On 12/5/13, Don <x@nospam.com> wrote:
> We have a lot of experience with relocation. It's completely normal for us.

That's great to hear. My main concern is having a place to stay. I'm not financially capable right now, unfortunately.

On Thursday, 5 December 2013 at 09:01:31 UTC, Don wrote:
> On Wednesday, 4 December 2013 at 20:24:37 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
>> On 11/1/13, Marenz <mathias.baumann@sociomantic.com> wrote:

> Our team is *very* international, with about thirty nationalities represented.
> We have a lot of experience with relocation. It's completely normal for us.

Sorry to hijack (a bit) this thread, but I would like to ask two or three things about working in Germany (Berlin and Frankfurt-am-Main are the places that interest me).

* what salary could an engineer with 8 y experience (4 in electrical, 4 in software) ask for in Germany
* what would be the rent for two-bedroom flat in the not-so-far-from-the-downtown area?

Thanks.

On 12/5/13 3:32 AM, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> On 12/5/13, Don <x@nospam.com> wrote:
>> We have a lot of experience with relocation. It's completely
>> normal for us.
>
> That's great to hear. My main concern is having a place to stay. I'm
> not financially capable right now, unfortunately.

I was in the same situation back in the 1990s. I recall to this day the advice from a genius older programmer: "You can do good work. All you need now is a source of money." Back then I wasn't entirely clear what he meant because I didn't realize what money people are willing to pay for the right skills.

The right approach is indeed to get a source of money. That works quite simply: (a) ace the interview; (b) tell what they need to do for them to secure your skills. You quite literally have something to sell that has a good value, and they need to assess that. Worrying about a place to live at your new location breaks sequence. I had only $300 in my pocket when I landed in New York in 1998, but also a paying job.


Andrei

On Thursday, 5 December 2013 at 15:11:07 UTC, Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
> On 12/5/13 3:32 AM, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
>> On 12/5/13, Don <x@nospam.com> wrote:

> assess that. Worrying about a place to live at your new location breaks sequence. I had only $300 in my pocket when I

Yes. Good advice, I concede. Dura lex, sed lex.

On Thursday, 5 December 2013 at 11:32:57 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> On 12/5/13, Don <x@nospam.com> wrote:
>> We have a lot of experience with relocation. It's completely
>> normal for us.
>
> That's great to hear. My main concern is having a place to stay. I'm
> not financially capable right now, unfortunately.

Just got the formal confirmation from HR - you can certainly expect some extra help during first months to get settled. If you apply via careers@sociomantic.com , just mention your concerns in e-mail / during interview to get any specific details.

On 12/5/13, Dicebot <public@dicebot.lv> wrote:
> Just got the formal confirmation from HR - you can certainly expect some extra help during first months to get settled. If you apply via careers@sociomantic.com , just mention your concerns in e-mail / during interview to get any specific details.

Well I'll certainly think about writing a resume / application. But I don't think I have much chances. I don't have a CS degree, and my work experience is not programming-related. I don't have experience with distributed architectures either.

On Friday, 6 December 2013 at 12:37:48 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> On 12/5/13, Dicebot <public@dicebot.lv> wrote:
>> Just got the formal confirmation from HR - you can certainly
>> expect some extra help during first months to get settled. If you
>> apply via careers@sociomantic.com , just mention your concerns in
>> e-mail / during interview to get any specific details.
>
> Well I'll certainly think about writing a resume / application. But I
> don't think I have much chances. I don't have a CS degree, and my work
> experience is not programming-related. I don't have experience with
> distributed architectures either.

Come on, don't be silly :P I don't have a CS degree too (I don't have any degree at all). That wasn't an issue at all. And https://github.com/AndrejMitrovic?tab=activity speaks on its own.

There is no harm in applying.

On Friday, 6 December 2013 at 12:37:48 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> On 12/5/13, Dicebot <public@dicebot.lv> wrote:
>> Just got the formal confirmation from HR - you can certainly
>> expect some extra help during first months to get settled. If you
>> apply via careers@sociomantic.com , just mention your concerns in
>> e-mail / during interview to get any specific details.
>
> Well I'll certainly think about writing a resume / application. But I
> don't think I have much chances. I don't have a CS degree, and my work
> experience is not programming-related. I don't have experience with
> distributed architectures either.

I can't really speak for Sociomantic, but really if you are smart and a good coder that should count as much or more than a CS degree.  You can't teach smart! If you have code you have written on github (or anywhere else out there) then make them aware of that.  If you have contributed to DMD, Phobos it is likely more advanced than a lot of full-time jobs for new grads anyways. So while you may not have 'paid' work experience you can demonstrate that you have real world experience.

On 12/6/13, Dicebot <public@dicebot.lv> wrote:
> Come on, don't be silly :P I don't have a CS degree too (I don't have any degree at all). That wasn't an issue at all. And https://github.com/AndrejMitrovic?tab=activity speaks on its own.
>
> There is no harm in applying.

Cool. Do you have any tips or must-haves for the resume? I've written a few but never in English or ones targeting a firm abroad.

On Friday, 6 December 2013 at 12:52:24 UTC, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> On 12/6/13, Dicebot <public@dicebot.lv> wrote:
>> Come on, don't be silly :P I don't have a CS degree too (I don't
>> have any degree at all). That wasn't an issue at all. And
>> https://github.com/AndrejMitrovic?tab=activity speaks on its own.
>>
>> There is no harm in applying.
>
> Cool. Do you have any tips or must-haves for the resume? I've written
> a few but never in English or ones targeting a firm abroad.

[13:56:54] Marenz: real programmers have crappy CVs
[13:56:57] Marenz: BECAUSE WE CAN

No real must-haves. Just be aware that CV's are checked here by programmers, not HR's, so keeping it short and focused on technical details is appreciated, as well as any links to open-source activity.