Get noticed (and never look for a job again)

This presentation was given at the Tech Interview Master for Women seminar, sponsored by Seattle Central Community College's ByteClub. In it, I encourage students to build their professional networks rather than doing impersonal online job hunts.

Transcript

1. Get Noticed & never look for a job again Friday, May 17, 13
2. Your professional social circle is your #1 asset for finding employment. Friday, May 17, 13
3. Cheesy golf picture Friday, May 17, 13
4. At least 80% of your job-hunting time should be spent cultivating relationships. Friday, May 17, 13
5. Elise Worthy twitter: @eliseworthy Friday, May 17, 13
6. Craigslist. Friday, May 17, 13
7. Craigslist. Friday, May 17, 13
8. As of 2012, recruiters got an average of 118 applications per job posting. Friday, May 17, 13
9. Even if you’re incredibly qualified, it’s difficult to stand out of the herd. (Cow picture?) Friday, May 17, 13
10. Easier, more effective #1: Know the hiring manager #2: Know someone who influences the hiring manager Friday, May 17, 13
11. This is not that hard! Friday, May 17, 13
12. It takes patience. Friday, May 17, 13
13. #1: Make a list of companies that you would love to work for. Friday, May 17, 13
14. #2: Discover the technologies that they’re using. Friday, May 17, 13
15. #3: Study the technologies you found. Do you like them? Would you want to do them all the time? Friday, May 17, 13
16. #4: Design your 2-minute life story. Most important: why are you interesting? Friday, May 17, 13
17. Value Proposition Product X is the best at Y and Z, among all other 123s, because of A trait, B trait, and C trait. Friday, May 17, 13
18. My Value Proposition Elise is the best Rails project manager, among all other technical project managers, because she is well-versed in agile tools and methods, has worked on large Rails teams, and knows how to code in Ruby and JavaScript. Friday, May 17, 13
19. #4b: Be easy to find online. Friday, May 17, 13
20. Friday, May 17, 13
21. Friday, May 17, 13
22. Friday, May 17, 13
23. #5: Be social. Go to technology mixer events. Friday, May 17, 13
24. #5b: Meet people. Ask them what they do & who they do it for. Be honest about looking for a job, and be specific about what you want to do (from your 2-minute life story). Friday, May 17, 13
25. #5c: Get contact information. You can typically find someone’s twitter or linkedin from a google search of their name. Friday, May 17, 13
26. This process takes much longer than submitting resumes. You need to start doing this now. Friday, May 17, 13
27. Go to events 1-2 nights a week. You will (sooner or later) find a job. Friday, May 17, 13
28. This job will be higher-quality and a better match than something you found online. Friday, May 17, 13
29. This process never ends, though. Friday, May 17, 13
30. Challenge for You Go to 2 tech social events next week. Meet at least 2 people who seem cool, and say hello to them on twitter or linkedin. Friday, May 17, 13
31. Resources - Meetup.com Search - Seattle Tech Startups Mailing List - Seattle Tech Calendar Friday, May 17, 13
32. Thanks! Elise Worthy twitter: @eliseworthy Friday, May 17, 13