Advice for the 'unemployable.'

sadieframe·Nov 08, 2023

Posted in:Advice Favors Job Hunting Tech Vents Career Growth

👋 Hi Elpha Community,

I hope this message finds you in good health. I wanted to share my journey and aspirations with this community in the hopes of finding a referral for a role that I'm passionate about.

📖Story:

Over the past three years, I've dedicated myself to breaking into (mainly) the tech industry. I lost track of how many roles I have applied to but it is up-words of the high four figures. Curating my resume to each job description, reaching out to the hiring manager, any technique you think of I have likely tried. I want to add that I currently am a notary public and run a small dog sitting business as I exhausted my unemployment back in 2021. However, it provides me with just enough funds to survive as I had to move back in with my parents a few months after I lost my last contractor role almost two years ago. I've explored various paths and everyday is consumed with continuously upgrading my skills and making me a desirable candidate. My journey has been challenging, but it's also been a profound learning experience.

🚀 My background:

🌟 My main barrier is my unfinished bachelors degree. I do plan to return to school to complete this when I have the money to (vicious cycle) and lack of network which is why I am begging for referrals from strangers lol. Also, I have considered well-known bootcamps, unfortunately, they are all out of my budget. Recently, I caught a break and am enrolled in an IT analyst boot camp called NuPaths. It completes April 2024. However, I have been burned by obscure boot camps and programs before.

🌟 My formal background includes healthcare, pharmaceutical and insurance. All of which I have seen similar people successfully bring their transferrable skills into a high paying tech role while I watch with my jaw agape. 🤯 This is my first time making a post so I will try to post my resume on here as well.

👩🏻‍💻What sets me apart:

👩🏻‍🏫 One thing that makes me stand out is my ability to quickly adapt to new technologies and methodologies. In my previous role, I successfully transitioned our development team to an agile framework, improving our efficiency and product accessibility. This adaptability, combined with my technical skills, make me a valuable asset to any team.

🥅 Ultimately, my goal is a role at least 75k and fully remote as I plan to relocate to the UK in the new year (U.S. Citizen).

If you or someone you know is looking for a dedicated and driven team member who is malleable and learns quickly, I would be incredibly grateful for a referral or any advice you can provide. Also, practice gratitude when it comes to your own job, admire how far you come. Let's connect, collaborate, and help each other succeed in the community.

Thank you for your time and support. 🙏

Signed,

A woman who is four years behind 🩷

#jobseeker #techindustry #referral #careeradvice

sarahing·Nov 08, 2023

Sadie, congrats on the first post! And for putting yourself out there.What positions are you looking for so we can keep an eye out?

sadieframe·Nov 08, 2023

Anything from sales, business development, it analyst, to solution architecture

lauradambrosio·Nov 09, 2023

Hi Sadie! As someone who has helped several friends break into the tech industry with limited relevant experience, this is the biggest thing that stands out to me. I know you're trying to stay open to the most opportunities, but you just listed 3 super different jobs (sales and biz dev are related so it's fine). As a hiring manager I'd be confused. Do you think instead you can figure out which of these you have the best skillset for and only apply for those roles? At a glance it looks like sales and biz dev. There are also sales engineers if you want to combine some of your customer support and technical skillset with sales. I don't actually think the education part is such a big roadblock. If you have a more focused resume, you seem confident, and you've done the research to use the right language in your interviews, that will count for more.One more thought, since your resume won't be that tailored to any one role, start finding hiring managers' emails or connecting with them directly on LinkedIn when possible and introducing yourself. You might be getting blocked by automated processes at the first step. You cannot rely on submitting resumes through apps, unfortunately. Good luck!

sadieframe·Nov 09, 2023

Thanks for the tips! Yes, I will hone on in Solution Architecture as I have the most experience and am actively studying AWS after doing coursework in Azure & GCP.

Iynna·Nov 08, 2023

Thank you for posting and putting this out! As I always say a closed mouth does not get fed so kudos to you!One of my favourite founders is hiring for his company and a number of sales roles and a chief of staff position https://siroai.notion.site/Careers-Siro-3ff0918867a04959941f687eb85ac3b2?pvs=4Seems super fitting for you!

sadieframe·Nov 08, 2023

Thank you! May I have her name and possibly contact info?

saraheaglesfield·Nov 09, 2023

Unless you are a UK citizen, the UK relocation could be tricky as you're not allowed to work here (even with remote work) without company sponsorship. If you want to move to the UK, maybe you should be looking at UK companies who can provide that sponsorship. Good luck!

sarahing·Nov 09, 2023

Hey Sarah! There are other ways. I'm on a Tier 1 visa sponsored through Tech Nation for 5 years and am not beholden to any company. It's not the easiest but it is possible.

sadieframe·Nov 09, 2023

Thank you both! It is wishful thinking and mainly me just speaking it into existence. I know of a woman whose company allows her to work from anywhere in the world and she lived in London for a year so I was thinking along the lines of that whilst on a visitor visa and then a student visa for a graduate program.

Filomena21·Nov 11, 2023

Have you considered applying to coding bootcamps with income sharing agreements? https://www.bestcolleges.com/bootcamps/find-bootcamps/with-income-share-agreements/You put down very little money upfront (like $2,000 or sometimes free), and then you don't have to pay anything until you get a job with a high enough salary (at least $50k) that you can start paying 10-20% of your salary until the full $30k tuition is paid down.

sadieframe·Nov 11, 2023

Hi, I have participated in a program called PreHired back in 2021. It was a complete farse but luckily, was able to get out of it without further investment. From my experience, I find programs that require payment in exchange for the 'promise' of a high-paying job are predatory. I rather invest in finishing my degree. Thanks for your comment!

Filomena21·Nov 11, 2023

I'm not familiar with PreHired, but it appears to be for sales jobs, which is why it's a scam. Software engineering bootcamps are NOT scams. They teach hard skills in a high-paying field with a shortage of candidates. I can think of 7 friends off the top of my head who went to coding bootcamps and got jobs in the field right away, and some of them ultimately ended up in Fortune 500 companies (not always their first job out of bootcamp though).You should absolutely vet a bootcamp before doing it, but they are not scams the way that a "sales bootcamp" would be.

sadieframe·Nov 12, 2023

Do you know which ones they used?

Filomena21·Nov 12, 2023

I'm based in NYC so might not know the best West Coast programs, but the one most people I know have done Fullstack Academy. I also know people who have done App Academy and Bloc.io (which was acquired by Thinkful, so I'm not sure how that impacts the program). Finally, I know someone who did a masters degree at New York Institute of Technology — it wasn't a traditional bootcamp, but he did go into it with zero computer science background.

abigailtovar·Nov 20, 2023

Just wanted to add to this thread, I had a similar view of bootcamps, and personally I've been able to break into tech through self teaching and personal projects. However, I think the idea of the ISA bootcamps is less predatory than those which make you pay upfront without a guarantee of getting anything after you complete. One of my friends from college did formation.dev and they found it useful as the mentors there are FAANG and their recruiters have connections, if he did not do the bootcamp I don't think that he would have landed in his current company, Amazon. I think ultimately your learning style matters too, some people prefer learning in a group style and having people who hold them accountable. Either way it will take work, to learn such a new skill but I think its rewarding!

sadieframe·Nov 21, 2023

Been thinking about it more and more recently. I am familiar with formation.dev so I will do more research. Thanks!

cgbl·Feb 05

hey @sadieframe,you are BRAVE !!! I wrote this article last year for Elpha fam: https://elpha.com/posts/9gjqlqd/were-you-laid-off-are-you-looking-for-a-job-i-want-to-helphope it helps you with your search!

sadieframe·Feb 06

Thank you! Super helpful!