Abandoning Social Media

So, I will start with saying that abandoning social media isn't a call to action or anything. I don't hate social media, or anyone that utilizes it. I had to take a break from social media due to the severe anxiety and stress it was causing me. I will explain a little more and the benefits I have seen after just a week of limiting my social media interaction.

So, a little over a week ago I hit a very low point of stress and depression in regards to my developer journey and figuring out how to get noticed and have a chance at getting a job in the industry. I usually find solace in going on social media, checking the latest Instagram posts, seeing what is trending on Twitter and the like. However, lately as I have really dug deep into trying to build myself up and put myself out there to get hired, I have noticed that a lot of seriously messed up stuff has been going down with multiple companies and how they handle employees and offers made to possible employees. I don't know if it was algorithms or what but it was all I was seeing.

Negative mindset breeds Negative Results

Now, I won't put all of the blame on social media for my deepened state of negativity. I am in the process of dealing with (have been for the past two months) a pinched nerve in my neck that causes extreme discomfort and pain. With the current work that I do it only increases the issue but until I can get into the doctor and remedy it I have tried handling it as best as possible. However, the negativity I have seen on social media on top of my own personal issues has really driven the wedge in my performance. I found myself becoming distant from friends online and groups that I would code with. I started having very little interest in projects that were exciting to me before. I felt like if these people I see on Twitter are getting let go or can't get a job; then what chance do I have?

Put In The Work

I took the advice of some mentors and kind people that reached out offering to help me prep myself and get myself ready for moving into Tech. I started applying to places and built up my Resume. I started interacting more with other developers and especially developers from the companies I wanted to work for. After a month of applying and having multiple first round phone call interviews, all I have to show for that effort is frustration and serious doubts I have that IT factor that will help get me hired. With zero feedback from any phone interview, over thirty no responses at all and quite a few direct emails to the person posting the job listing with no reply; where did I end up?
I started noticing that more and more companies were pulling offers back from possible employees after they had put in notice for their previous company.

Mental Destruction

My mindset went full on negativity. I honestly started hating development. I didn't want to code, I didn't want to build anything at all. I deleted Twitter and Instagram from my phone and didn't log onto my computer at home. I didn't look at code for over a week and just went to work at my normal job and come home and relaxed and spent more time with the family. After over a week of this, what have I gained? First, I have gained a relief from my head being a cesspool of negativity. I slowly eased my way back into posting in my Slack channels and my Discord groups. I started dabbling with some of my code, still not really excited to get to it right now but I have put major efforts into learning more and reading instead of coding non-stop. I know that this is probably a normal thing that happens to everyone. That will probably be one of the first few comments, if there are any on this post. However, lets really dive into that thought. If this is normal, why haven't we fixed it? There is absolutely no reason that it should be this difficult for someone to get a job in this industry. There are countless positions out there with thousands of companies. I will paraphrase what someone else told me about the industry, companies all want senior developers, but won't invest the time into developing great junior developers.

What is next?

Honestly, I have no idea. I know that I love development and I really enjoy coding and building things. I have so much fun working with others and developing different applications and websites. However, I can say that for the foreseeable future, social media will be an afterthought for me. I want to invest more time and effort into my own learning and building new and exciting things that I enjoy. One day maybe I will be a fit for a company willing to give me a chance to prove that I can fit their open role if they will just invest and give me a chance. Until then, I don't feel it to be mentally healthy for me to continue applying and interviewing with multiple companies and putting so much effort into reaching out when I either get no response back or get nothing in return after interviews.

Normal Does Not Make It Right

We need to take a serious look at the hiring process collectively and find a fix that treats everyone respectfully and provides a healthy hiring environment.