So, where we stoped... Read the first part of the article: Where to find YOUR job? (Part 1)
Your network (current and future) is a powerful job search channel. My second company found me thanks to a technical speaker review I wrote on Facebook after an event. With high probability, the more experience you gain, the less you'll have to actively search for a job; it will find you through your network. Building your network is a long-term process that requires effort and time. Here are some ways to help you in this process:
- Participate in professional events and be active at them: ask questions, connect with speakers with a follow-up message after the event, get to know colleagues and companies at conferences.
- Volunteer in a professional community.
- Contribute to open-source projects.
- Become a mentor for beginners in IT courses.
- Speak at events on your own.
Networking isn't just for extroverts! If you don't see yourself as a speaker, start with something simple: talk to your acquaintances about your career goals.
In addition to in-person networking and communication, your Facebook page can be another tool for job searching. Just writing "looking for a developer job," in my opinion, isn't enough; it's unlikely to work. It's important to briefly but specifically describe:
- What you can do.
- What you have accomplished (or haven't) in your previous team.
- The value you can bring to a company.
- The tasks you want to perform in the future.
- Important details for you: industry, company size, its values.
- Include links to your resume and portfolio. Add links to people who can provide recommendations for you.
You can also post this on LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to passively look for a job and presents you as a professional; recruiters often use LinkedIn in their searches, so if you work on your profile, they will find you and offer you opportunities. If you don't know how to make your profile better, I recommend:
- Reviewing job postings related to your profile and adding the skills that are most frequently mentioned in your profile.
- Checking profiles of professionals in your field for reference: see how and what kind of experience they describe.
- Writing a great summary: it will help you present yourself not only as a future colleague but also as a person in general.
- Asking former colleagues for recommendations: words about real cooperation with you say more than a list of skills.
In addition to passive job searching, you can also use LinkedIn actively: follow the companies that interest you the most, subscribe to job postings with keywords, write to recruiters who share job postings in their news feed. If you are currently in job search mode, don't forget to use the "open to job opportunities" feature (with specified role options) and mention it in your summary or title.
If you're a developer or designer, professional resources like GitHub, Dribbble, and Behance can also help you in addition to LinkedIn. You won't find jobs actively listed on these platforms, but recruiters often search for candidates there more frequently than on job search websites. So, having a phrase like "looking for a challenging Ruby project" on your GitHub profile or enabling the "available for hire" option on Dribbble can also help you find "that job." Another bonus of these resources is that the hiring team sees not only the text from your resume but also examples of applying your knowledge in practice, your hard skills.
Assistance from IT courses you've completed is another option. Not all IT courses assist with job placement, but it's worth asking! If this option is unavailable to you, you can befriend recruiters: ask them to write to you if a job opening appears for you or write about your candidacy in one of the countless recruiting chats in Ukraine. And that's not all! You can also use your own unconventional job search method! For example, you can research the clients of a digital agency you want to work for and write a blog post for them, like Christina from this article. This approach will surely set you apart from other candidates and show the employer that you not only want but also can!
About the author: Iryna Sulatska,
Recruiter at the American startup Matic, lecturer at Lviv IT School and Ukrainian Sourcing School, author of articles on HappyMonday and SourceCon. She has been searching for and finding jobs for 6 years, reviewing hundreds of resumes and cover letters every month. She helps beginners and more experienced job seekers create an adequate resume and stay focused on their goal of getting "that job."
Iryna is available on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay in touch with you.
