked with a company in another city...that had a branch here. He mentioned it to me--and I just happened to know the CIO. I contacted her, told her my friend was about to be submitted by a recruiter, and provided a strong recommendation for him, over the phone. I followed up with a written recommendation, an introduction to my friend, and a link to his LinkedIn profile (complete with a ton of fantastic recommendations he'd solicited in the past!)
The CIO wasn't the hiring manager--but she knew the person who was hiring--contacted him, and I got a call from my friend the next morning, telling me he'd already got an interview lined up, BEFORE his agency had even submitted him!
And when I was considering my current position...which involved a move to another city...I went through my contacts, and discovered that someone I'd worked with a few years ago worked here...and I was able to send him an email, and have him give me the "inside story" on the company.
Second, LinkedIn provides you with an EXCELLENT way to show off how terrific you are--by its recommendation system. You should be hooking up to EVERYONE you work with--vendors, clients, colleagues...and anytime anyone stands out at their job, write them a recommendation--a glowing one--via LinkedIn, and ask them to write one in exchange. Most people will. Then anyone who connects with you there, will see what OTHER people who've worked with you have to say about your work...and it's entirely possible, that they might even KNOW some of the people who've written about you!
And finally, it's a great way to find out where the Notes jobs are....because they're probably at companies people you know, or have worked with, work or worked. (I used to struggle with trying to put together a list of companies in Boston who ran Notes, so I could keep an eye on their job postings...but here in Pittsburgh, after using LinkedIn more, I found more companies using it in an hour, than I did in years of searching, in Boston!)
The real key is--start now, not later. Because as the "Evil HR Lady" put it in a recent blog post--everyone will know you're looking for a job when you start haivng a flurry of activity. If, on the other hand, you slowly and steadily add to the site, it's less suspect.
Hope that's of some use! :)
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Hi Jake,
This is a long term solution.
Look for a niche market, develop the application, make it nice and cheap for people, host it yourself and get subscribers.
I've done it twice, I'm in my 5th year doing this and making profits, and I'm half the developer you are.
You've probably already written a killer solution for one of your old clients, that a lot of people would like at the right price, but you just haven't realised it yet.
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Hi Jake,
I have re-read this post a number of times and like Stuart, I find it tough as someone of your calibre should not be in this situation. I have been reading and learning from your blog for about 10 years btw.
It brought to mind James Caan (Dragan's Den) experience when he went through the recession in early 90s. After setting up a very successful recruitment business he found himself in a financial hole during the last recession. He thought there was no market for his current offering - recruitment being dropped first in a recession. Considered himself a businessman he thought he should be able to pick new skills so he looked at a number of businesses. After searching many other businesses he came to the conclusion that he didn't really understand the associated risks and he would be best to stick to what he knew. He battened down the hatches and worked his network and was ready for when the good times returned. And of course they did, big style for James Caan.
I understand you should look at other technologies and constantly update your skillset. However I don't think you should discount Domino and especially Xpages. I am seeing a major push for this from the supply side and given that many companies are migrating from Notes for email and will want a solution for their apps demand will increase also.
Before you think, I am stuck in the yellow bubble I should tell you that my company's primary development platform is LAMP. We made this move 4 years ago when we wanted to take Notes applications to the web. However I am liking what I see with Xpages and if IBM can deliver on a sensible licence model for the Xpages app server, I think there will be a raft of opportunities for people like you who can migrate these customer's trusty notes applications.
Best of luck and I will watch (mostly lurk) with interest.
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Jake,
I haven't actually done any Domino work for 10 years now but still find myself reading your site because of your writing style and informative articles.
I think you would make an excellent teacher and perhaps this would be an opportunity for you. With remote learning becoming more common place you could do this from home.
Alternatively there are a number of companies now selling videoed training material on the web which maybe you could have a go at, learnvisualsutdio.net springs to mind.
Matt
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Hi Jake,
I am pretty much out of the Notes/Domino business these days due to lack of demand. Fortunately, it turns out that your LotusScript skills transfer very nicely to Excel\VBA. This is a much more marketable skill these days. You may want to take a quick look at adding this to your options.
Good Luck!
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How about migrating all those Domino applications you've built to ASP/SharePoint or something else?
It seems like that would be a good business pitch to your past clients.
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Jake, this thread is getting old but I wanted to add one more simple tip: Google maps.
I wasn't looking for a job but was just playing with Google maps and zoomed down to where I live. I was absolutely shocked how many businesses I found in my direct area that I never knew about, despite living there all my life.
I'm not sure if such small businesses are your target audience, but you could quickly tell from their website, if any, if there's any possibility for web work there.
Of course, in the end it is preferred to have a few big clients, but you can learn a lot about your surroundings via Google Maps.
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I get a lot of contract offers from cybercoders. don't know how applicable that is to you in the UK and I've never personally availed myself of any of the offers, though...
My pet habit is to peek over the shoulder of bank workers and see if they're running Notes. Let's face it, one of the last industry redoubts for Notes is the financial industry. If you see a bank or service org using Notes, try to figure out how to get in on a project.
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Hi Jake,
Try elance.com, the free subscription. There are the paid subscription services as well. Just last month, they were practically begging for help to bid for contracts and they also offered to allow you to bid on more than you could normally bid. Then there's rentacoder.com (now vworker.com).
I believe that you such a diverse skill-set that I think elance.com can work for you. This has worked quite well for me.
VWorker.com has not worked for me but I'm only looking at Lotus Notes projects.
For larger projects on elance, you can form a co-op (of people you trust, of course) and go in on the bigger contracts.
My philosophy is that you have to be "ready" when the projects are submitted. So, go register and fill out all the necessary information and samples, link to your site, etc.
More importantly, stay calm, and it will happen. Do something everyday.
Best of luck,
Marlo
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Hi Jake,
Isn't it quite difficult being a one man show trying to get project work like that in the UK? At least here in Sweden it would be way more common to go to a broker to find the required manpower. I'd say sign up with EVERY consultant broker you can find over there and make sure to write an elaborate profile at each of them. It would alao make you available for bigger projects as being part of a multi man team if needed etc. Sure, you would have to give away a part of your hourly rate, but maybe it's worth it to get your foot through some new doors.
Best of luck!
Per
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Hi Jake,
Linkedin
jobsite
&
elance
guru
freelancer
I don't know about Nottingham or non financial sector work. But if your interested in London and banking, then I have contacts who could push work your way.
Rgs,
Alastair
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Thanks for the tips Alistair.
Contracting in London is a last resort. As is contracting in general. I have support contracts already in place with existing/past customers and can't just up sticks and leave, as they require 9-5 phone line/email support.
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