Why Are Job Searches So Hard?
The number of articles I see in my feed about how to ace an interview is truly stunning. There are an equal number of articles about how to deal with recruiters. Many developers labor under the misconception that the way to find a job is to get really good at using job boards, contacting recruiters, and applying everywhere to see what shakes out.
If you’re a software developer and this strikes home, I have one message:
You’re doing it wrong.
The best way to find a job is to get hired where people already know about you.
I’ve had nine jobs over a fairly lengthy career and I’ve only gone through the blind job search twice. My first job out of school was from a newspaper ad. Very few people start off with a network. My fourth job was during a recession when the network was dry. The key was I performed well at every job and I made contacts. The few times I’ve needed a job it’s just been a matter of letting my network know I was looking. Other times they called me first. The successful people I know have a similar story.
People like to hire known quantities. From the company’s perspective, the interview process is about dealing with the unknown. You can look at someone’s resume and see what skills they claim to have and whether they work well with others, but figuring out the veracity of these claims is the purpose of the interviews. If you’re hiring someone you’ve already worked with, either as a colleague or a customer, you’ve eliminated most of those unknowns.
I received this advice very early in my career: do good work and make sure you keep in contact with everyone you’ve worked with. If you’re a developer in the early part of your career, this is one of the most important pieces of advice I can pass along. They’re both important: you have to be the one that people remember does good work.
Many of the best jobs aren’t even advertised. Many companies will create an opening to get a person they know about. How are you going to compete for those positions of no one knows about you?
Software developers tend to end up in the job interview game because they don’t build their networks. There are a number of reasons for this:
Developers are often introverts. We like to keep our head down and concentrate on the immediate. As a developer, you have to stretch out of being an introvert. Yes, I know it’s hard, but it’s also the only way to advance your career. The quiet ones that sit in the corner don’t get promoted.
Time. I’m too busy to network. Hmmm, you’ll have plenty of time on your hands if you need to be in a job search.
Big company syndrome. I know a lot about this one. Your entire network is inside one company. If you find yourself without a job, all of your contacts are in the place you just left. The way to avoid this is when someone leaves, make sure you can keep them in your network. That’s how you get your network into other companies. Chances are those companies are in your market.
You Don’t Get Out Much. Make sure to participate in conferences, forums, social media, Github, and meetups. It’s easy just to keep your head down, but these activities are how you meet people that can be a key part of your network. This also goes well with the concept that you need to keep improving your skills. One of my better hires was a programmer that impressed me with their answers on a forum for our particular tech stack. A key here is to know what you’re talking about when you speak up — don’t make a fool of yourself.
Once again, it’s not all about the code. The relationships you make are even more important than how well you can code.
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