Yellow Pages Not Monster

A lot of developers I've talked to seem to run out of ideas quickly when looking for work. They do Monster and Dice, search Yahoo and their local online boards, and then maybe scan the Sunday classifieds.

I remember clearly one of my friends saying, "What else can I do? It's not like you can find software companies in the YellowPages?!"

And I thought to myself, "Yeah, it's too bad software companies are too big, do work that is too large-scale, to be listed in the YellowPages?."

Luckily, I tested my assumption.

Under the YellowPages? categories: "Computer-Software & Services" and "Computers-System Designers & Consultants", I found dozens of entries, for just one part of the city I live in. The entire city YellowPages? has hundreds of entries. Most of these companies have websites, but many can't be found thru Yahoo... you have to do Google or someplace else. And many of these places have a need for people (and are often nice, medium-sized companies).

But the more important mindset is: You have to attack your job-search. Applying via Monster or other online services is so impersonal, and these days is basically just a shot in the dark.

Take control, young master. Go grab your yellow pages. Pick the first company, give them a call, and say:
- "Hello! My name is ____ and I found you in the yellow pages"
- "May I ask: What does your company do?"
- "Do you build custom software?"
- And let it take-off from there.

Find out the hiring manager's name, go to the website, and send off something brief, with a link to your resume. And don't be afraid to offer to start at $10/hour. The opportunities you'll be granted far outweigh being stuck at home.

You might also like to look at "WhatColorIsYourParachute", which has similar advice and much more. Recommended

This is a great recommendation. I'm kicking myself... I thought it was a book about executives and retirement. This should be the textbook for job hunters (I think it is, informally), and it might even qualify as one of the few true LifeSurvival? books.

For Chicago job hunters, I can recommend the Chicago Software Association which lists a large number of software houses, many of which I had never heard of.

http://www.csa.org/memdir.asp?category=Software+Developers

I felt that I was working in a very limited world using Monster and Dice. My view of the city I live in increased dramatically when I started exploring the list. Also quite enlightening to see which companies survived and which did not.

Same in the much smaller market of SonomaCounty?, California. I looked in the phone book and was stunned to find several pages of computer consultants and software publishers I was unware of. I started calling and found a few nibbles, before my current position surfaced. Also, TellEveryoneYouAreAvailable. -- RobertField