Networking: A necessary evil for most of us, for others it comes naturally. I personally felt like such a goob putting myself out there. But, like anything else, once you do it for a bit it will become second nature.
The Basics:
First steps would be updating your Git profile and LinkedIn, which I did docs for already. After looking through the LinkedIn doc, you should have already “followed” companies that you are interested in, and looked within that company to find fellow devs, and recruiters that work for that company. Since I assume you’ve only recently updated your LinkedIn to reflect that you are now a dev, look up folks on LinkedIn you already know, people who you went to college with, high school, people who you used to work with etc. You might be surprised how many people in your existing circle might already work in our realm.
Real World Opportunities:
- Look up “Tech Meetups in my area”. These are usually groups of devs that perhaps use a specific language, or a back end group, front end, UI/UX specifically, etc. If you find a group that’s not specific to full stack, it’s still fun to go and learn about new things, and chances are they work somewhere that hires cool people like you! Tech meetups are usually only an hour or two, are free, or ask for a small donation, and are quite casual (in my experience). The one in my area lasts for about an hour and half, and we order pizza and everyone brings beer or pop to share.
- Conferences: These are usually 2 to 3 days long, and usually over a weekend. Unfortunately these are usually quite expensive. However, they usually look for volunteers, and volunteers get in free. From what I have seen you volunteer for a shift or two, and then you get a pass for the rest of the time. If you google tech conferences you will probably find many. They are usually in a larger city, so you may need to travel and find a place to stay.
- Reach out to devs in your area, not for a job, but just for a conversation, people love to talk about themselves. Ask them about their journey, their experiences, what advice would they give to their younger selves,etc.
Extra Credit:
There are many slack and discord groups out there that you can join. I am part of another slack group called “code connector”, if you’d like an invite let me know, I didn’t want to post one here because they expire. They do many virtual tech meetups, this is nice if, like me, you live in a more rural area and in person meetups are few and far between. As for discord, if you watch any coding YouTube channels, pay attention, they usually mention their discord channel, or have a link in their channel profile. Amigos code, 100devs, and Danny Thompson (commit your code) all have discord channels. They all are a bit different but most have their own presentations/recordings/meetups, etc.
What is the point of networking?
Let’s be honest, people would always rather work with someone they know, so even if you have only met a few times, either virtually or in real life, the next time their company has an opening for a full stack dev, hopefully they will think of you! So don’t overthink it, just go out there, be your charming self, and get out there! And when you meet someone new DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW UP, keep that conversation going, use your common sense and don’t harass them, but if they seem friendly, just check-in and now and again, and hopefully that connection will grow.
Remember, networking is a gradual process, and building genuine connections takes time. Be patient, stay proactive, and approach networking with a mindset of building long-term relationships.
- I would also advise you to stay organized, keep track of your new contacts, and what dates you met, reminders to follow up, etc. As I mentioned before I use Notion for this.