Getting Hired In Silicon Valley
Believe in yourself — you’re good enough
I do 5–6 phone calls a week with people interested in getting into tech here in Silicon Valley. Here’s some advice based on a few hundred phone calls and in-person meetings.
Know Your Value
Tech is not a magical place where everyone is smart, creative, and a good leader. Tech has the good, the bad, and the ugly — just like every other industry.
Many people I talk to have imposter syndrome about Silicon Valley — they think they’re not good enough and they don’t deserve to join the ‘club’.
I’ve lived in San Francisco for seven years and worked at a tech company for four years — there’s nothing special about the tech industry or the people who work in it.
Rollback the curtain on any tech company in the Valley and you’ll discover that companies here have many of the same struggles as any other company:
- It’s hard to find good people and keep them
- There’s never enough headcount and budget
- There are too many meetings
- There are too many priorities
- The decisions making process is confusing
You’re good enough for Silicon Valley — believe it!
Find something you’re passionate about
A lot of companies in the Valley have great benefits. Benefits are nice, but they’ll fade quickly if you don’t find something you're passionate about.
Just like any other company, it’s important to find a good manager at a company you believe in.
Understand the company culture. Find out if they adhere to their company values, or if it’s just writing on a wall. Don’t get a job in tech at all costs — getting a job in Silicon Valley means nothing if a month in you realize it’s not the right fit.
Network
Networking is the best way to get your foot in the door. LinkedIn is a great resource for making connections and networking. Find other people in the industry or at the companies you’re interested in.
When you reach out to someone and ask to learn more about their role or the company, here are the most common questions you’ll probably get:
- Tell me about your background
- What are you interested in doing?
- How can I be helpful?
It’s important to have answers to these three questions that you can recite from memory—these questions will usually always come up when you’re networking.
At the tech company I work for, there are normally 400–500 applicants on a single job. Networking is the best way to get a foot in the door — if you connect with the right person, they can put in an internal referral for you or connect you with the recruiting team. This drastically increased the likelihood of you getting that first interview.
Don’t Quit
Nobody owes you a job in Silicon Valley — and nobody cares what you’ve done at your other company.
It’s important to tech companies that you’re the person who can help solve their problems and deliver — you have to prove to them you’re the person who can do that, and you can do it better than the dozens of other people who want the same job.
The journey won’t be easy, that much is a given. There will be frustrations and difficulties along the way.
You may apply for a job and get no response.
You may get an initial interview with a recruiter, but not get invited to on-site interviews.
You may go through the entire process and then learn the role went to an internal candidate.
Learn from all of this, stay motivated throughout the process, and don’t quit.
Silicon Valley and working in tech is a dream job for many. It’s important to remember tech is not a magical industry that’s different from every other.
Believe in yourself — you’re good enough to come work in the Valley. Once you decide you want to get into tech, it’s important to find a company and role you’re passionate about. All the amazing perks of a tech company will disappear if it’s not a company you believe in.
To give yourself the best shot at getting in, be sure to network. Find people at companies you want to work at. Jump on the phone to learn more about the roles you’re interested in, and to learn about the company culture. Most often, you’ll get the job you want through networking.
And finally, don’t give up! The path to anything worthwhile is never easy — stick with it, learn from your mistakes, and don’t quit.
