Graduated Springboard: My Job Search Strategy. How I landed my job in 2 months.

All right, so today we're going to talk about job strategy. It seems like everyone is about to go into the job search process or, you know, are currently in the midst of it. So I kind of wanted to share with you guys my tips, the things that I went through, what I did, the type of people I connected with, how I stayed positive during this time, and essentially how I landed my first job. So to give you guys a little bit of context, I was done with Springboard Bootcamp around early 2020 and between the span of two months I applied to 80 jobs in total, to like full-time jobs. I got eight interviews and yeah, and I got an offer from my current company. I guess that's considered very quick because usually it would take three to six months before you start hearing back from companies and then like six months to a year before you land your first job. So yeah, I would say I got pretty lucky but I also, you know, worked really hard during that time because I graduated during the time where COVID was at its peak, even though it's been at its peak for quite a bit. But you know, that time everyone was like getting laid off. I remember like looking through LinkedIn to see the stats and I remember there would be like over 200 applicants to one job, so it was a lot. It was a little disheartening because there were so many people to compete with. So I truly resonate with those who are struggling during this time, feeling the effects of imposter syndrome because I've been there and I totally understand. So what I did when I started switching over to the career portion of Springboard and started applying to jobs, you know, and Springboard's really good at like setting you up with the resources and with a career coach and how to reach out to people. So I don't think anything I'm going to share is per se groundbreaking, but I do have like tidbits of like modified advice I would give. So like anyone else, I used many, many job boards. I applied to a lot of places, like I would cold apply, but I'll also make sure I reached out to two people and I would only reach out if I really, really wanted to work for the company. If I feel like I was passionate about or aligned to, I would put my efforts into writing a personalized like cover letter or message to them. So I would reach out to two people. I would target the HR, the recruiter, and the lead designer. So I really go dig deep into the company profile. Like for example, if I see a job opening on Dribbble, I would research the company. I would look through the whole employee list and see the two people that I would reach out to. Not only that, I would see if I know anyone at the company. And if not, going through that employee list, I would then see if I know any mutual friends who would know someone in that company. So I would then do the due diligence of asking my friend to connect with me to someone in the company. So I'm doing like all these like little things that would get their attention and sort of get my foot in the door. Just to segue into how I kind of formatted my messages to actually get replies. I think Springboard kind of gives you like a format in which to follow. I tried many different methods to see which one worked for me and I do feel like there's kind of like two tones or two categories of the way you can format messages. So this is kind of the long game, right? This is called I would what I'm calling like the genuine route. You're playing the long game. You are messaging HR or the lead designer and you're trying to make small talk and you're wanting to learn more about their company. But you're taking that message really really slow, right? So something like, hey my name is Jacqueline, how are you? I heard a lot about your company, really like what you guys do. Tell me a little bit about your design team, right? So super like, you know, nothing that you could really hate about that. Super genuine, small talk, playing the long game. Second, I would say the second route is I would call it a salesman person. So this one is a little bit more aggressive, right? And I'm sure you've gotten LinkedIn messages like this. It gets right to the point, cuts right to the chase. You're sort of telling the person who you are, what you do, and then you like leave your portfolio link into the message. And me, typically as a person, I lean more towards the genuine route. I'm just not so much of like a salesperson because it at first felt really like grimy to me. But I've tried both and surprisingly the more like straightforward or the more aggressive I was, the more response I got back. Because in the beginning, I was really timid to kind of tell people what I needed or show people my work if it wasn't asked for. So I never really pushed for it. And those conversations, you know, I would start off like asking them questions and I told them I was interested in their company. And there was this one conversation that was probably like two to three days long, and it didn't really feel like it was leading anywhere. And at the end, the person I was talking to ended up just telling me, like, if you're interested, you could just apply to our portal. I think that's the best way to do it. And I've gotten answers like that quite frequently. And I know that's like not the best thing to hear because it just seems like they're brushing you off and trying to get rid of you. I think that's pretty normal if you do get replies like that. But it just wasn't good enough, right? It didn't feel like I was getting momentum. And so I just started to kind of experiment and switch things up a bit and do something that was like a little bit more uncomfortable. So I would be now very direct. I would say, hey, my name is Jacqueline. I saw that you guys are hiring for XYZ. I already applied, but I wanted to reach out to you and connect with you and learn more about your company. Then just kind of talk a little bit more about the company. And then I would leave a link to my portfolio and tell them to check it out and let me know if they have any questions. Let them know that you already applied and that you're reaching out with them for a purpose. Yeah, leave in your portfolio, even if it was not asked for or not, if it wasn't warranted. I mean, these people are not stupid. They know what you're doing when you're messaging them. I don't think people have a lot of time in the world to keep a conversation going with you. So I think when you cut to chasing and tell them exactly what you want, you know, it's still well received. And the worst thing that could happen is that they just don't reply to you. They look at your stuff. They don't reply. That's happened many times, but actually quite a few times I've had good replies. People tell me nice portfolio and to come interview and even at positions that I didn't feel like I was qualified for. They were asking for like three years of experience. So I do know that being really straightforward and cunning to chase, whether it's your style or personality or not, it's still very effective. So I would keep those messages really, really short. I don't really talk that much about myself. And because I was like freshly graduated, I didn't really have, I felt like I didn't really have a lot of skills to elaborate on and to kind of brag about. So what I often did was kind of talk about my passions. So it spent like one or two sentences talking about why I like that company and how that aligned to who I was as a designer, which wasn't hard to do because I was only reaching out to companies that I truly had an affinity for. I forgot to mention this. I realized in the video, I had a lot of luck with startup companies. So companies between like 30 to 50 people, maybe they're new, more newer to the market. So when I reached out to startup companies, I would actually sometimes reach out to like the founder of the company. And I would actually get responses from them. I think what I've noticed with these startup companies is that they tend to be more lenient on what they're looking for, or they're more willing to like give junior designers a chance versus corporate who have like a more seasoned team who have like a criteria and there's more of like a ladder to climb. So there's more qualifications. But with these startups, you know, a lot of them are hiring their first UX designer and their first UX lead. And I do think that if you are applying to those type of companies, definitely, definitely reach out. And that's just from my experience. So that's just my extra tip. So back to me, I was applying for like two months. I was targeting full time jobs because I'm a I need a stable job. But I was also, you know, freelancing on the side. So it kept me really, really busy. And then just one night, I was like super late at night, I think it was like 12am and had anxiety and I couldn't sleep because I was still looking for jobs. And I saw my company's job posts and they were looking for a UX designer. And I did all my steps, I researched the company, I looked into the employee list. And I didn't know anyone on the design team. But I did see that I was friends with someone within the company. And I haven't spoken to him in like over 10 years. He was actually a really good friend in high school, but I just haven't seen him. And so I decided to reach out to him. And I started asking him about how he liked working there. You know, the conversation flowed as naturally as it did. And nearing the end of our conversation, you know, it could have went one way or the other, I could have said thank you for answering my questions and apply to the job. But I was, you know, I was like, you know, I could ask him for a referral. I know, I haven't talked to him in 10 years. And that probably comes off really slimy. And I don't know if he would be down for that. But at the point, you know, what do I have to lose? I'm just gonna ask him. And so I was like, hey, like, can I ask you if you would be willing to refer me? If not, it's okay. Just, you know, just want to throw that out there. And he was actually, you know, more than happy to. And also because he gets a bonus too. So I'm sure that helps a lot. I forgot to mention, after he sent in the referral, I got a call back fairly quickly, and I was asked to come interview. And I was actually the first person that they did interview. But I went through the job interview process, just like everyone else, I went to through two, three rounds before I got hired. A couple weeks later. Last thing I want to talk about is your health during this time. You know, I truly, truly resonate with each and every one of you who is going through this process. Because although it seemed like, you know, my turnaround time was fast, but during those two months, you know, every single day just felt the same, right? And there's no like end in sight. So luckily, with springboard, I was able to meet up with my counselor like twice bi weekly, so twice a month, just to update him on the things that were happening in my progress. So if you're in springboard, and you don't know if a career coach is like, going to help you, they're not there to like, help you get a job, but they're there to like help guide you. And it really took advantage. I really took advantage of that. I remember there was like one day where I was telling him, yeah, I messaged this girl, and we had a small conversation. But you know, I didn't really get anything out of it. And I feel like I could have said something else to kind of turn that conversation in another direction. But I remember him telling me like, well, she replied to you. And that is a good thing, right? And that is kind of the momentum you're looking for. And that conversation really stuck out to me, because from then on, I started changing the way I thought and the outlook of my circumstances. And I started journaling every small wins of the week. So at the end of the week, I would write down all the small wins as something as small as you know, she replied to me on LinkedIn, she complimented my portfolio, my friend introduced me to someone, I'm really excited to talk to them. So start journaling, start writing down all your small wins. And you will soon see your wins get bigger and bigger and bigger. And so when you look back, you could truly reflect on the progress you made. So I think that's really encouraging to really look back on those things. So that's the thing that like, really made me stay positive. If you're doing everything I've said, I have said and more. Just know that you are probably doing the best you can. And you know that things are going to get better. So give yourself some slack. You know, I've had people tell me that they haven't seen anything happen in three months. And to be honest, that's pretty normal. Nevertheless. Yeah, so good luck, everybody. It's gonna get better. So hang in there. Bye, guys.