When people say you have an attitude issue, they are not talking about pessimism versus optimism. They're talking about enthusiasm for being part of a team, and cheerfully taking on tasks, and eagerly going into an interview as a challenge that can get you into a team, and enjoying the company of other game developers, and many other things besides just optimism or pessimism.

We're not talking about pessimism or optimism. "Attitude" is much more than that. You can have a positive attitude despite your lack of optimism.

When people say you have an attitude issue, they are not talking about pessimism versus optimism. They're talking about enthusiasm for being part of a team, and cheerfully taking on tasks, and eagerly going into an interview as a challenge that can get you into a team, and enjoying the company of other game developers, and many other things besides just optimism or pessimism.

We're not talking about pessimism or optimism. "Attitude" is much more than that. You can have a positive attitude despite your lack of optimism.

That, +1000.

When I moved from my original QA position to lower management levels, I was under-skilled and had absolutely none of the checklist items they were looking for (I'm pretty sure there is still a thread around here to attest of that!) but I came through the door like a champ and they decided I was worth a shot. They didn't even cringe on salary and gave me the full package for that position (to my amazement). The following weeks, I kept my positive attitude at all times despite all of the failed experiments because I was learning, and nobody realized I was making mistakes simply because I was keen on fixing them.

To sum it up, I was terribly underskilled but I came in with a motivation that could wreck mountains and they chose me based on that alone. That was a stroke of luck, but you make your own luck. In the words of a famous Canadian hockey player: you miss 100% of the chances you don't take. Go in, see it as something you can win, tame the beast and score. Fail? So what? You've got tons more of interviews to score!

As you're pointing out yourself, getting interviews doesn't seem to be your problem (to most, it can be, and I've done my best keeping a very high score rate on mines because we don't have many available jobs locally so we don't have the luxury of lining up interviews) scoring is. And you can't score if you won't even start believing you can.

Once, I was told to write X in Java using X framework, one that I was not familiar with, so they moved on, and they eventually asked me to do something else I was not familiar with, or wasn't told about on the job description. So then he was like "Okay, I've got nothing else. Do you have any questions for me?" I wanted to say "No, because I already know I'm not getting the job", but I didn't want to be rude either.

I'm at least reasonably certain that it was your reaction to this, as much as (or more than) your experience or knowledge, that cost you that one.

This is something I'd like to home in on a little, because it's quite interesting. From the way you describe it, your response was something along the lines of "no, I don't know X framework, next!"; right? Can you see what's bad about that? Can you see how that's not going to encourage any prospective employer? How about next time you try something like "well I don't know X framework, but let's give it a try, anybody got a manual or cheat-sheet?" Can you see how that's so much better? Right away you're giving the impression that you're willing to take on work, to learn new skills, which you completely failed at first time around.

That doesn't mean jack s@#% to employers. If you don't know it right then and there, they are not going to let you learn as you go, especially when they want X years of proven experience. Trust me, I've tried it, and they'll let you know themselves.

So how do fresh-out-of-school junior developers get hired, then? ;)

EDIT: Next interview is on Friday @ 2:30pm pacific time.

Good luck on the interview.

Being unemployed is stressful and long-term unemployment is seriously hard on the psyche. For many people the job is a big part of their identity, and not having a job is like losing yourself. I've seen people who took years to recover from the pain of extended unemployment.

Is there anything else you'd like us as a community to help on the job hunt?

For many people the job is a big part of their identity, and not having a job is like losing yourself.

I was unemployed 2 weeks once, these were the most stressful days I've ever had (and after 5 or so days, I was willing to take just any kind of job at all).

I was unemployed 2 weeks once

Two weeks is nothing for unemployment.

My longest unemployed stint was 10 months. Fortunately as a family we had a large nest-egg, a big severance package, and zero debt when it started. The first three months were bad, the next five were terrible with depression (also remember from various posts I've discussed it, I'm bipolar, this was a double-depression). After that stint it took a concerted effort between myself, my psychologist, and my family to help get ANY good job.

As bad as my 10 months was, when I hear stories or read about people who spent even longer than that, it is horrible to read about. Long term unemployment can be soul-crushing.

Two weeks is nothing for unemployment.

My longest unemployed stint was 10 months. Fortunately as a family we had a large nest-egg, a big severance package, and zero debt when it started. The first three months were bad, the next five were terrible with depression (also remember from various posts I've discussed it, I'm bipolar, this was a double-depression). After that stint it took a concerted effort between myself, my psychologist, and my family to help get ANY good job.

As bad as my 10 months was, when I hear stories or read about people who spent even longer than that, it is horrible to read about. Long term unemployment can be soul-crushing.

Yes, I didn't mean to be a reductionist. I merely meant I hardly got by for 2 measly weeks, so I can't begin to imagine what months can feel like.

Back to OP now, I'd be interested in seeing how that interview turns out.

Oberon Command, your question totally derails the discussion on the OP's question. Please start a new thread, and reference this discussion if you need to.

I think Oberon intended it as a playful jab at the OP's continued insistence that only rockstar developers get hired.

Precisely, yes. If only rockstar developers get jobs, how did I and several of my university friends get jobs in the field before we'd graduated?

I think I probably got my present job as a junior dev by demonstrating passion for what I do in the form of side projects. In my experience bringing a demo, something concrete that you can actually play or use helps immensely. Of course, actually having skills and a demonstrable ability to learn on the job helps too... learning on the job is hardly impossible.

edit: terrible phone autoincorrect