Top 5 Things You Should Do NOW to Pivot into the Tech Industry

(Photo Credit @jluebke)

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Well, it’s that time of the year where we all spend our weekends working on taxes that we should have done months ago…but who doesn’t love a good deadline to get the brain juices flowing?? I also wanted to say thank you to two individuals from my network who independently of each other sent me very lovely & personal thank you notes for caring about the people I work with and continuing to share great career advice. Sometimes you wonder when you put stuff out into the social media ether whether it connects with anyone - and it has been gratifying to continually get notes like these from folks who have never liked a single post, but instead actually read every single one. I think I’d rather have regular readers than semi-random likers. 

#announcements

I enjoy helping people navigate through transition. It’s both challenging and empowering to navigate a career pivot, challenging as there is so much to learn and empowering as you start to see yourself & your skills in a new light. 

I’ve also found that many of my clients could use a support community to help them with their pivot into tech. It’s a hard road to walk alone!

So I’m launching my first Digital Orchards Fellowship to jumpstart the tech career pivot for a small cohort of ambitious individuals. You can join the waitlist here to learn more about the fellowship before anyone else! digitalorchards.com/fellowship

#careertip : Top 5 Things You Should Do NOW to Pivot into the Tech Industry

I’m often asked by prospective clients: what should I do if I’m considering a pivot into tech? It’s a great question - and has opened up many good conversations about how to shift both your mindset and your skillset towards this new industry. Remember, it’s never too early to start preparing to make this shift! Even though there are a lot of tech job postings out there, just randomly applying is unlikely to get you the result you’re after: a great job in a top tech company. 

1. Take Stock + Envision your Future There’s a reason you’re considering this switch, and you’ll have to explain it to others too. 

   1. Start by writing down where you see yourself in your current career, and where you envision yourself after a successful career transition into tech. Why are you leaving your current role/company? What kind of role will you be in after this pivot? What kind of company did you end up at? 

   2. It’s ok to dream here! This quick exercise will help you to define why you’re making this move, which will help keep you motivated along the journey. 

2. Find Extra Time You will need to open up extra time & space in your life to make this pivot. How are you going to do that? 

   1. Sit down and estimate how much time you can realistically devote each week to making this career change happen. 

   2. Then write up a list of tradeoffs you’re willing to make with yourself, your spouse/partner/family, volunteer commitments, etc. Maybe this means getting takeout every Sunday night so you can spend your evening on your career change? It might mean you need to step back from a volunteer commitment for the next quarter. 

3. Manage Your Current Job Consider how you’d like to handle your current job and what kind of departure you’d like to architect. 

   1. Think about bonuses and promotion cycles. 

      1. Are you close to getting a yearly bonus? Aim to make your transition after that date and use it as motivation. 

      2. Are you going to be up for promotion soon? I’d advise you to focus on your current role, get the promotion, and then start to make your pivot. You’ll be able to command a better salary and/or title in a new company by leveraging your recent promotion. 

   2. Not interested in bonuses or promotions? Maybe you just want to get out asap. Think about how to move your current job into ‘maintenance mode’ so there are no complaints about your work, but it then frees up your brain to learn new things about tech. 

4. Identify Tech Connections Try and learn from trusted connections about the new industry you’re moving into. 

   1. Identify 3 friends/connections who work in tech. Look for people who are in roles and companies you are considering. 

   2. Don’t have those connections? Think about how you can leverage your current network to get to those who do work in tech. Fellow alumni? 

   3. Reach out to tell them you’re considering a move into tech and would appreciate their advice on how to get started. Schedule informational interviews to learn why they work in tech, what you need to know about company cultures/operating styles, and skills needed for your target role(s). 

5. Develop a Learning Path Everyone who pivots into a new career needs to learn about their new target industry. 

   1. Use what you learned from your connections to write out 3 key topics or skills you’ll need to develop or refine. 

   2. Find the resources to help you learn. Online courses will cover tech topics like ‘What is cloud computing?’ or ‘What is cryptocurrency?’ as well as teach you how to use SQL or Tableau, often in 2-3 hour courses. (Check out sites like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udemy, Code Academy.) 

   3. Then we can add these courses to your resume to demonstrate your growing tech domain expertise. Likely, you’ll also end up using this information during your future interviews - so recognize its value in the whole tech career pivot process. 

6. BONUS: Consult a Tech Career Coach A tech-specific career coach can help explain the nuances of the tech job search process. Make sure you find someone who has worked in tech as a recruiter or has hired others into various functional roles within tech & startups. 

   1. Seems counter-intuitive that I only just mentioned resumes in the previous bullet. However, if you don’t do the 4 things above, it’s just not worth it to do much work on your resume or to start applying to jobs. Tech recruiters can easily tell when you haven’t spent any time getting to know their industry – and they also know it means you’ll likely fall out of the interview process later on. 

   2. Have you been struggling to design your tech career pivot? Schedule a call with me today to discuss strategy! 

It’s never too late to make a career pivot! You deserve to be in a job that values your skills and expertise, and you should keep searching until you find the right one. 

Once you’ve done these 5 steps, we’ll discuss how to convert this new knowledge into your resume & other job search materials. 

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Dusting off your LinkedIn profile as a covert job seeker

(Photo credit @nathanareboucas)

#careertip

Some of my current clients are looking for a new job while they are still working at the current one. It’s a common occurrence for many of us - but the challenge arises when you are trying to network, but don’t want the current employer to know your plans. How do you update your LinkedIn profile without spooking your manager? Here are 4 steps to take: 

1. Turn off the feature that broadcasts your profile updates to your network! 

While it can be a useful feature when you want everyone to know about your promotion or job change, it’s not helpful at this stage of your job search. Here are directions on how to find & turn off that feature. 

2.  Turn on the ‘Open to Work’ feature - but *only* for Recruiters. 

LinkedIn added a feature called ‘Open to Work’ - you’ve likely seen some profile pictures with this hashtag surrounding the picture. That is visible if you have indicated you want ALL of LinkedIn to view your job-seeking status. If you only want Recruiters to know you’re seeking, make sure to select that option. Here are directions on how to turn on/off the Open To Work feature. 

3. Consider what skills your new roles(s) will find relevant

If you are pivoting to a new industry or new type of role, you need to update the content & messaging of your LinkedIn profile for both humans AND algorithms. Browse a few job descriptions for the role(s) you want to pivot into. Then write down the keywords & skills they emphasize to give you a solid list of words you should be including somewhere on your profile. 

4. Change these 3 items now: Headline, About Me/Summary, and Skills. 

• Your headline should reflect what you want to do (not just what you currently do). It may also reflect your personality or the way you interact on a team. Here are a couple of sample headlines to help guide you: Product Manager, Data | Musical Prodigy in my mind | Extroverted Introvert OR Product Marketing Manager | ECommerce Nerd | Marathon Runner

• Your ‘About Me’ section should at a minimum include a 3-line summary of your bio. Make sure to include the keywords for the role(s) you want to pivot into (as they are searchable too). 

• Think of your Skills section as the keywords that recruiters will be searching for to find candidates like you! Make sure to select the Skills you want to appear at the top of your profile. 

How to best leverage one’s network in job searching

(Photo Credit @linkedinsalesnavigator)

Stay in touch with your advocates and ‘weak work’ contacts to have success in your job search

I get a LOT of questions about how to best leverage one’s network in job searching. We’ve all heard the adage that ‘weak ties’ help you find jobs -- but it’s not quite true anymore. These days, you need to leverage both your strong advocates and your ‘weak work’ contacts to be successful in today’s job market. 

• Let’s define these two types of contacts.

  • Strong advocates are individuals who know you well and can speak in specific detail about your work. These can be current or former managers, direct colleagues, or even those who have volunteered with you on a significant project.  

  • ‘Weak work’ contacts are individuals who know you and your work, but probably not very well. You may have only had a brief interaction with them, or they may be someone you met via a work-related networking event. 

• Why keep in touch with both types of contacts? 

  • Strong advocates are important as companies are always seeking references, and SAs can provide a strong reference. These individuals are also invested in your success, and can help you with in-depth advice that could help you make it through an interview process. 

  • ‘Weak work’ contacts are also important as they can let you know about roles at similar companies, often moving in similar circles as you do. Often, these are people who will become future colleagues again or future collaborators, so staying in touch can be useful for both of your careers. 

• How do you keep someone as an advocate or build a stronger bond with a ‘weak work’ contact? Stay in regular contact with them and show gratitude. 

  • Did you know that the vast majority of people who network during their job search never follow-up with anyone they networked with? Don’t let that be you!

  • If you're still in your job search process, send a quick 1-2 line update to just let your contacts know what’s happening. Especially if it’s been a few months, they will appreciate the quick note, updating them either about your status with their company or your general search. No real ask is included - just an update & a quick thanks for reading. 

    • Sometimes it might yield a spontaneous offer of help. But its purpose is to lay the groundwork for growing and maintaining this relationship - and to show it's not just a transactional interaction. 

  • If you’ve received and/or accepted an offer, make sure you follow up with ALL the people you networked with, especially if they are in the company that gave you an offer. 

    • No one does this -- so you’ll stand out!

    • Say thank you for their help, mentorship, guidance, regardless of the level of support they offered. Tell them if anything specific that they did was particularly helpful. If you didn’t accept an offer with their company (and chose to go elsewhere), still thank them!

    • If they went above and beyond to help you, you could consider a gift (like a nice candle or flowers or a pen or a college-related item if you’re a recent grad). A nice thank you email or handwritten note are also well-received. 

    • If you are joining their organization, ask for a meeting to discuss tips on how to be successful within their organization. If you are going elsewhere, ask them for one tip on how to be successful when joining a new team. Either way, you’ll be building the relationship to show you value their mentorship outside of just the job search process.