“Why don’t companies ever hire me?”

April 30 24 Comments latest by Wealth and Wisdom » 11 Steps to the Job of Your Dreams

Because you’re no different than the other applicants.

Here’s how to stand out, from a recent post. Note: This doesn’t only apply to programmers. Everyone should have a portfolio.

I am in college, but have lots of free time, so I can work fulltime at a startup plus add in a lot of extra hours (I know how startups are) on site or by telecommuting.

I applied to a few, sent my resume, etc.. but the same thing always happens. They want a portfolio.. links to things I’ve worked on. I am a programmer, PHP/Rails/C/Ruby/etc.. but I don’t have a degree in anything related to CS, and no professional portfolio.

I’m thinking the only option I have is to get a regular $8/hr job, while working on more and more projects in my free time. Enough projects to get a startup interested in me.

My response:

You’re a programmer, so why don’t you create a portfolio for yourself? Find interesting things that you wish software did — and build it for yourself.

Maybe you want a new way to integrate your iPhone with Outlook, or you wish there was a way to scrape all the images off a web page with 1 click. Whatever. Then build it. There — you have a portfolio.

Do you contribute to open-source projects?

Have you started a blog?

Or have you found someone who has an idea and helped them to build it?

Without some/all of those things, you’re just another programmer. Ask yourself how you can stand out.

There are a couple books that had a huge impact on my career. Rather than the typical how-to-get-a-job books, they’re a little different:

Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age: What Hasn’t Changed About the Way We Do Business (it has nothing to do with the Internet age, and everything to do with a kickass mindset in your current job).

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. (It’s not just for businesses. I used the ideas in this book to convince Seth Godin to hire me as his first-ever intern and work on a bestselling book with him.)

For more book recommendations, see a list of 50 other books I recommend.

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24 Comments latest by Wealth and Wisdom » 11 Steps to the Job of Your Dreams

Check out these new financial startups I’ll be meeting tomorrow

April 28 17 Comments latest by David

Tomorrow I’ll be attending FinovateStartup, a conference highlighting startups in technology and finance. I’ll be meeting these companies, so if you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll try to get them answered from the founders themselves.

• BoulevardR: Personalized guidance on your retirement goals
• Buxfer: Track your spending online
• CakeFinancial: Centralize your portfolios, compare your performance to others
• Credit Karma: Free credit scores, offers based on your score
• FindABetterBank: Compare banks
• Mint: Track your spending online, find offers based on your spending
• Prosper: Borrow or loan money online
• SmartHippo: Use the “power of the herd” to find better mortgage rates
• TrustedID: Get identity protection
• Vestopia: See how Wall Street pros manage their portfolios
• Wesabe: Track your spending, save money, join an online community
• Zecco: Online trading/investing community

And if you’ll be there tomorrow, let me know.

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17 Comments latest by David

I’m on Twitter

April 25 5 Comments latest by Travis

Besides this blog, find me at http://twitter.com/ramit. Your mileage may vary, but recent posts include…

• My friend’s rule of thumb about men on Match.com
• Where to find a virtual assistant
• How to get a PO box

Here’s my twitter page.

[Update]: You guys are nuts!

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5 Comments latest by Travis

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