5 ms·

>Thankfully I had FB and Google referrals else I doubt I would have gotten a reply at all.

colemannugent 9y ago
That, plus this: >Previously from a unicorn startup Still, must have been some referral for those kind of offers.
mathgladiator 9y ago
This is one of the things that really sucks about the industry. It is a new "boy's club", and if you know people in the club then the barrier to entry is easier (if you can code at a reasonable capacity).
- wwalser 9y ago
  The entry fee for a referral is striking up a single conversation at a conference. If someone from a big tech company is speaking at a conference, the fact that they are speaking isn't the primary reason for being present. They are there to recruit.
  - milofeynman 9y ago
    Hah, that assumes their current employer will let them go to conferences.
    - wwalser 9y ago
      I'd take the day off for the prospect of $100k+ raise.
  - richardknop 9y ago
    Just having a chat with someone at a conference is often not enough to get a referral tbh. I'd assume for a referral you need to know a person at least reasonably well, i.e. you know each other on first name basis and have been out for a beer or worked together on some open source project or something like that. I don't believe you can just walk to a person at a conference, talk to them to 15 minutes and then ask for their referral.
    - wwalser 9y ago
      I was a bit brief on tactics. Yes. Don't just ask for a referral. Tactics: Understand that they are there to recruit. This should give you confidence. This isn't some weird game, you're not manipulating or tricking them. They are here for these conversations. Some soft-skill tactics don't work for everyone. If some/none of the below materializes or isn't your thing, it's alway okay to ask. "Are you doing any recruiting while in town? I'm interested in talking to someone at NeatCo." If you can speak at the conference, that is preferable. If not, walking up and saying hi will work but it should involve you asking a well-informed question about the thing they are speaking about. Spend an hour before the conference researching their topic and come with something in mind: What lead company X to create Y? If someone were motivated, could they create ${interesting but not crazy new feature/thing} using Y? If you don't have a question, just talk about the content of the talk. Tell them what you thought. The person speaking on behalf of NeatCo will often bring another person with them. The speaker is the domain expert, the other person will often be someone capable of hiring. If they bring a +1, talk to that person as well. The goal of your chat is to get any of: dinner invite, next-day coffee, straight up ad-hoc interview.
    - mpeg 9y ago
      Typically the referrals are paid pretty well, from my experience most people in a BigCo will refer anyone with a pulse as long as it's not to their direct team. I wouldn't even bother going to a conference for this, just find someone on LinkedIn who is a 2nd connection, InMail them (no need for an intro), mention your shared connection and that you're looking for a referral for [job spec link] at their company.
- BurningFrog 9y ago
  Yeah, but that just reflects the sad fact that working together with someone is a much better indicator of their quality than any interviewing process. So a referral saying "I worked with X and he/she is really good" should outweigh most other things.
- Y7ZCQtNo39 9y ago
  Isn't this really all industries? Suppose you wanted to get into being a real estate broker. It's all about who you know.
- milofeynman 9y ago
  If you are applying local you can go to meetups and meet people and easily get in to interviews. The hard part is if you want to go to another city and have no contacts or networks. You can't really go to meetups there before you move. I've had to move twice for my wife's job, it's brutal losing two networks. Luckily I was able to work for my previous companies remotely. Then when I wanted to move on I attended meetups and got connected with the right people. Finding work remotely is also an option but it's really difficult getting responses. They get flooded with so many applicants you probably won't even get a reply.
- nunez 9y ago
  Google referrals don't really help you get in; they do, however, make it easier for recruiters to notice you
GuiA 9y ago
This is how you know there isn’t actually a talent shortage in tech, despite what companies like to claim.
kbart 9y ago
Exactly, I think he should have started from this (and that unicorn experience). In other words, he's not just any young developer with 2 years experience.

That, plus this: >Previously from a unicorn startup Still, must have been some referral for those kind of offers.

This is one of the things that really sucks about the industry. It is a new "boy's club", and if you know people in the club then the barrier to entry is easier (if you can code at a reasonable capacity).

wwalser 9y ago
The entry fee for a referral is striking up a single conversation at a conference. If someone from a big tech company is speaking at a conference, the fact that they are speaking isn't the primary reason for being present. They are there to recruit.
- milofeynman 9y ago
  Hah, that assumes their current employer will let them go to conferences.
  - wwalser 9y ago
    I'd take the day off for the prospect of $100k+ raise.
- richardknop 9y ago
  Just having a chat with someone at a conference is often not enough to get a referral tbh. I'd assume for a referral you need to know a person at least reasonably well, i.e. you know each other on first name basis and have been out for a beer or worked together on some open source project or something like that. I don't believe you can just walk to a person at a conference, talk to them to 15 minutes and then ask for their referral.
  - wwalser 9y ago
    I was a bit brief on tactics. Yes. Don't just ask for a referral. Tactics: Understand that they are there to recruit. This should give you confidence. This isn't some weird game, you're not manipulating or tricking them. They are here for these conversations. Some soft-skill tactics don't work for everyone. If some/none of the below materializes or isn't your thing, it's alway okay to ask. "Are you doing any recruiting while in town? I'm interested in talking to someone at NeatCo." If you can speak at the conference, that is preferable. If not, walking up and saying hi will work but it should involve you asking a well-informed question about the thing they are speaking about. Spend an hour before the conference researching their topic and come with something in mind: What lead company X to create Y? If someone were motivated, could they create ${interesting but not crazy new feature/thing} using Y? If you don't have a question, just talk about the content of the talk. Tell them what you thought. The person speaking on behalf of NeatCo will often bring another person with them. The speaker is the domain expert, the other person will often be someone capable of hiring. If they bring a +1, talk to that person as well. The goal of your chat is to get any of: dinner invite, next-day coffee, straight up ad-hoc interview.
  - mpeg 9y ago
    Typically the referrals are paid pretty well, from my experience most people in a BigCo will refer anyone with a pulse as long as it's not to their direct team. I wouldn't even bother going to a conference for this, just find someone on LinkedIn who is a 2nd connection, InMail them (no need for an intro), mention your shared connection and that you're looking for a referral for [job spec link] at their company.
BurningFrog 9y ago
Yeah, but that just reflects the sad fact that working together with someone is a much better indicator of their quality than any interviewing process. So a referral saying "I worked with X and he/she is really good" should outweigh most other things.
Y7ZCQtNo39 9y ago
Isn't this really all industries? Suppose you wanted to get into being a real estate broker. It's all about who you know.
milofeynman 9y ago
If you are applying local you can go to meetups and meet people and easily get in to interviews. The hard part is if you want to go to another city and have no contacts or networks. You can't really go to meetups there before you move. I've had to move twice for my wife's job, it's brutal losing two networks. Luckily I was able to work for my previous companies remotely. Then when I wanted to move on I attended meetups and got connected with the right people. Finding work remotely is also an option but it's really difficult getting responses. They get flooded with so many applicants you probably won't even get a reply.
nunez 9y ago
Google referrals don't really help you get in; they do, however, make it easier for recruiters to notice you

GuiA 9y ago

This is how you know there isn’t actually a talent shortage in tech, despite what companies like to claim.

kbart 9y ago

Exactly, I think he should have started from this (and that unicorn experience). In other words, he's not just any young developer with 2 years experience.