like attracts like :) Seriously, I dont befriend the people, I just do a bit legwork to find out who. But yes it also helps to make friends. I attend user groups, conferences, workshops, and code camps. When you do that, your circle increases dramatically

Start some open source project. GitHub, code pen. Just something you can show. To me it's as important as your resume

Everything is a choice. networking is a skill just like coding. There are even classes you can take. They are typically targeting sales people, but when you are looking for a job, you ARE selling. The product is YOU. Also like I said, use the good head hunters. Their job IS networking. The good head hunter will meet with you find out your goals and skills, then meet with the hiring managers. If all the head hunter wants to do is shop your resume, then move on to the next one. But all he will still do is get you an interview. It is still up to you to impress the interviewers with your skill set. Show up with something to show. Bring a laptop. Know how to tether it to your phone for a connection, show some of the finished projects you have worked on. Highlight how YOU, not the team you were on, leveraged the desired skills and technologies. Tell me what you can do for my project, not what kind of job you want.

as easy as it sounds, ask. But I like to do it in person. Not over the phone or email. To easy to ignore. Finding a good job can be more work than the job itself, but is worth it when you land that position. I always start by trying to find someone I know at the company. Anywhere in the company. Then work my way closer. If you go through a head hunter and they dont know who it is, then you need another head hunter as you dealing with a resume collector, not a good head hunter.

First off, one of the best devs I have hired was legally blind. He used the largest monitor we could buy, had to a wild color scheme, and stared at the monitor from 5" away. Wrote "Brilliant" code. I myself spent some time in a wheel chair, and 6 years on crutches, though not nearly as difficult has made me appreciate someone who wants a job. If you like this career, you will find a way to make it work. If you are waiting for someone to give you a job, a career change might be in order. I find the software game to be aggressive. We are competing with world here. It is still one of the careers where you can earn $200 - $300k without Doctorate Degree, simply by being good at your job. Remember: "You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it come true. You will however, have work for it.". The job boards being filled with head hunters is a good thing. Look at the jobs posted, quite often is is 6 of the same job, slightly reworded. Then google the job and you can usually find the same job on the companies web site. From there, do a bit of research on the company. Call the front desk, or even better yet, hand deliver a resume, and talk to the person at the front desk. Ask if you can deliver your resume, with custom written cover letter, to the person doing the hiring. Make sure you are carrying a laptop to be able to quickly show some of your brilliant work. Lastly, if you are handicapped, ensure you know, understand, are able to tell the employer about any govt programs available for hiring someone with a handicap. The guy I mentioned above, we didnt know it at the time, but the govt and CNIB had help to purchase the extra equipment he needed.

Ouch on the age move there. I am in my mid 50s and I will pit my skills up against a 35 year olds any day. But I do take my tradecraft seriously. I try and do at least one pluralsite course per month. Attend at least two dev conferences per year. I am fluent in .NET, iOS, and Java (android). I have tried the management game, and was a portfolio manager for a couple of years managing $10.2M in projects. I was grumpy, and hated work. I jumped at a greenfield team lead dev project and like a kid back in the playground. Some of us old guys just like coding...

I agree that networking is a skill set. however if you choose not to network, you need to learn how to write resumes and cover letters that satisfy the job description. In a large org, those descriptions are quite often canned and cannot be changed even I wanted to. I have also found the head hunters useful. They are networking specialists. That is their job. When I need someone I will have coffee with 2 or 3 to discuss what I really want. All that being said, I have been suitably un-impressed with a lot of "senior" guys that come to the interview without a laptop and nothing to show. The last guy I hired pointed me to his github work and said, "here is what I can do". I hired him. lastly, I would put an onus on the interviewee to at least know a few basics. As I said, I just hired a senior web developer. The number of "senior" guys that couldnt tell me the difference between a Post and a Get was astonishing. "Here endith the interview". One guy even told me the MVC stuff was just a fad, and another told that writing tests takes too long. "Here endith the interview" If the job add states we are doing an MVC project and demanding TDD with some mocking tool experience and desiring to try delve into BDD. Please learn what these terms are before coming to the interview.

If you are simply responding to job postings, you have to play the job posting game. The best jobs and hires I have done have come from a little bit of let work. Find out who the guy "really" doing the hiring is and get an email/phone call/coffee with that guy. 90% of the time, if he likes you, he will get you on the interview list.

3520 bottles of beer on the take on down...

Believing this while starting in a pale face with glassy eyes, and a small tear while explaining what I did today to my wife

I still read some magazines. But only where I am disconnected. I have two that I like, "Dirt Rider". I read while out at our lake lot where I have made a conscious effort to NOT connect the cabin to phone and internet (no TV either). I like to sit around the campfire and read a Dirt Rider. The other I read is Alert Diver, typically while on a Dive vacation where again an internet connection is not always guaranteed. I do read books online, but still find it hard to replace the magazine at some locations. I can be sitting on the beach, throw the magazine on the towel, go for a swim, come back and the magazine is still there. I am not really interested in trying that with my iPad.

When you offer free beer! Waiting for the next drink up.

I guess I would never work for you. I view the 3 month probation as a probation for both parties. Not only are you evaluating the employee, but I am evaluating the company. If we both like each other its a marriage. If one of us has issue we shake hands, part company and go for a beer. Currently we are in a situation where talented developers are in short supply. I am actually interested in a person who is asking questions about our work environment. It shows that they are looking for a place to stay, instead of the next pay check. Honesty in an interview, by both parties, is what will create a successful work relationship. Mistrust and deceit will invoke the probation clause.

Duh, I thought everyone figured this out once they released the movie!

Prototype for "WIFE"