Guidance for an experienced smalltalker

>>  what do an employer/manager expect from an engineer with <10 years experience 

Passion and values. People don't use Smalltalk for the job opportunities, they use it because it enables them to write easily maintainable code that can rapidly adapt to changing needs. Smalltalk is about enjoying the journey and respecting the quality of the destination. Some employers/managers don't want to allow you time to do well, they just want the end result. You select who you want to work with as much as they do.

>> I find it difficult to get job opportunities as even Senior Software Engineer job requirements find me as over experienced.

An "over experienced" message can mean that the client values the shortest path at the least cost or there is a concern you would be bored and leave. It may be that you have experience that prices you out of the market for some simple task that needs to be done. An airplane mechanic is "over experienced" to fix a car, so his resume for an auto mechanic position should put emphasis on the specific skills and experiences that are common for both cars and airplanes. Emphasize how you solve problems, not that you are an "expert" at something that is not needed for the job. "Over experienced" can sometimes mean "I don't want to hire someone to tell me how to do my job", so show you are personable and accommodating. A "Senior Software Engineer" should have the experience to forge his own path as necessary. A Senior Airplane Mechanic could have the experience to see and solve problems that brought him to be without work, and the next job should be to address them.

>> How can a team without a proven expertise (only those who had worked with us know about us) get a software contract?

If you are good at what you do then work will come to you. You need to demonstrate competence to earn the rewards of proven experience. Competence comes from time and effort with passion. A shortcut would be to put more effort into advertising what you can achieve for customers.

>> we all believe in the strength of smalltalk

Few would care that you believe in the strength of Smalltalk. What they care about is that you can meet their needs with a good return on investment. Demonstrate that you believe in values that meet customer needs and they won't care what technology you deliver with. If you hire an architect to design a house you'd only care if they use Apple, PC, or Linux as a hint of their value system, but expertise can be demonstrated with either and it rarely matters anymore.

>> otherwise we will have to switch to other technologies or try to grow individually.

Use what works and be willing to learn what works better. The tone of your post suggests you feel that direction is inevitable. Focus on being a steady stream of part-time work rather than offering full employment with constant risk of layoff. Embrace the dynamics and make it work to your favor. Growth of the group only comes from growth of individuals within the group, and individuals grow best without a group to influence their path. The "it takes a village" thinking is a trick to provide a host for parasites. Profit comes from specialization, and specialization can be fed more by an open market than a directed group.

>> But I think my doubt can be cleared only by experienced professionals in smalltalk.

Doubt can be found in any technology. People tend to follow consensus opinions to ease their doubts. If you have doubts then nobody will hire you to use some uncommon technology. If team building doesn't seem likely to overcome your doubts and empower you to develop your unique abilities then team building may drain the rest of the group. Fortunately, it is not your decision alone that matters; the group eventually achieves the a mix of attributes that balance the strengths and needs of others in the group. Ensure that the group remains dynamic, and it will trend naturally toward growing capital that is readily convertable to other forms of value.

Sometimes you just need inspiration. If you aren't seeing opportunities then you are looking in the wrong direction. The fertile ground to plant seeds in now is decentralized ledgers protected with cryptography.

Paul Baumann

From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of mani kartha
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2014 23:01
Cc: VWNC
Subject: [vwnc] Guidance for an experienced smalltalker