Re: How do you show off your work to prospective clients?

[afoken]

I don't. My job application e-mail contains a file titled "project experience" (well, actually it's called "Projekterfahrungen", because I currently search a new job in Germany). In that file, I describe each (larger) project I've ever worked on. Something like this:

Blinking Box is the new and enhanced Enterprise class control panel of BigCompany. It features buttons, more buttons, and even colored buttons. And it has nice blinking lights.

My tasks:

• Port from a rotten piece of Fortran to Perl
• Polish buttons and rewire lights
• Set up version control using Subversion
• Documentation
• Whip and spank the trainees

Blinking Box today:

• Lights more shiny than ever before
• Custom buttons for each client
• Best selling product of BigCompany

During the interview, I explain a little more of the details, and how the projects were implemented. And of course, I can always tell them that I wrote the initial Unicode patch for DBD::ODBC. Unfortunately, that's all I could publish from my paid work so far, and it's hard to explain to a full-time interviewer without software developing experience.

Alexander

[jdrago_999]

"Yes!!! "x1000

You could also head over to http://www.oswd.org/ and pick up a free website template and make some simple mind-blower web-based doohickey on a website that doesn't look half bad.

While you're at it, release some good code that YOU OWN on CPAN and link to it from your homepage.

Create a blog and write a few entries about something that interests you - programming related or not. Something that would show up favorably when your prospective employer Googles your name.

Create a LinkedIn profile and take 20 minutes to seek-n-find-n-connect previous co-workers who might also be on LinkedIn. More associates & recommendations are better.

Contribute to some kind of "cool" project. For example, Kamaitachi is a Perl-based Flash Media Server that provides the ability to interact with webcams via a web server. It could use some new features, tests and/or documentation. There are a thousand projects out there just waiting for something in your position to take a day or two to really make a difference and gain some accolades in the process.

P.S. - Good luck on the job hunt!

[tilly]

In many locations, including much of the USA, by default any code that a professional programmer writes belongs to the employer even if that code is written on personal time on a personal machine. Furthermore in such legal jurisdictions it is standard boiler plate for employment contracts to reaffirm that all such software is owned by your employer, and not you.

Given this, arranging to actually own some of the code you wrote is not always easy.

[hangon]

Yes, this is what happens when we let lawyers make the rules. I often thought we should have a "Washington Tea Party", and instead of cases of tea, throw politicians into the Potomac.

[LanX]

Are you sure? This would mean that no employed programmer could participate at copyright free projects without permission of his boss (???)

OK maybe in the US, there I have the impression that lawyers are the modern correspondent of the priest-class in ancient Egypt, ruling the naive citizens with their interpretation of "God's will". ;-)

But I doubt that this copyright law is the situation in most European countries, especially in Germany...

[DrHyde]

Is fixing this not a trivial matter of taking the time to actually negotiate your employment contract (instead of just agreeing to whatever is put in front of you without bothering to read it) before you start a job? That's what I did when presented with a contract that claimed ownership of everything I ever wrote while employed, including letters to my grandmother.