Personal Finance Canada

don't really have a phone (or at least one that I carry around constantly), I've purchased a text-only VOIP number and put that on my resume along with my email (which I hope that doesn't result in my never getting an interview).

100% the issue. The managers who are hiring people for entry level positions aren't going to be using their personal phones to text you or use their work email for anything other than talking to corporate. They are going to be using the office landline to call you, and at very least expect a place to leave a voicemail.

Remember, most people in hiring roles are going to be in their 30s-50s and talking over the phone is most likely their normal mode of communication for work.

I'm in a similar situation to you and have been unemployed for over a year now. The job market is super ass. I've applied to min wage jobs out of desperation too and they've rejected me each time. I've gone to a professional to get my resume checked over, and I made a portfolio website, and I've created multiple projects to demonstrate my skills. I did get one company to bite recently and they gave me two interviews but ultimately didn't hire me. Honestly the whole world just sucks omega ass right now.

You're doing a lot of things stupid.

1. You're applying without a phone people can call
2. You're a CS student but you're not automating your job search
3. CS jobs can pay 10x more than minimum wage - take out a loan and focus on top grades to land one of those instead of working part time
4. You're a CS student but can't do the analytics to figure out your callback rate (because you aren't tracking how many jobs you applied to?)
5. Leverage your network. Walking in with your resume hasn't worked since the 1960s. Ask your friends to refer you.

You're doing a few things right: You're showing responsibility by trying to get a job. You should seriously focus on maximizing your post-graduate profit with your degree though. The job market sucks ass for junior devs, so spend your time thinking about how you can stand out.

Because part time experience at McDonald's ain't it.

1. As other commentators have noted, get a phone that works. Answer it on every ring while you're job searching. If they don't get a live person when they call, they'll move on to another candidate unless they're really interested.

2. Sign up with a temp agency for any office admin work you can find. Data entry, accounting, inventory control and marketing are good areas to focus on. This will get your foot in the door and put you in an environment where you may not be coding, but you'll likely be working with Excel and ERP systems that may provide you an entry into data analysis and management, which is where the bread and butter is for junior coders. A prospective coder isn't very valuable in a busboy position, but a prospective coder doing admin work in an office has a lot of opportunities to shine.

3. Two months is a short time to expect any response from job searching unless you get lucky, especially without experience. Start a coding project, any coding project, and make sure it has a web presence. Put it on your resume as "project in development". It may not convince them to hire you, but it will make your resume more interesting. Include any volunteering you do or any community organizations you're part of (non-political).

4. Learn SQL. It's fucking easy, and once you do you'll have an edge up on a lot of more experienced prospective hires for all of the temp admin work I mentioned above.

I can review your resume if you like. Shoot me a download link. Feel free to sanitize your personal info.

Sometimes its little things that make or break. I once sent out dozens of resumes with a typo'd phone number.

Does your province have a job/employment center they fund? For example, BC has WorkBC centres that have job boards and offer services to help edit and build resumes and cover letters.

I do also have to repeat what others have said: get a phone number/plan. While many will reach out by email, some still call.

For a phone, get a Google account if you don't have one already. You can get a free Google Voice number that you can use through any PC browser (or phone/tablet with the app). You can text with it, it will transcribe voice mail messages (a la Visual Voicemail), and you can have it forward copies of all messages to the associated Gmail address for archival purposes. Because you can use it via PC, tablet, etc., you still have access to your number, messages, etc. even if something happens to your phone. It's a VoIP number that can be used via Wi-Fi so you never have to pay for cellular service if you don't want to.