Junior IT roles,Java specific?

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Twinklingfour, Sep 26, 2014.

  1. Twinklingfour

    Twinklingfour New Member

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    Hi Everyone,

    I am an Oracle Certified Java Professional SE6 (certified in May 2014) who has 8 year gap after 3 years as Java programmer. Though I am getting few calls and interviews, people are focusing too much on my gap years! Rejection letter says I haven't updated my skills ,though I try to explain I got certified only a few months back and I am currently doing a project at home .

    Can anyone please let me know any other IT roles other than junior Java programmer developer I can apply for? I also hold Electronics Engineering degree from a reputed university.

    Many Thanks
    Twinklingfour.
     
  2. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    You should know the gig if you worked in the industry for 3 years.

    Congrats on the pass ! However there is far more to know than just OCJP, thats just the first steps as a programmer. There are many other skills, tools and frameworks to learn.

    If you hold an engineering degree there are hundreds of embedded jobs out there you can apply for. Some will be Java based, but I wouldn't constrain yourself to just Java roles.

    Recruiters can be trouble to deal with, find a way to explain your gap that doesn't cause issues and you should be fine.

    Why did you take an 8 year gap ?

    Java 8 is now out, its not yet widely in use, but it does have significant changes, they have introduced some concepts from functional programming.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2014
  3. Twinklingfour

    Twinklingfour New Member

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    Thanks dmarsh.The main reason I got my certification was to prove the recruiters I am still in the game. I keep on going through other Java topics which weren't included in the certification objectives. When recruiters try to dig on the 8 year gap rather than concentrating on what I am trying to achieve now, makes me wonder if I should start applying for other roles which would consider a candidate of my profile.

    If you or anyone here could advice me other IT roles which a jobseeker of my profile,that would be really helpful.

    Thanks
    Twinklingfour.
     
  4. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Recruiters see you as a commodity product, they have 100+ junior developers they can submit CV's for, why should they submit yours ?

    That is why they care about the 8 year gap, they think employers will ask, so they want you to explain it, if you can't convince them, then how will you convince a potential employer ?

    Life happens to all of us, but the assumption of a big gap is that you may :-

    1. Lack Commitment
    2. Lack Drive
    3. Not be really interested in IT as a profession
    4. Disappear when the company most needs you
    5. Waste opportunities
    etc

    You need to somehow allay these fears in a commercially acceptable manner.

    You did not mention why you had the 8 year hiatus, it may help others assist you.

    The other alternative is to reclassify yourself as a non commodity product, convince people that you are so special, talented and unique that they don't care about the break, they want to hire you anyway. This is a different approach to the standard job search, so not only will you have to have something unique to offer, but you will have to market / sell yourself uniquely also.

    I'm a veteran contractor, its routine for me to take 3-6 months off between contracts, yet I still get a hard time about it from a lot of recruiters. Recruiters and the corporate world can be very conservative, that's the reality of the situation.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2014
  5. Twinklingfour

    Twinklingfour New Member

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    Thanks for your pointers dmarsh. Now ,I understand how recruiters think .To be honest there isn't 8 year gap exactly, the number comes up because of the project I have listed in my resume. I resigned in 2007 (last project got over in 2006) because of a big challenge and uncertainty of moving to a new country + family commitments. During the gap I did many voluntary teaching jobs and adult learning certifications in English until I figured out it's time I get hold of my career. I stopped doing the voluntary jobs in 2011 to brush up my IT skills and prepared for my certification in Java. The dates 2006 (my last project)-- (OCJP)2014 brings up the number "8".The project I am working on involves Jsp+Html ,Java database connections and MySQL gives me a good exposure to web application, which I hope will add weightage to my CV.
     

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