5 Strategies for a Successful Job Search in Tech

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the job search, but it is still possible to find a rewarding tech job. To make your job-hunt successful, utilize multiple strategies at the same time. Lets take a look at the most effective ones.

Invest Time in Updating and Improving Your ResumeItll Pay Off.

Most job-seekers dont 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, theres a variety of resume enhancement services available that can significantly assist you in achieving that goal.

Make a List of Companies Youd 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, youll be able to find recruiters contact info on their LinkedIn profiles. If not, do a quick Google search (e.g., [email protected]) 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. (Yes, many tech companies still require a cover letter, at least according to this research.)

Alternatively, use LinkedIn to find your old friends and connections that are currently working for the companies youre looking to get a job at and ask if its 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, youre 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 its the text that gets shown in search results for LinkedIn and Google.

Put effort into writing a strong, engaging summary, as its 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. Heres an example 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! Dont 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 doesnt 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 its an important way to find out about job openings. A great many jobs are never posted publicly. If youre strictly relying on publicly posted ads, youd be missing out on a high percentage of opportunities.

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 thats dedicated to employment opportunities. Here are just some of the Slack chat groups with an active #jobs channel:

• DevChat
• TechMasters
• FEDs a community of front-end developers
• PHP Chat
• iOS Developers #job-board channel
• AndroidChat
• Ruby Developers
• Ruby on Rails Link #work-offers channel
• Gophers a community of Golang developers
• Python Developers
• Cpplang
• DevOps Chat #jobs and #jobs_remote channels

Make connections, build relationships with those connectionsand then sell your resume. These tips will get you started.

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 (e.g., for finding a tech job abroad), 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.