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May I ask how you found this role? I find networking confusing I’ve been sending connection requests to people on LinkedIn to no avail

gigatexal 3y ago
I got lucky. I posted on HN's Who Wants To Be Hired really looking for a new role but with a blurb that I was open to contracting and someone reached out.
gigatexal 3y ago
Networking is about starting within your sphere of influence. If you have no network start with friends and family. Ask "who do you know at company X or in industry Y that I could talk to about roles [A,B,C] at company X or how I could better align myself for a role in the industry or at company X." (I hope that makes sense.) Example: "Hi Mark! We both worked at company A and now you're at Apple! That's so dope! I'm reaching out because I am looking for a change and I really think it'd be fun to work at Apple. How do you like it there? I know the place is super secretive so maybe generally can you tell me how working there has helped you grow in our field? I saw these two Apple roles A and B links here and here. Could you help me talk to the hiring manager to really see exactly what they want from a candidate, what problems they're trying to solve? Would you be willing to refer me to the role? Thanks, John Doe" Then work your way up. So say you have a role and have folks you worked with that have moved on to companies you think are cool. If you are a worker with a good reputation of being productive etc., reach out to them (even better if you were friends before they left) because you have the current company in common it will serve as a conversation starter. Ask them about their current role, what they like, how they've grown, and if there's a role there that you want to interview for ask them for advice about it and even for a referral. You can repeat this process for folks that share your same university, church, other social group etc. But that's basically how I approach networking. Oh and one more thing, nobody likes being a stepping stone or being used. So in all these interactions be honest, open, and be genuine. Legit take interest in them and their success and they will reciprocate. Good luck! Feel free to reach out (email in bio) if you wanna chat more. And if you want to migrate to Berlin I have some pointers there, too as that's what I did. I am originally from Portland, Oregon.
- mandeepj 3y ago
  Can you please share your journey about moving to Berlin?
  - gigatexal 3y ago
    Yes! So in around 2015 or so I was a bored MSSQL DBA and had been on HN for some time. I noticed the who’s hiring and looked for Python roles. I had taught myself enough Python to be dangerous and thought I’d apply. The role happened to be in Hamburg, Germany. I didn’t think anything of it so I applied. They responded and offered me a job. It was a logistics startup in Hamburg! They moved my whole family over. My wife, my dogs, and all our stuff. 7 months later I and a bunch of other employees left as they moved development to India. I had a bunch of roles in between but have always found something. And finally I landed a role in Berlin and it’s awesome. We moved here about 2.5 years ago from Hamburg and we love it a ton more than Hamburg. Berlin is far more accepting of foreigners. Housing is still nigh impossible to find for reasonable prices but it’s doable if you press really hard and don’t give up.
    - mandeepj 3y ago
      Great story. I’m glad it turned out well for you. During summer of 2019, I was debating between Munich or Berlin - for visiting; end up going to the former. Really loved it so much that I was contemplating to move there. In retrospective, I was thinking - even though everyone was stranger to me, but I didn’t get any such vibes from them. Super friendly people, food was great as well. Did some shopping and found it to be not expensive at all. Have u been to Sweden? For some reason, there are a lot of German expats there. Not sure if it’s better job prospects or something else.
      - gigatexal 3y ago
        We actually just got back from a vacation in Sweden. We found everyone there super nice. But we weren’t there long enough to really check out the job prospects. Honestly as much as I love Berlin if I were to do it again I’d probably target Amsterdam. They’re very friendly to expats especially Americans it seems (at least from my experience) and the city is awesome and you really could get by never learning the language as so much English is spoken there. And it seems the tech scene is really good too. Years before our move to Hamburg we visited Munich and had the same experience. It was such a nice city. For our income at the time we thought it was expensive but still I remember thinking that if we ever moved abroad Munich would be a dope place to settle.

gigatexal 3y ago

I got lucky. I posted on HN's Who Wants To Be Hired really looking for a new role but with a blurb that I was open to contracting and someone reached out.

gigatexal 3y ago

Networking is about starting within your sphere of influence. If you have no network start with friends and family. Ask "who do you know at company X or in industry Y that I could talk to about roles [A,B,C] at company X or how I could better align myself for a role in the industry or at company X." (I hope that makes sense.) Example: "Hi Mark! We both worked at company A and now you're at Apple! That's so dope! I'm reaching out because I am looking for a change and I really think it'd be fun to work at Apple. How do you like it there? I know the place is super secretive so maybe generally can you tell me how working there has helped you grow in our field? I saw these two Apple roles A and B links here and here. Could you help me talk to the hiring manager to really see exactly what they want from a candidate, what problems they're trying to solve? Would you be willing to refer me to the role? Thanks, John Doe" Then work your way up. So say you have a role and have folks you worked with that have moved on to companies you think are cool. If you are a worker with a good reputation of being productive etc., reach out to them (even better if you were friends before they left) because you have the current company in common it will serve as a conversation starter. Ask them about their current role, what they like, how they've grown, and if there's a role there that you want to interview for ask them for advice about it and even for a referral. You can repeat this process for folks that share your same university, church, other social group etc. But that's basically how I approach networking. Oh and one more thing, nobody likes being a stepping stone or being used. So in all these interactions be honest, open, and be genuine. Legit take interest in them and their success and they will reciprocate. Good luck! Feel free to reach out (email in bio) if you wanna chat more. And if you want to migrate to Berlin I have some pointers there, too as that's what I did. I am originally from Portland, Oregon.

mandeepj 3y ago
Can you please share your journey about moving to Berlin?
- gigatexal 3y ago
  Yes! So in around 2015 or so I was a bored MSSQL DBA and had been on HN for some time. I noticed the who’s hiring and looked for Python roles. I had taught myself enough Python to be dangerous and thought I’d apply. The role happened to be in Hamburg, Germany. I didn’t think anything of it so I applied. They responded and offered me a job. It was a logistics startup in Hamburg! They moved my whole family over. My wife, my dogs, and all our stuff. 7 months later I and a bunch of other employees left as they moved development to India. I had a bunch of roles in between but have always found something. And finally I landed a role in Berlin and it’s awesome. We moved here about 2.5 years ago from Hamburg and we love it a ton more than Hamburg. Berlin is far more accepting of foreigners. Housing is still nigh impossible to find for reasonable prices but it’s doable if you press really hard and don’t give up.
  - mandeepj 3y ago
    Great story. I’m glad it turned out well for you. During summer of 2019, I was debating between Munich or Berlin - for visiting; end up going to the former. Really loved it so much that I was contemplating to move there. In retrospective, I was thinking - even though everyone was stranger to me, but I didn’t get any such vibes from them. Super friendly people, food was great as well. Did some shopping and found it to be not expensive at all. Have u been to Sweden? For some reason, there are a lot of German expats there. Not sure if it’s better job prospects or something else.
    - gigatexal 3y ago
      We actually just got back from a vacation in Sweden. We found everyone there super nice. But we weren’t there long enough to really check out the job prospects. Honestly as much as I love Berlin if I were to do it again I’d probably target Amsterdam. They’re very friendly to expats especially Americans it seems (at least from my experience) and the city is awesome and you really could get by never learning the language as so much English is spoken there. And it seems the tech scene is really good too. Years before our move to Hamburg we visited Munich and had the same experience. It was such a nice city. For our income at the time we thought it was expensive but still I remember thinking that if we ever moved abroad Munich would be a dope place to settle.