The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people search for jobs, but it is still possible to find a rewarding tech job. To make your job-hunt successful, utilize multiple strategies at the same time. Let’s take a look at the most effective ones.
Invest Time in Updating and Improving Your Resume—It’ll Pay Off
Most job-seekers don’t do an update and improve their resume so that you will be ahead of the curve. On average, you have seven seconds to catch the eye of a recruiter or hiring manager. Follow these tips if you want to make your technical resume stand-out. Besides, there are a variety of resume enhancement services available that can significantly assist you in achieving that goal.
Make a List of Companies You’d Like to Work for and Then Connect with Their HR People
Develop a list of potential employers (HelloFresh, Spotify, Smartly.io, Klarna, Flexport, etc.). Then, hop on LinkedIn and search for your target company. Find someone from the hiring team to send your resume. Ideally, this should be someone who recruits for your desired position. Otherwise, reach out to one of the team members, state what position has caught your attention, and ask to connect you with the appropriate person.
A Quick Tip: Usually, you’ll be able to find recruiters’ contact info on their LinkedIn profiles. If not, do a quick Google search (e.g., name-of-the-recruiter@company.com) to find the necessary email address.
Go the extra mile and write a code sample for your target company, and send it together with your resume, a link to your active GitHub profile/personal website/tech blog, and a cover letter to the relevant person (many tech companies still require a cover letter).
Alternatively, use LinkedIn to find your old friends and connections that are currently working for the companies you’re looking to get a job at and ask if it’s possible that you can be referred to their company.
Fill Out Your LinkedIn Profile Completely
90% of recruiters, both in and out of the tech industry, use LinkedIn to find and vet candidates. If your LinkedIn profile is 100% complete, you’re more likely to be on the radar of recruiters.
Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn.
Pay special attention to your profile headline because it’s the text that gets displayed in search results for both LinkedIn and Google.
Put effort into writing a strong, engaging summary, as it’s one of the first things recruiters/hiring managers see when they visit your profile. These tips will help you craft an effective one.
Make sure your profile, especially your headline and “About” (summary) section, contains the right keywords. Recruiters strongly rely on Boolean searches and keywords when looking for potential candidates for their job openings. Here’s an example of a Boolean search string used to source Python developers:
(programmer OR developer) AND python AND (mysql OR postgresql) AND (django OR flask) AND (chef OR puppet OR sentry)
Network! Don’t Rely Only on Online Job Searches
A great way to connect with interesting people from within your field is by participating in online and offline meetups, workshops, conferences, and the like. Even if this doesn’t lead to a job right away, they may be useful in the future. Add the people you meet on LinkedIn.
Networking is important for a number of reasons. The first, of course, is that it’s an important way to find out about job openings. A great many jobs are never posted publicly. If you’re strictly relying on publicly posted ads, you’d be missing out on a high percentage of opportunities.Source: LinkedIn’s Get Hired newsletter
Find relevant LinkedIn, Facebook, Slack, Gitter, or other online communities to join. Online communities are also places where you can make useful connections. Moreover, virtually all of them have a section/channel that’s dedicated to employment opportunities.
Search for Job Listings on Various Websites. Apply Directly Through Company Websites.
Search for job vacancies by using traditional job search websites, niche job boards, social networking sites, etc. However, when it comes to applying for jobs, try to do it on company websites. When you apply for a position on the company website, your resume goes directly to the recruiter/hiring manager of that company. Moreover, it can be noticed by more than one team member.
Of course, the success of your job-hunt depends on a multitude of factors. These aspects, including the time of day you apply for a job. However, I do believe the above tips, in conjunction with a strong resume, will help you find your next challenging role in tech faster.