I thought I'd share a few tips from my job hunt over the past 3 months. I by no means want to suggest that my everyone has something to learn from my situation, but it may be helpful for people in a similar situation of knowing you are talented and underpaid.
A little background: Currently a software engineer in a large city. Former entrepreneur for 7 years in a business where I could only pay myself $40K/year. Made a career change in my late 20's to software engineering, which is a field I find incredibly fun and engaging. I spent my first 2 years in the field very underpaid ($55-70K) but I spent my energy in and out of work learning the field as quickly as I could. I'm now early thirties and mid-career as a software engineer.
Tip #1) Write down every interview question you have been asked and practice aloud with a friend answering these after the interview. Some questions resurface in different forms, and most interview questions have something in common with each other. Practicing aloud gives you muscle memory to articulating answers clearly and concisely. Remember: every part of your nervous system is part of your thinking, and confidence comes from having actually done the thing, not just having thought/read about it. Practice will also allow you to be relaxed and more yourself in the interview because you don't have to worry as much about what question might be coming next.
Tip #2) If you currently have a job, take your time. I turned down the first 3 offers that came my way. Turning down offers gives you a psychological backstop that is very useful when negotiating salary and when interviewing at jobs you're really excited about. I was able to say, "I'm really looking for the right fit and for a great learning opportunity. I've turned down offers for $xxx and $xxx so far." This allows the company I'm interviewing at to feel confident in making me an offer because other companies have already made offers (think: popular girl in high school isn't always the prettiest). Without fail, after mentioning that I had turned down offers, the company would go into sales mode and tell me why their opportunity would be the right fit. Also, each new offer that came in (4 total in my case) matched or beat the offers I had turned down.
Tip #3) Treat every job prospect (especially boring/bad ones) like you would be excited to join the team. The majority of the jobs you get interviews for will not be a good fit, either because you're not interested in the work, the salary will be too low, or there is too little opportunity for growth. You still want to get interviews and offers from these companies (see #2 above).
Tip #4) Don't disqualify yourself for positions you don't meet the criteria for at first glance. Almost every offer I received included required qualifications that I didn't possess for the position. In several cases, the company had to alter the job description and post it for 5 days before making me an official offer. I was tempted to say "I'm not quite senior enough for that position, how about a less senior one" at several points in interviews, but a mentor of mine gave me the good advice that it is the company's job to disqualify you for a level of seniority, not your job to disqualify yourself.
Tip #5) Software engineering is a very hot field right now. There are more positions than qualified candidates, which means that companies are willing to look at non-traditional hires. I'm self-taught, have a non-STEM degree, and have only been in the field a few years. If you're in a dead-end job and enjoy problem solving, you may want to consider a career change to software.
Tip #6) Kill it in your current position. Go in early and stay late to really deliver in your position before, during, and after your job search. If you leave, you want all your past contacts to wish they had done more to retain you and to genuinely wish you the best. Also your current employer may make you a counter offer and if salary is the only problem in your current position then taking a counter may be a good option (despite what recruiters will tell you). If you're not killing it in your current job, none of the above really applies to you.
That's it, hope this is useful to someone out there.
Submitted January 21, 2017 at 03:27PM by itsjakeandelwood http://ift.tt/2jKZCaa
