Recently, I’ve been thinking about the next step in my career. After making a pivot from software engineering to data analytic and staying in this field for 3+ years, I feel that my career is kind of stagnant. Many people become people managers afterward, but honestly, I’m not sure if I’d be interested to manage a team at this point.
So, I decided to do a job search and landed 4 job offers, of which 2 of them are roles in Sweden and two are in the US which is where I live currently. In total, I might have applied for more than 20 jobs.
After taking the time to evaluate the offers, I learned that going to Sweden means at least a 40% to 50% pay cut. But, in return, the country offers a generous social safety net, and a lot more family benefits, and much more affordable health care.
Another offer from a US investment bank is a senior data analyst which offers ~40% more. I accepted the role at first but two days later I decided to rescind the offer. I realized that although it offers more dough than what I’m currently making I am not sure if I’d like to start building a career in the investment/finance industry. Thankfully the manager understood my decision and he offered his contact in case things didn’t work out. Then, I kept interviewing and landed another role as a senior product research analyst with a 50% increase in a tech startup.
OK, enough for the story, here are a few things that I did to land multiple offers
Taking lots of time to improve my resume
For me, this process took about a to two months, and of course, there will be more improvement down the road. There are lots of resources out there but my general guideline is to keep it one page if you have less than 10 years of experience, maybe two at the maximum. Also, tailor your resume to the job description if you have multiple interests.
Quantify your achievement as much as you can and show that you outperformed the metric goals if possible. Start to brainstorm some ideas such as how much money you saved/brought for the company, how many people you led, or how much time you have saved by building that system/application. For instance, instead of putting “writing SQL data model”, perhaps you could write “improving SQL stored procedures execution times from 10+ minutes to 30 secs”.
Review the job description and find the ones you did and make sure that you include these keywords in the resume. For instance, if the job description says “collaborate with multiple departments such as product and marketing”, make sure that you include similar phrases in the resume. If you apply for 10 jobs and didn’t hear anything back, that could suggest that your resume needs some work.
Here are some resources and guidelines on how to improve your resume:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/how-to-quantify-resume
https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-quantify-your-resume-bullets-when-you-dont-work-with-numbers
Hiring a coach to go over my resume and do a mock interview
I hired a coach to help me improve my resume and practice my interview skills, particularly my introduction and project story. To me, this has been super helpful. I re-wrote my resume and practice my own introduction at first, and she made it more concise and clearer.
In the beginning, I actually felt overwhelmed with the number of effort I have to put in. I wasn’t sure where to start – should I practice my technical skills first? Or should I apply for the jobs, or maybe reach out to a referral? Or, should I update my resume as I am applying for a job? Having a coach helps me think that I’m not alone in this process and points me in the right direction. But more importantly, it keeps me accountable.
But it can be quite expensive, and honestly, not everyone needs it – probably depends on your skills/experience, the role you are applying, and what’s the demand for the role itself. If you are thinking to work at big tech companies – the investment will be very much worth it. You can potentially double or maybe even triple your income.
Getting referrals over LinkedIn, Facebook group, and Team Blind.
Although getting a referral doesn’t guarantee you a job, it certainly helps increase your chances to get more interviews. It increases the odds that your application will be seen by a recruiter or a hiring manager. The more interviews you can secure, the more likely you can get multiple offers.
Getting referrals especially would be super helpful for new graduates. The number of college graduates has increased during the past years, thus, more competition and they may also have to compete with more experienced applicants.
Here are a few places to get a referral:
- Search your target role group on Facebook. For instance, I found there are lots of human resources professionals group on facebok.
- Join Team Blind and mention in the post title that you are looking for referral for x and y companies. Don’t forget to tag the companies so that existing employee would be notified.
- Reach out to your existing network via LinkedIn. At first, I hesitated as well because I don’t really want to bother my ex-colleagues or friends. But companies will also reward your colleagues which may range from hundred to thousands of dollars depending on the company’s budget and seniority. So, it is a win-win situation for all parties.
- Search for similar group on reddit and discord channel. I personally did a few mock interviews with some connection I found on discord channel.
Doing lots of mock interviews (by myself, a coach, and mock interview partners)
What I typically do is go to Glassdoor to find out the typical interview questions for the specific role and company. I’d look at some patterns to see which ones are being asked often and prepare for the answers. Sometimes you may not be able to find it, and if this is the case, I’d at least prepare typical behavioral questions such as tell me about yourself, what projects you worked on in the past, and tell me about “when” type of questions. STAR method would work well to structure your answer and tell a story about your project.
It would also be very helpful to ask the recruiter what type of questions in the next interview (is it behavioral or technical) and the interviewer’s name so you can take a look at his/her profile on LinkedIn. If the interviewer has a Ph.D. or technical background, it may make more sense to use more technical words while you may want to use more business language if you are interviewed by someone with a consulting background.
After collecting the questions, I wrote my answers on a word document since most likely I’ll re-use them in the future. Say the answers out loud and try to internalize your interview structure and answer. Personally, I practiced my interview an hour in the morning, and sometimes also in the night (or even in the shower).
Take a break and take advantage of spaced repetition. If we repeat new information/new skills at spaced intervals, for instance – you practice interview tonight, tomorrow, and next week – you will internalize better rather than trying to practice intensely or cramming the night before.
Frankly, I can be quite lazy sometimes, and setting up multiple mock interviews with interview partners has helped me be more disciplined and accountable. What’s appealing is also the social aspect since I enjoy social interaction. It may take some research to find a discord channel to find interview partners in your field, but once you found it – it will be worth it. Here are some Discord channels if you are in the software engineering or data analytic field.
Data analytic: https://discord.gg/ZykGWMDQ
Software engineering: https://t.co/PyhgszV5Is
Whenever you can, do a mock interview with someone with a similar background or maybe candidates who are also interviewing for a similar position. That way you perhaps can learn (learn meaning things you should and shouldn’t do), provide feedback, and receive more relevant feedback as well.
If you need some help with being a little more organized, maybe a productivity planner can help.
Trying to time up the offer timeline
Getting multiple offers at hand is not easy but it is possible. My trick is I always try to ask more ample time before scheduling the next interview for my favorite companies, therefore I can practice my interview skills with my least preferred companies. I also asked how many interviews rounds are involved for each company, so typically what happened is my second-choice company will move faster, and when I know it is getting closer to the final process, I’ll start dragging the process i.e. scheduling the interview in the next week while still showing my gratefulness and excitement.
Sometimes the company can be a little aggressive in a way that they schedule the next interview in a short time frame, but you as a candidate can always ask for more time (unless maybe they need to fill up the role quickly, which I rarely found the case). Mention that maybe you want to take more time to prepare the next interview, or maybe you already have an upcoming trip.
But what if you only get a single offer and are still interviewing somewhere else? I’d take the offer but still take the chance in another company because you at least want to secure one offer. It’s ok to rescind the offer later. Worst case scenario is you burn the bridge with one company. But who cares? There are tons of companies out there. In fact, in my case, the hiring manager offered me a future contact in case things don’t work out.
Sending emails directly to the recruiter
Another strategy that I did to get noticed is sending emails directly to the recruiter. Recruiters are typically very busy and crafting a good and personalized email can increase your chances to get an interview. A few things you want to mention are why you are interested in the role and why you think you are a great candidate for the role. Here is a guide that I used to write an email/cover letter to a recruiter.
Note that I only did this to a few positions that I’m super interested in because it typically took me about one or two hours to craft a cover letter.
Replying to most messages from recruiters
You guys might notice that the US job market is super hot recently. And many of you probably also receive lots of messages from recruiters.
Sometimes it is very tempting to ignore their messages but I always try to reply. At least asking about the role and how much the salary range is. Note that not all recruiter takes the latter question positively, sometimes they don’t reply to my question, which I can understand that maybe they don’t want candidates to apply only for the money. But I think revealing the salary, in the beginning, will save everyone’s time. Many thankfully understand and are willing to provide this information. Let’s say the salary is a bit too low, at least I learn which companies/role pays well and which ones don’t (and sometimes make a connection with the recruiter).
Trying to not take rejection personally
In the past, I used to take interview rejection personally a lot. I still do these days but I think I’m getting a lot better. I used to tie my self-worth too much with my achievement, and this is probably one of the main reasons why getting rejected hurt me so much. But recently, I’ve been changing my mindset that although we have lots of control in the interview, there are still things that we can’t or maybe have little control such as your competition, the people interviewing you, and your emotional state on that day.
Not many companies give feedback, but if they personally reply to you, thank them and ask them if they have any feedback for you. For instance, one feedback that I received from an interviewer is that my story lacks details. As a result, I took a note and added more details as necessary.
Two perspectives that help me calm my overly self-critical habits are:
- The efforts that I put into preparing the interview and doing the interview is not wasteful because it will prepare me to do better for the next interview. The fact that I’m getting rejected perhaps bring one step closer to my goal.
- There are still many other companies out there. Even though I don’t get the position this year – maybe I can try next year (if there are list of companies that you really want to get into). At least for me, having a longer time frame to achieve big goals (for instance 3 years vs 1 year) sounds more realistic and feasible to achieve, therefore I am more likely to put efforts.
Things that I wish I did in the process
- Only applies to the roles that I’m interested in.
- In the beginning, because I really don’t like my manager – I applied to any openings in analytic. Even though I knew that I wasn’t interested in the industry, but I still applied anyway because I have this “in case” mindset. As a result, I got lots of calls and maybe it is not a bad idea if the job market is not so great or if I need to pay my bills now, but if you have pretty good job and you can still handle your manager, perhaps it is better to take your time and find the one you truly like.
- This is relatively a minor thing that I wish I did in the beginning. I’d ask the salary range of the role. When I got one offer, I went through 5+ interviews and learned that the pay is more than significantly less that what I’m making at that time. It is kinda waste of time because I probably spent a few days on the home assignment. Some recruiters may ask the range to you, and it is a good idea to send the question back to them. I’d typically say something like “I haven’t really done a lot of research actually, can I know what’s your company budget for this role?”.
Once you get multiple offers – I’d also learn a few scripts for negotiation. I’d suggest negotiating over the phone, I also had success negotiating over emails.
If you are not in the job market, I really suggest that you consider or maybe interview casually because of a few things:
- You may find better opportunity i.e. better pay, WLB or maybe more meaningful projects. Better pay means you can take care of your family better and you can get closer to FIRE.
- You have been in the company for longer years this means it is very likely that you have built more experience and skills. Technically you deserved get paid more. Sadly, this is not the case in many companies I was working for. Most companies may offer 1-3% increase, if that.
- You may learn bunch of new companies, and identify which one pays well and which one didn’t, and maybe add new connections as well. Or maybe you learn new opportunities/specialized role that you didn’t know exist before.
I hope this is helpful and good luck with the process!
Vi, a software engineer with a keen interest in personal finance, had planned to retire once she reached her lean FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) goal. However, after achieving the goal, she took few months of a mini-retirement filled with travel and adventure and decided to continue her career.
For the past five years, Vi has been using Personal Capital (Empower), a free financial tool. Her favorite features include the dashboard for net worth, allocation, and planning, which help track her FI/RE goal and keep those investment fees in check.