Introduction

Well... I am out of work again and finding a new job has been a challenge. I am hoping to get a job as either a pure SQL Server Developer or an ASP.NET/C#/SQL Server Developer (with the focus being the database work). I believe that my job search difficulties are closely connected to my recent work history.

History

In the early 1980s, when I was just a snot-nosed punk kid, my mother was diagnosed with two cancers - colon and breast. She beat them both. In late 2001, the breast cancer had returned with a vengeance - the doctors thought she might have 2 years or so. My parents lived in a very rural part of Virginia. I got a programming job nearby to help - it was still 150 miles away. I visited often on weekends and helped as much as I could. She lived until January 2004 - the doctors were off by just a few months in their estimation. My father didn't cope very well with her loss. Turns out he suffers from Alzheimer's and needed help. In early summer 2004 I stopped working, moved back home, and started looking after my father and his affairs. I probably should have gotten a telecommuting job or something similar but I didn't. My head wasn't in the right place with my mother's death and my father's illness - work was the furthest thing from my mind. I played too much World of Warcraft to avoid going completely crazy, plus playing helped stay in contact with friends. After several years of this, one of my sisters and one of my brothers took over responsibility for our father - I am very grateful for their help. Our father is currently safe and well taken care of in a nursing home near one of my sisters. This allowed me to go back to work.

Back To Work

In January 2008, after 3.5 years of unemployment, I went back to work as a software developer. A good friend (Thanks Jeff!) from my previous employer helped me get a job at his new company - a bank. The new job was as an ASP.NET/VB.NET/SQL Server Developer - I knew how to spell HTML, CSS, ASP and not much else. I was able to come in and add value on the database and SQL side - it was like riding a bike. Before leaving work in 2004 I had been a VB6, SQL Server (Transact-SQL), and Oracle (PL/SQL) Developer. I was a good client-server application builder. I had my VB6 MCSD. I was very good at databases and SQL. My career was doing fairly well. However, I was missing the boat on web development and on .NET too. Being off for over 3 years exacerbated this problem significantly. I knew very little about HTML, CSS, Javascript, ASP, ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, the .NET Framework, etc. - but I knew databases and SQL and could help. On the new job I started out on a contract basis and worked hard and learned as much as I could as quickly as I could. Within a few months the bank made me full time. Then the credit crisis came and the layoffs started - I survived one round of layoffs then a second. I didn't survice the third. Fairly quickly I got a new job contracting at a small company doing ASP.NET/C#/SQL Server/MySQL development. After a month I was hired on as a full-time employee. For a while I was the sole ASP.NET/C# resource - I was in over my head but I continued to work hard and learned as much as I could. I worked at this second company almost a year and was recently let go - it was definitely a disappointment - I enjoyed the work that I was doing, plus I got to work with some really good developers.

Today

I am back in job search mode. I have had several phone interviews and in-person interviews but nothing has turned into a job as of yet. Hopefully I will be able to turn this around soon.

The bottom line is I have a proven track record at being very strong at databases and SQL. I have a proven track record of developing solid business data recording, reporting, and workflow applications. I have a proven track record of learning several development technologies and methodologies. I have a proven track record of learning several different business domains. I have a proven track record of working hard, working smart, and adding value to my employer.

I am willing to work almost anywhere if the job is right.

My hope is someone will give me an opportunity to show what I can do. I am confident that I can and will add value to my employer.

One of the decisions that I need to make is am I going to focus on SQL Server development exclusively or continue learning to be a web developer with ASP.NET. I am a solid database developer, especially with SQL Server and Transact-SQL. I still need to learn more about SSIS and SSRS. I know little about SSAS/MDX but would love to learn. I would classify myself as a junior ASP.NET/C# developer - I know enough about HTML, CSS, Javascript, ASP.NET Web Forms, C#, ADO.NET, XML, LINQ to SQL, etc. to be dangerous. I don't that much about Web Services, WCF, MVC, Silverlight, AJAX, jQuery, Entity Framework, SharePoint, etc., but would love to learn.

The followup post will be my Plan of Attack to solving this job search problem.

If anyone has any ideas or recommendations please send them my way. It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.