[thechat] I want a new job!

[Kevin Stevens]

I don't know if it's a mid life crisis or that I'm just fed up with the one 
I've got, but I want a new job. My main source of income is from litho 
printing, up until now the web design has just been a hobby, but I would 
like to make a go of it as a full time job. Unfortunately, I haven't been in 
the job market for about 15 years and any interview skills I may have once 
possesed have been totally forgotten, so I'm hoping you guys can give me 
some pointers.
As far as I can work out, I have a few things in my favour but they are 
totally outweighed by the things against me.

1. I will be 40 next year so I don't exactly have youth on my side, but 
neither am I past it.
2. Although I understand HTML, ASP, CSS, and JavaScript I would not say I am 
an expert in any of these fields. Also, I am self taught in all of these 
areas which, I hope, at least shows a willingness to learn.
3. I do have a small portfolio of sites, but nothing really outstanding. 
Most of the work I have done has been for people who want a web presence but 
were not at a point in their career to be able to justify spending several 
hundred pounds on a site.
4. Design is not my strong point, I much prefer coding.
5. All my code is done by hand, I have never used (nor would I know how to 
use) Dreamweaver.
6. I would prefer to work in London.

Ideally, I would like to work for a small firm where my current skills would 
be enough, but where I could learn new languages and gain experience as the 
company grows. I suppose that is the sticking point, experience. I have just 
had a look at the jobs on The Register, and it was pretty daunting. Most of 
you work in the industry and I'm hoping you can offer some pointers on how I 
can play to my strengths, improve my weaknesses and, most importantly, good 
places to look for jobs.

Thanks

Kevin Stevens
kjs at ratking.co.uk