π©π»βπ» Saman landed an offer as a Software Engineer, 14 weeks into her job search!
Proactive outreach can land you that new job.
Saman worked as an Event Producer for 2 years before deciding to pivot into software engineering. After completing a Bootcamp in Software Engineering in 2020, she landed her first role as a developer with an IT consulting company in 2021.
However, it paid below market rate and did not provide career growth, leaving her deeply unhappy. After a year of working in this role, she left and started looking for a new job that better aligned with her career goals.
She joined the 12 Week Career Launch in Feb 2023 to learn how to present herself better in the job market, along with receiving accountability to make sure she continued the job search.
Her goals for her job search were:
β‘οΈ join a mission drive company where she could receive support from a great team
β‘οΈ continue to grow her technical knowledge
β‘οΈ Increase her salary by $20-30K
She got all that and more! After 3.5 months of consistent effort - she signed an offer!
Hereβs how it happened.
Software Development was a new field for Saman, so creating a new professional identity was key to beginning the job search.
Next, we created a networking strategy to utilize both current and new connections.
In her previous work as an Event Producer, she had lots of contacts with people in the tech world, since the event she helped create is a Data Science conference. To take advantage of these connections, she started reaching out to the people she knew at different companies who attended the conference.
She also utilized connections from her family and friends, receiving introductions to company founders to help extend her network.
One of these connections turned out to be a Sr. Software Engineer who founded his own company. He was looking for another engineer to support building out a new application that was part of a multi-year project. But it turns out there was a candidate with more experience already - so Saman continued the job search.
Consistent outreach
During the entire time we worked together, Saman focused on expanding her network while reaching out to her current network to see who could be helpful. She started landing interviews and take-home tests, connecting with startup founders and expanding her network.
Hereβs a peek into her experience:
The Job Offer π
At 13 weeks into the program, Saman reached out to check in with the software engineer who founded a new company, and a week later she signed an offer!
Turns out the candidate he had in mind was not available anymore and that opened up the possibility for Saman to step into the open role. If Saman had not reached back out, 2 months after the initial conversation, the opportunity would be lost to her.
By the end of May, 14 weeks into the program, she signed an offer for a Software Engineer role, the 1st hire for the startup!
During her time in the program, she worked with a Job Search Coach to:
β optimize her LinkedIn profile, portfolio and resume
β learn how to strategically followup with connections, old and new
β stay accountable to continue the job search
Saman signed an offer in May 2023 for a base salary of $85K. Increasing her salary by $20K by landing a new role in software engineering.
Want results like these in your job search?
Book a discovery call to learn how this can be your story next.
Clients see results almost immediately after joining.
β Multiple interviews in 4-6 weeksΒ
β Β Receive offers 8-12 weeks
β Β Increased comfort with how to handle interviews within 2-3 weeks
β Β Increased confidence in understanding transferable skills in 1-2 weeks