[muzani]

Just a final bit of advice: most people would not look to hire someone "down on their luck". An optimistic and enthusiastic attitude certainly helps.

Her stance should not be "I'm a great programmer but have not been given the chance to prove myself". It should be "I'm a great programmer who wants to save your company millions of dollars." Or even something like "I am happiest when writing code, but I'd rather be paid to do it."