Step 1: Understand what recruiters want
So you’re about to launch your tech job search?
Here’s the most important step: Pick one role to focus on.
Why?
Because the #1 question that every tech recruiter starts with is “Can the candidate actually do THIS job?”
And if your application just says “I’d love to get any tech job,” their answer is going to be NO.
Step 2: Review the roles
Launching a tech product requires a massive team effort - engineers, designers, product managers, and many more roles all working together.
And many of these roles (including a majority of tech job openings) don’t require any programming experience.
So no matter your background, explore the different roles to understand what they do and whether you might be a good fit.
And to get you started, here’s my free guide to the 12 Best Non-Technical Tech Jobs.
Step 3: Find Your Fit
Once you understand the different roles, pick the one that best lines up with what you’ve done.
While you can always switch roles once you’re inside a tech company, the easiest way to break in is by proving to recruiters that you can do the job on Day 1.
So think back to what you’ve loved doing in past roles and then find the closest match using this cheatsheet.
And then focus on that role as you begin to apply for jobs - your tech recruiter will thank you!
Step 4: Confirm Your Fit
Because your choice of role is so essential to your success, you want to make sure it’s the right choice.
To test your fit, it’s best to get feedback directly from people who work in that role today.
So click on the links here to find people who work in your potential role and then:
Connect with them
Set-up a quick chat to get their advice
Ask them whether you’d be a good fit
Step 5: Get More Experience - if needed
In most cases, you already have the experience you need. But if your contacts in the last step tell you that you need to build a richer portfolio, here’s how to do exactly that:
Read my article on breaking out of the Job Catch-22 (needing experience to get experience)
Find an organization that needs your talents but can’t afford to hire a full-time staffer (nonprofit, startup, or outsourcer)
Knock the project out of the park and then make it Exhibit A in your future applications for that role
Step 6: Find the Jobs
The beauty of having a clear role to focus on is that it makes it easy to find all the best jobs in that space.
To make sure you leave no career stone unturned, just set-up automatic alerts on these sites:
Indeed will give you access to all the medium-sized and larger companies. Search for Title:X (e.g., title:”product manager” or title:recruiter) to get started.
AngelList will give you access to all the small, early-stage startups. Just type in your desired role (e.g., Account Executive) to begin your search.
RemoteTechJobs will give you access to remote-specific roles filterable by function and technology.
Step 7: Match your resume
Once you have the jobs coming straight to your inbox, it’s time to make sure you match them perfectly.
To do so, just follow these steps:
Copy and paste your favorite job descriptions and resume into Jobscan
Identify all the keywords you’re missing and integrate those into your resume, as in this example
Apply those same bullets to your LinkedIn profile
You’re now ready to start applying, confident that you match the perfect role for you!
Bonus step: Take the Course
If you’re not sure where you belong, check out my Find Your Fit course.
It’s got a step-by-step process to select the perfect role for you (including an optional resume review):
Connect with techies doing each of these roles and learn from their experience
Position your past experience to be irresistible to tech recruiters
Build a portfolio of new experiences to fill in any gaps - without spending a cent on bootcamps or degrees!
“Jeremy streamlined the whole exploration process from many months into a matter of several hours!”
