10 ways to supercharge your job search (w/ links)

I presented "10 ways to supercharge your job search" at the Chicago Tableau User Group (ChiTUG) February meeting to BI engineers, Tableau lovers, and soon-to-be college grads. I tailored my advice to those in the BI/DataViz world, but the framework can still help anyone in tech supercharge their job search. Special thanks to ChiTUG for the invite!?

"10 ways to supercharge your job search"

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1.)??Build your brand

• Create a professional digital footprint utilizing at least four social media sites. LinkedIn, public.tableau, Dev.to, Twitter, StackOverflow, Github, and substack/medium are a few of my favorites. Keep the profile picture & bio consistent across all platforms. Utilize Notion or GitHub as your career website with links to your socials, portfolio, resume etc.
• Here's a great example of someone using this strategy.
• Post multiple times a week by re-purposing the same content on all platforms. Use hashtags when appropriate. #DailyViz #100DaysofCode #DailyUI #DataViz #Tableau #DataAnalytics #Python #SQL #DuBoisChallenge2023
• Posting Ideas:
• Screenshots of a project you're building.?
• Make multiple mock-ups and ask your audience which one they like the most.?
• Make improvements to the products & services you use. Tag the company and send the post to someone internally.
• Ask & answer questions within your domain.?
• Post your development journey as daily updates.
• Share old projects and detail what you might have done differently.
• Ask your newest co-worker, ChatGPT!?

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2.)?Join & Network in curated communities

• Join Slack groups, Discord servers, meet-ups, and layoff lists.
• Find relevant Slack communities?HERE.?
• Find relevant discord communities?HERE.
• Find a coding partner at a?code and coffee meet-up.?
• Add your name to?Wiseful's layoff list, which hundreds of recruiters use to source recently laid-off talent.?
• *Applicable to Slack, Discord, and Meet-up communities* Introduce yourself to the group, participate in discussions, ask/answer questions, and seek feedback on your resume once the community has seen your participation.?
• Figure out who the moderators and influencers are within these communities and follow/connect with them on other socials (LinkedIn, Dev.to). These people are active within the community, likely to respond, and more likely to introduce you to others!

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3.)??Connect with Recruiters & Hiring Managers

• Pro Tip: Entry-level job seekers should focus their networking with internal recruiters & decision makers, while Sr. talent should network with internal and external recruiters.?
• How do you find recruiters?
• Post on social media and ask your slack/discord/meet-up communities what recruiters they would recommend.
• Search LinkedIn -> "tableau recruiter "or "analytics recruiter" or "BI Recruiter" or "data recruiter" + your region. Play around with the keywords and locations. Connect and send a custom message directing them to your portfolio/socials.?
• How do you find Hiring Managers??
• Post on social media and ask your slack/discord/meet-up communities if they know of any companies or managers hiring.
• Search LinkedIn -> "tableau leader "or "analytics leader" or "BI leader" + your region.
• Search hashtags on LinkedIn like #NowHiring #DataAnalytics under "posts" and you'll find people actively hiring using the hashtags you searched.?

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4.)??Use ChatGPT for cover letter, resume, and content generation

• Prompt ChatGPT to....
• Write a brief cover letter using similar language to the following job description: "copy and paste the entire job description."
• Rewrite portions of your resume to include more impact action statements.?
• Write a cover letter using keywords from my resume: "copy and paste your entire resume."??
• Austin Belcak has created a great how-to guide on utilizing ChatGPT for your job search.?

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5.)??Target Positions at Startups

• Joining a startup provides a unique opportunity to be a part of a team that is building something new and innovative from the ground up. Startups offer an environment where creativity and outside-the-box thinking are encouraged, and your ideas can directly impact the success of the company. Additionally, startup culture often emphasizes personal and professional growth, providing ample opportunities to learn and develop new skills. Traditional job boards might be over-saturated, so look at startup-focused sites such as the following:
• https://startupsearch.com/?
• https://1871.com/jobs/?
• https://startup.jobs/?
• https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs?
• https://angel.co/jobs?
• https://builtin.com/jobs/data-analytics
• https://www.levels.fyi/still-hiring/?
• https://hired.com/

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6.)??Ask for a referral using Blind & Fishbowl

• Don't know anyone who will refer you into a company? Blind and Fishbowl have communities where you can get referred to posted positions. Your likelihood of getting a response or interview increases 3x - 5x when you receive an employee referral.
• https://www.teamblind.com/
• https://www.fishbowlapp.com/topics

7.)??Master behavioral questions using STAR

• The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific Situation, Task, Action, and Result of the situation you are describing.
• Erika Coaches has a great Twitter thread detailing best practices while using STAR.?
• The Random Recruiter has a list of common practice questions you can use when prepping with STAR.?

8.)??Build your technical skills

• A key requirement for BI jobs is strong technical skills. Start by acquiring skills in programming languages such as SQL, R, Python, and tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel. There are PLENTY of FREE resources to learn foundational knowledge as you interview and grow technically.
• CareerFoundry
• Datacamp
• OpenLearn
• Harvard
• Coursera
• Udemy
• Dataquest

9.)??Learn from others

• A job search can be stressful and frustrating, so reading how others made it through their search can be encouraging.?Scott Halasy wrote a great LinkedIn article?detailing his 4 month long job search during the covid layoffs.

?10.)??Partner with talent cookbook?

• Inspired by engineering technical cookbooks, talent cookbook is a 2 person Chicago-based consultancy that connects technical talent with exciting engineering approved teams. talent cookbook has successfully placed candidates at 5 person, bootstrapped startups to VC backed teams with $2B + in valuation.?
• Our client list and openings are ever changing, so don't hesitate to connect! We might just have something that matches your experience.?
• Email:?jason@talentcookbook[DOT]io?
• Connect on LinkedIn:
• https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/jasondingee/?
• https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/talentcookbook/?