This is part VI of a multipart series titled How to get a developer job in Seattle, or Anywhere.
- Introduction
- Part II – Build a resume
- Part III – Get some creds
- Part IV – Strut your stuff
- Part V – Tap into some resources
- Part VI – Put your community to work
Never underestimate the power of a human connection. Using job sites to send in your resume is a great way to spread your resume over a large number of employers quickly, however it is akin to a cold call by a sales man. Employers are far more likely to quickly evaluate you based on a brief scan of your resume for keywords and move on to the next resume. On the other hand, employers trust the advice of their employees and friends. By tapping into your existing social networks you can add the human element to your search. If a friend recommends you an employer is far more likely to call you in for an interview and consider you a credible resource.
Steve spent several months building up his skill set, portfolio, and recognition in the WordPress community. When it came time for him to start seriously looking for a full time developer position he let his social networks know. I happened to know of a great firm that was looking for someone and was able to link them together. Due to my personal relationship with the managers at this firm he was given top consideration and ultimately a position on their team.
Leverage every social network that you have available to you to help increase your chances of getting that job you always desired. Lets talk about just a few that you should be using.
Family and friends
The family and friends that you see on a daily basis may not know or understand much about the field you are going into, but it is a good bet that they know other people, and those people know people. Tell your family and friends that you are on the lookout for a job and ask them to keep their eyes and ears open for anyone looking to hire. This group is probably the least likely to quickly get you a job, but you may be surprised at the resources available inside this group.
Twitter is an amazing network of publicly traded messages. Send out tweets until you find your job on a semi regular basis. Alter the wording each time and eventually someone may see your tweet and call you in for an interview. It is worth noting that not only do your connections see your tweets, but Twitter is upon to the public and anyone can view your messages. It is a common practice now for recruiter to setup keyword searches on Twitter and message people about possible job opportunities.
While you are tweeting, ask your connection to retweet your message. This will not only hit your network of connections, but theirs as well and can broaden your reach considerably. It is also taken as a sign of personal endorsement if one of your connections retweets you.
LinkedIn is much more than just a place to hold your online resume. It is also one of the largest resources used by recruiters when looking for employees. Update your job status to seeking. You should also join and group on LinkedIn that have your desire job characteristics. Often these groups post available positions.
Facebook is more of a social network for making personal connections rather than professional, but it is worth updating your status there as well. You never know who may happen to see your status and know of an available position.
Resources in the community
All communities have additional resources, some of them you found in the previous article on getting creds. Be sure you leverage whatever resources are there, be it job boards, status updates, or other social resources.
Congrats, you made it through the entire series of articles on finding a developer job. I hope that the contents has been useful to you. Please feel free to leave comments based on your experience with the suggestions put forth in these articles.