| Maybe draw upon those things that were more likely for programmers in the '80's than now. When lots of viable employment was not for actual software companies, but for companies making their initial push toward computerization and who wish there would have been decades of experience to rely on. I would estimate that competition for the most clearly defined common roles is more numerically overwhelming than in recent years, with layoffs in the software business, and among large digital orgs which have teams that operate similarly. Now I am quite a senior citizen in age and I expected with each decade I should be able to bring more to the table regarding $REQUIREMENT coverage, but to leverage that I need to concentrate more & more on not trying to serve outfits beyond those where my experience has managed to add up. Also, it's good to be very aware that there may be 1000 opportunities where you would be perfectly capable of outperforming everyone else already there, who have positions open and can afford to pay what you are willing to accept, but are just too focused on youth whether intentional or not. There may be only a dozen of those who will accept anything else, and even fewer who may value it higher. So to find them you're going to have to network like never before, follow every lead and get two prospective names from each person who is the least bit cordial about rejecting you. Regardless of whether recruiters are doing their job as effectively as they could be, your full time job needs to be doing additional dissimilar things they are not geared toward. >bootstrapping a similar business in my area. Like the old sailor once advised after a shipwreck, "Pray toward heaven but row toward shore." |