Job search in the middle of a crisis.

I started building Recrooit about five months ago, and we launched two months ago. Things are going quite well. Recrooit is a referral-based recruitment platform, where industry professionals recommend their peers for the advertised positions. I would love to see some of you joining us as Recrooiters, and I welcome you to sign up.

But that's not why I'm writing this post.

Building a startup in the middle of a pandemic is scary, making me think about all the people struggling to find jobs.

We wrote an article to help people navigate a job market with high demands, but I wanted to share a few tips specifically for the dev community.

I understand many people might feel overwhelmed and ready to quit, and I'm hoping this will help you gain a new perspective on the job search.

It is Possible To Find A Job During The Pandemic!
When you have the right tools 🛠💡

The big old monster.

Working as a recruiter, I was "lucky" enough to try out numerous recruitment tools, mostly different ATS software. Hiring teams use applicant tracking systems to manage the process. Although these tools help recruitment teams secure good candidate experience, it often happens the ATS they use:

Sucks. 🤗

Why? Like any other industry, there's a bunch of snake oil software in recruitment. Some of them have wannabe-AI functionalities that automatically reject a good CVs because they are missing keywords.

TLDR; #1

Use keywords.

👉 The first thing a recruiter wants to see on top of your CV is your tech stack, even if the company is not using an ATS.

Avoid adding those weird-looking graphs as well. Unless you have a relevant assessment result, you can link, the information you are know HTML 80% is irrelevant.

Use .doc, .Docx, or PDF to apply for jobs, and keep it simple.

I need the experience to get a job and need a job to get experience.

Beginners and juniors face the biggest challenge when it comes to job search. Internships are amazing, but not everyone gets a chance.

It's hard to get your foot in the door.

I'm not going to yack about how important it is to get ready for an interview. You need to get to that interview first.

So, what can a developer do to build credibility?

TLDR; #2

Build.

1. Technical screening often involves a home project to test technical knowledge. Gather all of the home projects you did during the job search on GitHub. If you don't have any, search for them online.
2. Contribute to open source. It's a great way to network, as well, and that could be your way into your first job.
3. Build something your family or friends need.
4. Or build something complicated, explain the process in an article and link it.

Wrap all that up in your CV.

❌ Also, here's the list of no-nos:

• Not asking for help. If you're reading this, you're in the right place to ask for help when you're stuck building something. DEV.to community is truly unique.
• Comparing yourself to others. We are all different, and we excel in various skills. Keep this in mind: that Senior developer you keep comparing yourself to: never quit.
• Taking rejection personally - their loss. Move on.

Where to look for work?

This year was terrible. The excellent news is everyone's hiring remotely. You could get a job anywhere in the world. Search different channels using keywords like tech, jobs, remote, developers... you get the point.

Social media

When you think about it, companies often don't even post vacancies to job boards. They use their social media channels for this, and you can't keep track of all of them. It would be best if you dug a little.

1. Facebook groups
2. Twitter (hashtags)
3. Instagram and...
4. LinkedIn

Speaking of LinkedIn, just like your CV, it needs to be keyword optimized. Recruiters use boolean search and keywords to source passive talent. Meet them halfway.

Referrals

Building a network is essential. Informing that network you're looking for a job is even more critical. 80% of employers say the best hires come through referrals.

Slack channels

Remember the open source communities I mentioned? Most of them have a Slack channel to gather the community around the project. Some of the contributors might even be hiring, and you can always point out that you're looking for a job.

Now use the rest of this post to provide creative ideas on what might work for those searching for a job at the moment.

• Seniors, what worked out well for you when you were starting?