Interviewing for jobs as a young man.
Posted by James
I don't know what to think, don't know what to do. I feel like I'm
going through a bit of a depression phase in a part of my life that has
no time for depression. What should happen is uncertain to me. Life has
always been simple, I have always known what I wanted to do and have
done it with success.
I wanted to go to college, I did that. I wanted to become a proficient programmer, I did that too. I wanted to become a good bowler. I have done that. But with graduation a mere 9 weeks away and college payments just 6 months after that, where do I go from here?
I have been to many interviews and have yet to get a job. The feeling of being rejected sucks, anyone can agree with that. The problem comes with the fact that there is always someone better than you. Especially in this time where the economy is bad and I have no experience in the field of programming. There are people who are applying for these same jobs that have 10 years experience.
I know what you're probably thinking right now, "why are you trying to get a job that a person with 10 years experience would apply for?" Fun story about that. Where I live, tech jobs are very limited. Even the experienced people are having a hard time and they are applying for entry level positions so they can work their way up with the company.
I know my skills are good enough to be in the field right now, I have been programming since I was a young child and have a better understanding of it than most people my age. I know that saying I'm good isn't enough but even if I could show them I feel like they wouldn't hire me over someone who is older and has actual work experience.
Why would they? From a business standpoint it wouldn't make much sense. Think about it. Why hire this 21 year old who is bound to leave the company the moment he sees a better opportunity, Instead hire this older gentleman who has a family to support and is more likely to stick with us if we give him the job.
I get it, I do. This seems like me complaining towards the companies for not hiring me, I understand the many reasons I'm not appealing compared to other people. The issue I'm trying to voice is that in this current world it seems like they are setting the youth up to fail. This is probably because they have hired young people before who lacked dedication but to judge other young people by the actions of punks is like me judging older people for the actions of criminals.
For example, you say "all young people are punks who think life is a party" and someone else says "all older people lack dedication to better themselves and just stay where they are in life". Hmm.... keep in mind that neither statement is true but I imagine both have been argued at some point in time. My point is, to judge someone by their age without really knowing them is completely foolish.
I don't really know how we could fix this issue honestly, it feels like something that will always be in place because it just makes sense from a business perspective to not take the chance on the young trigger happy guy and instead go with the stable, family oriented gentleman.
So you see, it isn't anything against the companies. I think they are making the smart decision based on what they know, or rather what they think they know. But where do I go from here. How do I become appealing enough to win over the other person with 10 years experience. Interviews are competitions, and I'm losing.
I wanted to go to college, I did that. I wanted to become a proficient programmer, I did that too. I wanted to become a good bowler. I have done that. But with graduation a mere 9 weeks away and college payments just 6 months after that, where do I go from here?
I have been to many interviews and have yet to get a job. The feeling of being rejected sucks, anyone can agree with that. The problem comes with the fact that there is always someone better than you. Especially in this time where the economy is bad and I have no experience in the field of programming. There are people who are applying for these same jobs that have 10 years experience.
I know what you're probably thinking right now, "why are you trying to get a job that a person with 10 years experience would apply for?" Fun story about that. Where I live, tech jobs are very limited. Even the experienced people are having a hard time and they are applying for entry level positions so they can work their way up with the company.
I know my skills are good enough to be in the field right now, I have been programming since I was a young child and have a better understanding of it than most people my age. I know that saying I'm good isn't enough but even if I could show them I feel like they wouldn't hire me over someone who is older and has actual work experience.
Why would they? From a business standpoint it wouldn't make much sense. Think about it. Why hire this 21 year old who is bound to leave the company the moment he sees a better opportunity, Instead hire this older gentleman who has a family to support and is more likely to stick with us if we give him the job.
I get it, I do. This seems like me complaining towards the companies for not hiring me, I understand the many reasons I'm not appealing compared to other people. The issue I'm trying to voice is that in this current world it seems like they are setting the youth up to fail. This is probably because they have hired young people before who lacked dedication but to judge other young people by the actions of punks is like me judging older people for the actions of criminals.
For example, you say "all young people are punks who think life is a party" and someone else says "all older people lack dedication to better themselves and just stay where they are in life". Hmm.... keep in mind that neither statement is true but I imagine both have been argued at some point in time. My point is, to judge someone by their age without really knowing them is completely foolish.
I don't really know how we could fix this issue honestly, it feels like something that will always be in place because it just makes sense from a business perspective to not take the chance on the young trigger happy guy and instead go with the stable, family oriented gentleman.
So you see, it isn't anything against the companies. I think they are making the smart decision based on what they know, or rather what they think they know. But where do I go from here. How do I become appealing enough to win over the other person with 10 years experience. Interviews are competitions, and I'm losing.
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