Office Hours: I've coached 280+ job seekers to land career catapulting roles in Big Tech & rocketship startups – I also write a career-focused newsletter with clever tips and unlocks. I’m Coach Erika. AMA!Featured

Posted in:Navigating Career Transitions Office Hours Compensation Job Hunting

Hi Elphas!

I’m Coach Erika. Since 2020, I've coached 280+ tech job seekers on how to write a door-opening resume, woo recruiters and hiring managers, impress interviewers, and land and negotiate job offers in Big Tech and rocketship startups.

In my 15 years in tech, I’ve built and scaled unicorn startups, raised over $3B in venture capital, taken 2 startups public, and grown organizations from ~30 to 2000+. I’m passionate about helping people unlock career-catapulting roles because doing so for myself paved the way to a fulfilling and fruitful career.

Since 2020, I’ve become the most sought-after job search coach in tech, partly because of my high client success rate (93%+). My advice is timely and relevant because I currently work in tech myself (at Google). I know exactly what the candidate experience feels like because I’ve been there myself – as both a candidate and an interviewer. In the last 10 years, I’ve interviewed over 1100+ people, and hired 75+ people into my own teams.

In my downtime, I have a 13-month-old kiddo who keeps things lively, I run a boutique art company and avidly collect art from local Bay Area artists, and I write a newsletter called The Career Whispers to help others unlock their own careers.

Ask me anything about job searching, career shifts, interview prep, negotiating an offer, resume advice, or growing and thriving in tech roles!

PS: If you are actively starting a job search in tech, consider joining my upcoming Job Search workshop Jan 4th-5th 2025. I saved two seats for members of this community. More info here.

ElphaStaff·Dec 14

Thanks so much for joining us @coacherika!Elphas – please ask @coacherika your questions before Friday, December 20th. @coacherika may not have time to answer every questions, so emoji upvote your favorites 🔥👍🏾➕

Jetta76·Dec 17

Hi Erika, I'm currently looking for a role with a specific goal of relocating to Switzerland. I currently work at a big tech and have had, theoretically, a strong career path (from IC to manager in 3 years), but searching for a job has so far been a frustrating experience with no results. I've shifted my CV, worked on networking and follow many best practices, but nothing comes. I worry that it's related to me having to change scope of role (roles similar to mine do not exist in Switzerland). What would be your advice in approaching the job market for a career shift and getting noticed by recruiters?

CristinaG·Dec 17

Hi @coacherika thanks for your time and expertise for the Elpha community. I am not into tech but I have always been interested in the industry as I am very curious and like to learn "how things work in the back". I am currently in the hospitality industry, my role covers rate and revenue strategy, so relates to analysing purchase data, in terms of values, geo source and selling channel source, and elaborating and reviewing future selling strategy in order to maximize. If I should consider an industry change in the future, my biggest challenge is finding in which role I could place myself so that companies would take me seriously. I might also add that I am based in Italy and industry changes are quite hard to accomplish. Thanks for any advise! Cristina

jenebawint·Dec 17

Hi Erica, I'm Jeneba, Speaker, author, career readiness advisor and future of work consultant. I would love to get time on your calendar at the top of the new year. I'm interested in sponsoring and advertising in your career newsletter. I'll DM you.

Chanel85·Dec 17

Hello Erica, What questions should candidates ask more often at initial interviews and don't - from your experience? Thank you for your time and help :)

Laura198·Dec 19

Thanks for doing this @coacherika. I've come across your material in the past and it's always value-filled.My most recent experience spanning 6 years has been as a consultant helping startups build their greenfield MVPs. As a consultant I wasn't there to help them grow. But I honed into the problem space to define the mvp. I really want to move away from that and work in-house and mature with a product with larger scale (and existing users). However I'm this market it seems people want to only hire those who have equivalent experience with their domain and scale. How might I position myself to break into larger organizations, and should I go all in on that, or for now focus on the startup space that is aligned with my recent experience? What might be specific experience gaps I should be prepared to address?

ameyatilaye·Dec 19

I have 4 years of experience in the e-commerce and fintech industries, with skills in machine learning, UI design, and data science. My experience includes working at a Fortune 500 company, a startup, and research, and I have project experience in technology commercialization and B2B product development. I also have experience designing freelance for interior furniture. In terms of programming, I have experience in Python, R, C++, MATLAB, and I'm currently upskilling in SQL and Microsoft PowerBi. I'm currently seeking opportunities in Data Science, Data Analytics, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Product Design, or Product Management. Primary Focus: Data Analytics or Data ScienceSecondary Focus: Product Management or UI/UX DesignI think my experience may be a little too "all over the place" for recruiters, as I'm having trouble getting past the ATS for interviews. I've sent tons of applications into the void and am feeling really stressed. I'm happy to connect and eager for referrals. Please kindly let me know if you have any advice. Thank you so much for your time.