A friend recently called me up to ask for job hunting advice. My current job hunt extends over a year, since I was laid off from Unity (last spring). But beyond that, I've now seen three major downturns in tech, this only being the latest. I'm a veteran, and I have some advice to share.
Your single best tool today is LinkedIn. There have been complaints about abuse on the system, and they are well founded - but, it's still your best bet to get a job. In two ways:
Get LinkedIn Premium
It's expensive, but worth it, if you are job hunting. Premium gives you extra "intel" on each job posting, including:
- How many other people have applied? If it's over 100, you should probably not waste your time. It's impossible to stand out in that kind of crowd.
- How many other applicants were senior level? Junior level? Includes AI analysis on how you compare to them.
- Other valuable features regarding your visibility online, especially for recruiters. Eg. you can add a badge to your profile picture that says you're "open" for new opportunities.
Get Active
One recruiter gave me the following piece of advice: post frequently on LinkedIn, at least once per week. This "juices" the algorithm that LinkedIn uses. This way, when a recruiter searches for talent, your name will float to the top.
Here's what works for me: a combination of written blog posts (like this one), and video presentations on youtube. In both cases, I simply talk about subjects that interest me, and are related to my profession:
- How to use Drupal
- How to make a headless AI chatbot
- How to job hunt
Once I've posted my content, I post a link on LinkedIn. It's as easy as that. (OK, creating new content on a weekly basis isn't easy. It takes effort. But you can do it while sitting down.)
Use Agents
You can set up a "robot" on LinkedIn, Dice, and other job boards, to scan the job posts and send you an email once a day. Do this, and apply to all the jobs you think are a good fit (see above for tips on using Premium to filter the list).
I know a lot of people use AI to write cover letters. There are tools where you input your resume, and the job description, and ask the AI to write a professional letter that highlights your accomplishments, and how you're a great fit for this opportunity. I usually don't bother with cover letters; YMMV.
Meetups & Conferences
I got my start by attending local meetups for Drupal users. Long story short: personal connections matter, both over the short term, and the long term. It was a different time, but I got picked up by employers incredibly quickly, just by showing up in person. Meetup.com is a great place to start. So are local conferences. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are local conferences all the time. You can often get a free expo pass, which gives you an opportunity to talk to every company present - and ask if they're hiring.
Update Your Resume
I had a beautiful old resume with a manicule on it. The problem: that's not how the game is played any more. Now, the recruiter takes your resume, feeds it through an AI, and gets a number that represents your compatibility to the job. Your first step: rewrite your resume so it can be crawled by the AI. There's a good template here: https://careers.byu.edu/students/hiring-resources/resumes/resume-templates
In addition, you'll want to edit your resume to make it fit each job you apply to. Sometimes recruiters will offer guidance; you should always take it. You'll end up with a dozen different versions of the same resume.
Upload your resume to LinkedIn, Dice, and anywhere else you apply. It helps juice the algorithm, and on some hiring platforms, the recruiter can get access to your latest resume. That gives you an advantage.
What Else?
Do get a professional-looking headshot; don't use a cute avatar.
Do learn how to get the LinkedIn QR code; don't bother with business cards (no one has them any more).
Do apply to at least one job per day; don't burn yourself out. This is probably going to be a marathon, not a sprint.
Do take advantage of the opportunity to do other things: side projects, hobbies, family.
This is the worst tech job market I've seen in 20 years. Don't let that get you down. Ignore the statistics. You don't need 40,000 new jobs per month; you only need one.
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