Well, I have decided – its time for me to move on… Although my current company was/is a good home for over two years, it is time for me to look for another job. I was hired as a J2EE developer by my current company, but after the Java project has finished, I ended up as a PHP developer (Not that there is something wrong with PHP).

As much as it was good to get some hands on PHP experience, I want to pursue a different career path, to do what I really have passion for – Java/J2EE.

I started by updating my resume, which can be viewed here and my LinkedIn profile. I met with my manager for a chat and told him about my future plans and explained him my reasons. He showed understanding and totally supported my decision.

I want to point out that I really enjoy working for a premium SMS aggregator and SMS/MMS area in general, I think its great fun. It would be nice to have my next job related to Telecom too. I responded to several job advertisements that I found on seek.com.au, and even got a few phone calls from two recruiters.

This is already good, it means that people show interest. Having said that, I want to provide some information about my self where I clarify why someone should or should not hire me.

So yeah … why should we hire you?
Well, I can start talking now how with my knowledge and skills I can contribute and help your business grow. But to make it simple – I love programming and I love what I do. I am not saying that I am brilliant at programming, but I think that I am good enough (I am not sure whether it is fair to rate my self).

As an example, I remember times when I managed to find a working solution to the problem that I had during the day while getting a night sleep and dreaming. (Hence the idiom “sleep on it”)

What kind of company are you looking for?
From what I have learned about my self, I enjoy working in more casual and less corporate environment. I feel less productive and less creative in an environment where people make tech decisions according to internal politics. I do not like it, its distracting. I can get frustrated when I need to get signatures of N people to install some software package on my workstation.

I prefer working for open source oriented company and don’t fancy an idea getting stuck in proprietary software house (ie. Microsoft). Not that there is something wrong with Microsoft, yeah?

Having said all that, I want to say that I can work for any type of company, its just from a working culture point of view, corporations are not the highest priority for me.

Are you a die hard geek?
Hm… not a die hard geek, but a geek. Being a programmer for me is not 9 – 5 job. I do like programming and like to tinker with code when I have some free time. I do have other hobbies apart from programming and some of them include my gf and sport. Ok, ok … my gf is not a hobby I like have a few drinks with friends, play a bit of soccer (never really got into Footy) and I box sometimes.

Can you work under pressure, do you manage stress well?
Hey, that is two questions in one. I can work under pressure if I have a deadline. Generally I do manage stress well, and when I am not, I just need to remember to walk away from the computer and go for a walk to clear my mind. Also, bright ideas do not come into my mind when I stare at the screen.

Are you a team player?

Yes, definitely … I get along well with people from various cultural backgrounds and have a lot of experience working in small teams. I think one of the keys to be a good team player is communication skills and ability to compromise.

Do you have experience in managing projects or people?
Nope, never managed a project nor people. Not that I refused, its just never happened. I would not mind to try my self out in managing a small project with one or two developers.

In what area would you like to improve?

Hm… I really want to improve my software design skills. To be able to manipulate well different design patterns and come up with really smart and efficient software solutions. Sometimes I really feel lack of experience in this department.

Well, that’s pretty much it I think I have finally managed to paint a scary portrait of my self. I hope my job search wont be a very long one.

If you would like to comment on anything I have wrote here – please do so. Your comments/suggestions/flames are always welcomed.

Cheers,

Alex