I’m in tech; senior level. But I’ve been looking for work for over 3 years. I’ve been getting advice/tips/tricks from other people, but nothing has worked so far. These are things I’ve tried:
- Blindly applying for a job through the job form
- Working with a recruiter to get me a position.
- Asking to chat with someone on a team with an open position.
- Asking to chat with someone on a team with NO positions.
- Working to establish myself as an expert on social media.
- Asking friends if their company is hiring.
- “Slow networking” (not asking for a job directly, but trying VERY hard to be patient and get to know someone first)
- Fast networking…taking the direct “hey, you hiring?” approach.
- Lynchpin networking (connecting people w/ other people)
- Giving talks at conferences
- Guerrilla tech support (providing my 2 cents on a post even if no one was asking for it).
- open source contributions
- Temp agencies
- state jobs
- looking for “hiring” tags on social media.
- connecting with high-profile people and asking if they need help.
- developing a complete MVP that would help someone (yet I couldn’t quite market effectively).
- Leveraging previous employers to see if they have anything new.
- Offering “low hanging fruit” gigs on social media.
- Putting my resume on job boards.
- Getting a role well below my pay grade and working my way up (if I try this I get automatically disqualified for being too overqualified).
- Providing free consultation to businesses.
- Hosting a podcast interview with someone from a company.
- Writing a guest post for an article (I’ve kind of done this, I think).
Edit:
- I’ve also had my resume, LinkedIn profile, and other social media, looked over by professionals and nonprofessionals alike. I’ve even gotten coaching. I’ve probably gotten more coaching than interviews at this point.
Another edit:
- The only think that’s worked lately (as terrible as it sounds) is groveling and telling people the severity of my situation. And that’s just gotten me very very small dead-end projects in someone’s back pocket. I’m definitely trying to leverage these as best I can.
Any other strategies people have found that works? How did you get your job? I’m running out of ideas.
I do have a bachelor of science in computer science. Been living paycheck-to-paycheck (or worse) for years, so most certs are out of the question.
I have been keeping my tech skills up-to-date, though. I’m very curious so I like to know what’s hot. I even use modern tech to help in my search for that golden opportunity (like recently I used pandas to make sense of my LinkedIn connections). Not only that, but in order to establish myself as an expert I also put my 2c in for how we can positively innovate and grow. So, yes, tech does move rapidly. I agree. Good insight.
How did you get the contract? Did you apply for a job ad? Was it a human connection?
OK, You have a degree
What is your experience like?
What is your field in tech?
What make you senior?
Another important question, where are you located? This can make a huge difference, if you are looking in a small town for senior tech jobs then you aren’t going to get much.
Right now, tech jobs aren’t doing well since companies over hired, then decided to shed those positions. But Senior positions are usually always in demand.
I have over 10 years experience. I am senior level because a few years ago I started to get jobs labeled “senior,” so I’m like, “okay, guess I’m senior level now.” And freelancing I usually manage the entire project.
I’m located in a major city that has a lot of major tech companies. Got hardcore ghosted (again, with no explanation) by the majority of them years ago, though I will occasionally check back in with anyone from the company who will give me the time of day to see if they need any help.
In 10 years you haven’t made any professional connections who would want to work with you again?
That is the single best avenue to other jobs: foot in the door through someone you have worked with who can vouch for your professionalism and ability.
If you’re not making those connections, something is wrong. It could be the kinds of jobs you’ve taken, eg: if they’re all solo contracts and you don’t interact with anyone on anything other than deliverables. Or you are taking roles where your output is used only by a small sunset of the company or something?
If you’re taking reasonable roles and have decent interaction with co-workers and no one is willing to refer you for a job, then you need to think about what your relationships are like at work and why they aren’t positive enough.
Yeah, that was typically the case, unfortunately. Those were the first companies to hire me. So then I wouldn’t be able to make a strong, lasting connection with anyone. There are very few previous coworkers I’ve managed to stay in contact with. And the ones that do have a replay rate in months.
I haven’t figured out why my relationships aren’t positive. I’m usually very team-oriented and dive in and solve problems, and try to uncover what my coworkers are really passionate about, so I still can’t figure out why I can’t “fit in.”
Thanks for the encouragement, though. Good to keep in mind.
If it’s not your experience, then I would look at your interview skills.
Your resume only gets you a conversation, you have to sell yourself to them.
Are you confident when you interview? Not too confident to be cocky though, but enough that you know what you are talking about if someone were to ask a question.
Ask questions during the interview. Ask them what they like about working there. Act interested and engaged and you will stand out among the rest.