It amazes me how people have specific job titles that they hold on to, especially in IT. For instance they are a Systems Architect, or a .Net Software Developer, or maybe a Project Manager specialising in AWS projects. When out of work they search for jobs using these exact titles.
Who needs a ,Net Software Developer within my area, or remote, paying what I’m asking?
As the markets get worse and roles are thin on the ground and you are competing with hundreds of other applicants for the same roles, they still don’t bend, they remain inflexible, only looking for their particular job title.
In the past we would look for work by seeing who needed help and with what. Did you have the skills to do what was required, and is the pay being offered worth the effort? If the answer to both was yes then you’d apply. The job title didn’t matter. You could figure that out later, as long as you paid me what we both agree I’m worth.
Find someone with a problem that you can solve willing to pay you what you are asking and you have employment. Simple. Yet somehow we seem to have forgotten this basic rule and when finding ourselves out of work we look for job titles not needs. Which companies have a problem that you can help them solve? Forget how they are trying to solve it by advertising for various roles. Look at the bigger picture and see if your skills and experience can help them.
As an example from my own career, I was once asked to meet with a particular client that was advertising for a tester. Several agencies had sent them testers and every one was rejected. One agency asked me if I’d go along and meet with them to find out what was going on. They were based in Cambridge so I took the train figuring out that I could do some shopping and visit a few public houses while I was there. After the usual formalities my very first question was: What are you looking for? It turns out that no one had actually asked them this. They told me that their main software provider issued them with an ultimatum: either fix your system or we will no longer support it. Over the years they had created Frankenstein’s monster. It was a mess of patches and hacks and upgrading it took too long and hit their SLAs hard. They had been told that they should hire a tester and that was what they were attempting. What they actually needed was a consultant to come in and figure things out, not a tester who needs direction and control at the hands of a test manager, which was the type of candidate they were being sent.
Over the course of our meeting I outlined a brief plan for them covering what they needed in terms of skills and experience. I was hired as the consultant overseeing the work.
Look beyond roles. Look at what the company or client actually needs and don’t worry about job titles. You can figure what to call yourself later.