
Ask HN: How would you leverage a network that doesn't know what you do? - ccdev
As in, to obtain a job through someone in that network. That&#x27;s my situation at the moment. I&#x27;m a software engineer who doesn&#x27;t have any peers that work a similar job. I also lost my job, and socially I mostly keep to myself as an introvert. Also, I am not entry-level in this. I have been in the field since 2007.<p>I was laid off from my last job and my ex-employer doesn&#x27;t know anyone else that is looking to hire a software engineer. He just sometimes messages me saying &quot;I might have some work for you to do&quot; as short term gigs but it&#x27;s nothing full-time and not sustainable at all to make a living of.<p>With that said, I started submitting job applications as a total stranger, but also tried hitting up the people I already know. It is then that I realized none of my local  friends are in software engineering.<p>I posted an announcement on my Facebook wall saying I&#x27;m currently in the market and that if anyone knows anyone that&#x27;s hiring for a SWE to send me a message.<p>I didn&#x27;t get replies from the post (have 120 or so FB friends). One of my friends re-posted it with similar wording, but he didn&#x27;t get any replies either.<p>So now I&#x27;m thinking that I&#x27;m approaching my network wrong. There has to be a better way to find the diamonds in the rough. If you had to find a new job and don&#x27;t have one, in what way would you approach a network if it was like mine?
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dudul
I think you may be confusing friend network and business network. After 10
years in the field, it is _inacceptable_ that you don't have at least a dozen
of past colleagues to call to get an internal referral. I personally don't use
Facebook but it doesn't strike me as the best platform for that. Your buddies
and college friends are one thing, your ex coworkers/reports/managers are
another.

TBH, it should be easy to find a gig simply by applying to open positions that
you find on interesting companies websites. However, I strongly recommend that
you start working more seriously on your professional network in the future.
Make sure you keep in touch with good colleagues, make sure you remain in good
terms with everybody, etc.

~~~
ccdev
I have a couple of work colleagues. I don't know if it makes a dozen. All but
two of them have left the state since I've worked with them, so I can't meet
most of them face to face anymore. They all do seem to have better careers
than I do, though, so the potential to find a good position through them seems
high. I have them on LinkedIn and have let several of them know that I'm
currently looking for software engineer work. Currently they just don't know
of any open positions.

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Amogha_IO
Have you tried: angel.co triplebyte.com

they are both great resources for software engineers looking for jobs!

angle.co is a great place for finding a job in a startup (of all shapes and
sizes).

I have personally never tried triplebyte.com, but I have head good things
about it.

Also, go to meetups (meetup.com) around your area and start networking, it's
never too late to start networking and meetups are a great place to start
networking if you are new to it...

You can also start a blog+portfolio and go freelancing for a while. Most times
freelancers get hired as full-time employees if they are working on large
projects and the client recognizes the value you bring to the table and wants
to retain you.

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zhte415
Type up your CV and find recruiters.

They sometimes get a bad name, but that's also sometimes undeserved, and the
good ones are like gold; they will often know people in their clients'
business well. That's your pre-made network.

No need to show loyalty to one recruiter at the start. Get in touch with a
few, and continue with the ones you like. You'll also be in their rollerdex
forever more.

As you're still on good terms with your former employer, mention, emphasise
this - you're laid off because of circumstances out of your control, not
performance related.

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pszczurko
Play the numbers game. You definitely have software development experience so
apply 'as total stranger' to as many places as you can through their jobs
section. With the giants (Google, FB, Amzn, etc) it may be harder to hear back
from this way, but mid-sized and smaller companies are more likely to respond
to you. While applying for internships and new grad positions, overall I
applied to more places 'as total stranger' as opposed to via referrals from
friends and received responses.

~~~
ccdev
Oh I'm playing the numbers game. Hitting up companies of all sizes. But I
don't think it's something I should be doing for all your career.

>While applying for internships and new grad positions, overall I applied to
more places 'as total stranger' as opposed to via referrals from friends and
received responses.

I'm not a fresher, though. I have been working in the industry since '07\. And
yes this is how my network looks like. Zero fellow programmers, zero leads
(apparently) to get work.

I never thought of the career as a chain of jobs where one job leads to
recognition that helps you more easily get the next job. I thought one could
do fine just looking for work in a vacuum every single time. But guess I was
wrong...

~~~
nilson
Have you tried to ask previous coworkers maybe they know somebody? There are
certainly some programmers in your network. but mybe not on first "node".

~~~
ccdev
Yeah. I usually ask if they also know anyone that is hiring. So getting into
second-degree connections. It's weird considering I live in a big city. I felt
like I was dealt a bad hand, but just made it worse.

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Cozumel
Maybe you're looking at it a little wrong. Maybe some of your friend run a
business and need some IT help, maybe they need a website?

Try reframing it from their perspective, not what they can do for you (tell
you if people are hiring) but what you can do for them (make them a website,
sort out their IT etc)

~~~
ccdev
Well, I did already post an announcement on Facebook saying that I'm looking
for web development/software engineering work, and it got reposted by a
friend. It didn't get any replies.

I also occasionally PM some of my friends on Facebook and on Hangouts if they
are hiring or looking for web development help. None of them have any idea.
I've been going on regular rotation with the PM's for about a year (I've been
unemployed that long) and they always say sorry, they don't know anything
about jobs for me.

