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Robin Discusses Professional Coaching

General Discussion

Professional Pitch: Speicifc audience, so make spcific things relate. Like interviewing, with less personal information and more professional information. What tools do I have, and I an excellent communicator, leadership and other soft skills should should be introduced.

Personal pitch: You don't know for sure where the discussion is going to go, and could be more personal, my story, where I came from professionaly and somewhat personally.

Discovering a commonality between you and another person helps build your network, build your social cred, and build professional and personal bonds.

Workshop Discussion

Seven Steps to Employment

Graduation from Code Fellows 401 course
Look for a job
Stellar resume => Bear in mind that a resume is a baseline, the real qualifiers are in the interviews, team match, technical skills evaluation, etc.
Phone conversation/screening
Technical interview - a peer-to-peer discussion where candidate articulates their problem solving skills
Professional interview - discussion about experiences related to work style, the company, the position, capabilities and value propasition
Offer! Ask questions of the offering company, including negotiation

Stay grounded while going through the interview and offer process.

Keep your mind on your goals and in the moment, such as quality of life; it's not ALL just about salary.

It is ok to ask for what you want, just be prepared to accept or decline something slightly different after negotiating for what you are really looking for.

Is this a dream job?
Does the team feel like a good match?
Are there opportunities to move up in the group and/or company?

Go To Market Strategy

Show your candidate company that you are the candidate they are looking for.

Consider that the candidate company wants to make money, so your value proposition must match with their goals.

Be willing to:

Work hard
Take risks

The Pitch

YOUR STORY!

YOU can CONNECT with OTHERS

The Venn Diagram of who you are and who others are overlaps at the connections you build with those people.

Only needs to be 30 seconds to 2 minutes, that's it.
Depending on the scenario, longer or shorter pitch could be appropriate.
Point your pitch toward things you love to do and want to keep doing.
You do not have to share your life story!
Have an OUTLINE of your pitch so you know what key points you want to touch upon.
Show positivity and passion in your pitch.

The key elements of a great pitch:

What is the WHY behind the why? Why are you here?
What beliefs drive you? e.g. I am committed to taking care of my family
What values do you highlight?
Tell it as a story i.e. I am the hero of my own story; overview some discovery, challenges, or obstacles that are important to me; Skills to save the day!

Can include:

Your background industry or environment: Your title; your focus in the industry; prior experience
Key strengths and values formed: Sing your own song! Don't make people guess about who you are, what you link, and your incredible skills!
Destination, where are you going? Specifically, I am interested in... Include this in your resume!! Make it obvious what you are looking to do!
Education and Training: Encourage the passion to learn and improve
Professional development: Sharing and implemnting best practices
Leadership and Innovation: Promote collective knowledge and experience

Wisdom: It is not conceit if it is true.

Make it easy for the listener to understand where you are going.

Why did I chose Java? Why was that worth so much time and investment to learn? Where Is Your Pitch Utilized?

Presentations @ Code Fellows!
While networking virtually or in person
Outreach emails
LinkedIn connection requests
Informational interview!
Profile Statement on the resume is a pitch so write it that way!
Phone or on-site interviews
Meeting new coworkers

Introductions are pitches!

Ideal environment: How will I use highlighted skills?

Designed for the professional.

Recruiters are looking at LinkedIn profiles, in addition to Googl-ing your name.

Changing notifications off/on is up to you once you're done fixing up your profile.

TODO

[ ] Make sure your page looks good, ready for hiring!
[ ] Turn off notifications to avoid spamming your network (profile => settings & privacy)
[ ] Need to have a common name on your Resume, LinkedIn, and GitHub. Go-by name should be in parenthesis.
[ ] Be easy to find! Be sure to make a distinction between you and the many other people that share your name.
[ ] Ensure your professional headshot: Clear, groomed, smiling, business-casual attire, posture. Use the same photo across all online professional profiles. No selfies, animals, alcohol, friends, etc. Consider a professionally-shot headshot.
[ ] Background: Creativity encouraged! Avoid the stock photos because they tell the visitor you did not spent time thinking about an interesting photo [ ] Summary/About: Include sw developing, tools, languages... add you pitch! Include where you are and where you are going. If you already have a good pitch on your resume then include that on you LinkedIn. Maximize space toward who you are and where you are going, but avoid life-stories.
[ ] Education is education (including Code Fellows if you include it); Experience is your professional and personal experience that applies to your value proposition and where you are going. Be breif, but informational.
[ ] Skills: Stay away from fluffy "MS Word/Office" skills. Developers know hard core stuff, techie stuff! Be clear that you have development chops needed to break into tech and your target role. Take the skill quizzes!
[ ] Take quizzes! React, javascript, html, css, Java, mongo, mongoose, sql, C# (already done)
[ ] Endorse classmates!
[ ] Add Projects to LinkedIn! Even a single project, but add it. Find it under "Add New Profile Section".
[ ] Hyperlink projects whenever possible after polishing them up, including grammatical errors, etc.
[ ] Add everyone on your team via LinkedIn, and list their information on your projects.
[ ] What did I build, Why did I build it, What Key Technologies were implemented?
[ ] Engage on a quest of getting over 500 connection to unlock a LinkedIn achievement BUT make sure you know these people and prove you are connected in the industry. Be intentional on how you build your network.
[ ] Purge old network links whenever you want! Send invites to Partner Power Hour guests!
[ ] Recruiter Notifications: Verify current status and set reminder to change this setting after August 16th (Recruiters only, All members, etc).
[ ] Follow influencers. Follow companies and individuals in groups/tech you are interested in!

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