Most people anxiously squirm thinking about negotiating their salary.

This is an area where people usually just wing it because they're too uncomfortable to negotiate but winging it could literally cost you thousands of dollars.

Why not give yourself the opportunity to get a much higher paying salary?! Sometimes all it takes is a new perspective so that's exactly what we're going to do here.

Here's an easy way to think about negotiation...

You, or someone you know, have likely sold your car on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace before. You would never just post your ad online without doing any kind of research.

You'd want to know what your vehicle's worth in its current condition, what features increase its value, and how much it can sell for to a private party in your local area or how much it's worth as a trade-in.

You don't want to be low-balled on the price or overshoot and have no interested buyers. So, you do some research by checking out sites, like Kelley Blue Book, and equip yourself with knowledge.

That knowledge gives you the power to confidently sell your vehicle for the value it's actually worth so you and the buyer can both win at the end of the day.

Negotiating your salary is a lot like selling your car on Craigslist. You have to know your worth, set your price, and make the ask.

1. Know Your Worth

Research

Similar to researching Kelly Blue Book for your car, you need to know your own value. Like knowing what makes your car so special and worth more than the others being sold that are similar. Think of the base features versus added customizations. What's that look like for you as an employee?

What value are you bringing to the role, the team, and the company?

There are a few ways to identify your value.

You can use sites like Glassdoor, Monster, and CareerBuilder to narrow down and hone in on your value and see what others are currently being paid in the industry. A few things to help you determine an appropriate salary are:

• Average salary for the role in your local area
• Level of experience
• Training or educational background (FYI: Your V School Certification is equal to a 4-year university!)

Understand Your Added Value

Be mindful of the skills you've mastered and keep track of any special awards, achievements, or goals you've accomplished along the way that help show what you're able to bring to the team beyond your tech skills.

Consider your mastered skills, unique experience, and find similar salary ranges in the marketplace for the roles you want to apply for.

Ask Recruiters in the Industry

One way to find out how much you're worth or how much companies are willing to pay for your skills is to ask recruiters directly. We regularly invite industry recruiters to speak at V School to give you the opportunity to ask them these kind of questions directly so make sure you're attending our events regularly!

2. Pick Your Number

It's good to have an ideal range in mind but it's even more vital to pick a specific number. During a negotiation, you'll go slightly higher that your specific number (like selling your car on Craigslist). From there, you can negotiate a fair agreement you're both comfortable with.

It's important to note that you also need to know when to walk away. What is your absolute bottom number you'd say "Yes" to and when would you walk away?

Think through this now and it'll be like giving yourself a raise from day one!

3. Make the ask

Don't beat around the bush. Be direct. Be positive. Be passionate. Be excited! Employers expect to negotiate so not going there could instill negative confidence in you. You don't want that.

Most company owners are usually ready to negotiate in order to get the best talent at a fair rate. Always remember that good employers are willing to pay good money for good people, especially in tech.

Be respectful and professional at all times. Do NOT burn any bridges around this conversation.

Sell it! Be confident. If you loved your car and you know it's worth, you won't be uncomfortable asking people to pay for it's true value. The same goes for you!

Here's how the conversation will likely go:

Interviewer: What salary do you expect to make?

Your response: "My expectation is that I'd be paid the market value. I've very interested in adding value to the team and want to make sure there's a good culture fit. Do you have a range in mind?"

From there, you've put the ball back in their court and have some information to work from so you can confidently negotiate and land in a comfortable spot.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

This is the final piece you'll need under your belt when you walk into the job search during Stage 2: Experience. When you know your worth, set your price, and know how to make the ask you'll have sky-high confidence going into any interview.

1. What value will you be adding to the company (beyond your tech skills)?
2. What is your ideal salary range?
3. What is your specific target salary?
4. What's your absolute bottom number you'd say "Yes" to?

Imagine this...

You applied for that job you really wanted. Your resume got you noticed and your LinkedIn profile was spot on. Then, you get the call.

You've been chosen for an interview! Now what?

This is the part where you can stand out in the hiring process!

So far you've looked good on paper (and online). Now the hiring manager just needs to interview you in order to do their due diligence to ensure you're a good fit for the company and role.

Here's the thing... most interviews are positioned as a one-way conversation where YOU are in the hot seat having to prove yourself. That's nerve-racking and no fun.

The real key to a good interview is to turn the whole thing into a 2-way conversation. That means during an interview, you'll want the company to ask you a series of questions to see if you're a good fit for them and vice versa, you also want to ask a series of questions to see if they'll be a good fit for you.

The truth is, you've worked hard get to this point and you're about to give your time, experience, value, and expertise to this company. You need to interview them as much as they're interviewing you.

You're going to need a plan. Why? Because interviewing without a plan is like riding a bicycle on ice. Things might go okay but likely will quickly go terribly wrong. Not to worry. Your days of nervous interviews are over!!

These two simple guides are just what you'll need to flip your interviews into 2-way conversations so you can conquer interviews with confidence:

DOWNLOAD THE INTERVIEW GUIDE

How to Win the Interview: 5 Strategies to Stand Out in the Hiring Process

DOWNLOAD THE TOUCHPOINT TIMELINE

The Interview Followup Guide: How to Follow Up After the Interview the Right Way

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

With intentionality and preparation, you'll win the interview and land an amazing stepping-stone opportunity in tech!

1. Download the two guides
2. Print out the Interview Guide
3. Highlight all the questions you'll want to ask during your interviews
4. Pre-write responses to questions you think you'll be asked

You're going to thank yourself later for taking the time to think through and practice this now!

A bland cover letter gets lost in the stack of papers and emails. On the other hand, a good cover letter motivates hiring managers to want to hire you.

When people sense your excitement for a role and easily see how your goals, skills and values would make a great addition to their team, they can't help but want to talk with you.

Good news for you! Your V School resume already includes everything that's in a traditional cover letter. So technically, you don't need a cover letter. If the job application doesn't call for one, you don't need to include one.

However, if the job application calls for a cover letter, you'll need to include one (even if they say they don't look at them). You don't want to send the wrong message by NOT including something they're asking for.

So, what do you write? We'll break it down and make it simple for you.

No matter what template or formatting you use, you'll nail your cover letter if you include the 7 parts we're about to show you! This 7-part cover letter will get hiring manager's attention while separating you from the rest of the resume stack.

7 Key Parts to Writing a Powerful Cover Letter

1. Contact Info

Always include your contact info at the top of your cover letter for quick reference. What to include: Your Name, Phone, Email, and links to your Portfolio and LinkedIn.

2. Greeting

Keep your greeting simple and modern (avoid old-fashioned phrases like “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam”). If possible, use the hiring manager's name. If that's not possible, you can substitute with their title or the company name.

EX: Dear (Name/Title/"Company Name" Team)

3. Catchy Opening

Just like the cover of a newspaper, a good headline can get people reading. In addition to having a catchy headline, there are a few options to add alongside the opening up your cover letter:

• If you have a personal mission statement, this would be a great place to include it. Your personal mission statement should describe the kind of results that matter deeply to you in the work you do.
• You could say something the company says. Speaking their language is an easy way to show you're already a great fit and get what they're all about.
• You could open with a cliffhanger. There's no better way to get someone to read all the way through your Cover Letter than by teasing why that role is perfect for you.

4. Reiterate Your Why (Mission/Vision/Values of the Company)

Before writing this section, revisit the company website then briefly describe why the company's mission, vision, and values are important to you. What sets this role and company apart from other jobs and companies you're looking at? What excites you about working for their company and how does it aligns with your career goals?

5. Highlight Your Skills and Passion (bulk of letter)

This is where you don't want to hold back. Elaborate on your relevant experience, skills, and passion as it relates to the role. Include both hard skills (i.e., coding, project management) and soft skills (i.e., I’m curious and always ready to learn something new). Draw the connections of how your past experience(s) makes you qualified for the position. The big takeaway here is to clearly answer: what do YOU bring to the team?

6. Say Thank You

Keep this part short and straight forward by simply thanking them for their time and attention. There's no need to mention anything about next steps.

As Professional Career Coach Ken Coleman puts it, "It’s not your job to follow up. It’s their job to reach out to you. If you lay out your case... they’ll have plenty of motivation to reach out to you for an interview. There’s no need to mention following up in your cover letter."

7. Close It Up

Wrap your cover letter up with a quick, professional closing.

EX:

Sincerely,

Jane Smith

Final Thoughts for Finalizing Your Cover Letter

• No more than 300 words
• Use 11 point font with an easy-to-read modern font, like Helvetica.
• Save as a pdf and use proper naming convention "Jane Smith Cover Letter"
• Review before sending:

    ￮ Check grammar and spelling

    ￮ Print it off and read it out loud

    ￮ Ask a friend to edit it for you

Your Assignment

Write up a practice cover letter using the same practice job you used on your resume assignment, then submit for your SSM to review and offer any additional guidance or recommendations as needed.

Once you have this main cover letter done, you'll be able to use it as your "default" cover letter during the job search phase, easily making custom versions for each job you apply for.

If your resume can't get past the ATS, it won't even see the light of day. What's an ATS, you ask?

What's an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is a software application that companies use to pre-sort incoming resumes before they ever reach the desks of recruiters and hiring managers.

How to Get Your Resume Past an ATS

There are many, many different tracking systems out there. While companies of all shapes and sizes use slightly different systems they all serve the same purpose – remove irrelevant applications to "sift" the pile for recruiters and hiring managers. No matter the ATS, you need to stick to a few core guidelines.

Good news for you, your resume was designed with ATS in mind! This "flat version" resume allows you to both get you past an ATS and get you noticed by recruiters!

Still, the best way to ensure your chances at getting your resume into a human's hands is to optimize and test your resume for ATS before submitting.

One way to do that is by using a tool called Jobalytics. Jobalytics is a free Chrome extension that quickly keyword matches your resume against live job postings.

How to use Jobalytics

1. Add extension to Chrome
2. Upload a resume
3. Click and scan any job posting

At the click of a button, Jobalytics will analyze both your resume and the job posting description. You're left with easy, color-coded recommended keywords you can use to fine-tune your resume.

Skip testing your resume for the ATS and your resume may never even see the light of day. Take the easy extra step to run a few scans, fine-tune your resume to line up more closely with the job posting and you'll get more interview calls.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

1. Use your resume and the practice job (from the previous resume assignment) and analyze using Jobalytics.
2. Make targeted adjustments and scan again.
3. Share your results with your Student Success Mentor.

How do you separate yourself out of the stack of 100-200+ resumes? Easy! We'll show you. Before we do, have you ever stopped to think what the purpose of a resume really is?

Your resume should be a one-page document that does two things:

1. Forces hiring manager's eyes to STOP
2. Helps you land the interview

That single sheet of paper will have 6-60 seconds (tops) to be seen by a human so intentionality is everything. You need to communicate a lot with a little. (Don't worry, we'll show you how it's done!)

So, how do you separate yourself from the rest of the pack? Kick traditional resumes to the curb, flick "cool looking" resumes aside and, instead, clearly tell hiring managers exactly what they need to know (before they even ask).

Professional Career Coach, Ken Coleman, created this 5-part proven framework that does just that. Ken's approach flips traditional resumes on their head and helps get you noticed.

Here's what Ken recommends:

1. Tell Them Who You Know

Relationship/Network

You need to identify your bridge connection. In other words, someone who's relevant and matters to the hiring manager. This is where your hard work with LinkedIn pays off!

When applying, cross-reference your LinkedIn connections with the company's employees and see if you 1) know someone directly at the company or 2) are connected with someone who works at the company.

Once you identify your bridge connection, you can connect with them and ask questions like:

• "What do you love about working there?"
• "Is there a better place to apply for the role? (send them the job link)"
• "Could you connect me with the recruiter in charge of this role?"
• "Would you be willing to write a quick 1-2 sentence endorsement that I could include on my resume?"

2. Tell Them Why You Want to Be There

Enthusiasm/Passion/Values

Look at the company's About page, Company Values page, etc and identify why you'd want to work there. Then, align those reasons with your passions and mission the work they do every day and express how much you'd enjoy being on their team.

This positions you side-by-side with them so they can quickly feel your excitement and see you're already a good culture fit.

3. Tell Them How You'll Add Value

Talent/Character/Skills

Think of your top hard skills, soft skills and character strengths. Describe how your personal character traits, top talents, learned skills and past experience are going to help them win.

This is no time to hold back on self-praise. This is your time to confidently share how your unique skills and background will help their team and company.

4. Tell Them Where You've Been

Past Job Experience

What past work experience has prepared you for this specific role and why? What did you do in that role that made a difference for your employer?

Hiring managers are NOT wanting to research what "duties" anyone in your role had to do. Instead, they want to know what YOU did while in that role that made a difference.

Quantify results as much as possible. Did you lead a team of people (1, 2, 100, etc)? Develop a more efficient system that increased sales by $__? Increased revenue by %? Troubleshoot and solve problems for more than _____+ customers?

The hard work you've put into your LinkedIn descriptions pays off here once again. When your descriptions are tight and include quantified results on LinkedIn, you can simply plug and play here with confidence!

5. Tell Them What You've Learned

Education/Qualifications/Certifications

Your V School Certification is comparable to any university degree out there. You'll list V School first, followed by any other schooling you've completed. This section should be short, sweet, and to the point.

Now that you've learned the basics of this revolutionary approach to your resume, it's time to put it all together.

YOUR V SCHOOL RESUME

To make your life easy, we designed a custom V School Resume for you that uses Ken's proven framework so you can get noticed and land the interview!

DOWNLOAD YOUR V SCHOOL RESUME:

Web Development Version | UX/UI Design Version

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Unknowns are nerve-racking. When you can get hands-on or test something out, those nerves quickly dissipate and you realize "Hey, this isn't so bad!"

For this assignment, you're going to do a simple practice using your new V School Resume so you can get a feel for the process and be confident going into your job search.

1. Find 1 job you'd be interested in.
2. As a practice, complete this resume for that role.
3. Submit for your SSM to review.

Seeing thousands of "tech jobs" online is downright intimidating. That's because looking at a sea of generic "design" or "coding" jobs is too ambiguous.

We're going to show you how to approach your job search in a way that'll not only reveal relevant job opportunities but also help you aim at finding a job that's closer to your "sweet spot" (that perfect balance between your skills, passion, and mission) rather than just any "design" or "coding" job.

When you work in your sweet spot, you'll love the work you do and look forward to each day you work.

Here is our simple 5-step process for finding the right tech jobs online:

1. Choose a Job Search Site

There are literally hundreds of job search sites out there. While there are many reputable sites, we recommend using these top-rated platforms for your job search:

LinkedIn Jobs - Crossmatches your LinkedIn profile with relevant jobs, saving you time and identifying potential jobs at a glance. Easy to cross-reference your network with potential opportunities.

Google Jobs - A trusted meta search built within the world's largest search engine, making job discoverability easy. with simple alert setting options.

Glassdoor - Great for identifying salary rates and company/leadership reviews from current and past employees.

Angel.co – Specifically geared toward tech and startup jobs with opportunities at early stage startups all the way up to industry leaders alike.

Beyond using job search sites, you can also continue keep a close watch out for new potential job opportunities through your networking channels and through the V School #job-postings Slack channel.

What About Job Alerts?

Some platforms, like LinkedIn, autosave your searches and auto-generate job postings they think you may be interested in based on your profile, experience, or previous job searches on their platforms. Other platforms, like Google, allow you to easily set up a job alert so you can keep your pulse on new jobs as they're posted via email.

2. Use the Right Keywords

Different companies use different phrases or titles for the same job. You'll want to search using a variety of versions of job titles when exploring different roles you may be interested in.

e.g. Web Developer, JavaScript Web Developer, Front End Developer, Front End Software Engineer

e.g. UX Designer, UX/UI Designer, UI/UX Designer, Junior UX Designer

Don't just stop and job titles though. Your perfect job may be waiting for you but you might not find it unless you search using some of your top passions and/or skills.

When job searching, mix it up and use a combination of soft skills, hard skills, and job titles and you'll be attacking the same job search from different angles until that one perfect role finally lands!

3. Filter Results (as Desired)

Filter your results and you'll save time by clearing away the clutter, leaving you only with jobs relevant to you and your goals. You can filter specific requirements including location, remote work, FT/PT/Internship, pay range, experience level, etc.

When starting your job search, you can filter out jobs older than 30 days. That will give you a good snapshot at the latest jobs on the market without overwhelming you with older postings that may have already been filled.

After a few days you can switch the filter to only include jobs posted within the last week. By then, you'll have a good finger on the pulse on the most recent job postings. For a quick daily view, you can even only include jobs posted within the last 24 hrs. This is helpful if you want to be one of the first applicants!

4. Apply

Applying for every job you see would be like chasing a herd of cattle. You'll tire yourself out and end up feeling discouraged.

Instead, use this smart strategy in order to get a good combination of quality and quantity job leads going. Your energy will be better used and you'll feel invigorated and accomplished at the end of each day.

A Smart Strategy for Applying

This is where you'll put your Job Search Plan from the previous assignment into action!

• Gather Potential Jobs (20+) – Start your day by spending 2-3 hours gathering potential jobs you think may be interesting using your keywords and saved searches.
• Sift your list (Top 10) – Spend another hour sifting the list down to your top 10. Now you know where you'll spend the rest of your valuable day. You'll start by doing your due diligence and research before going through the process of applying for any roles.
• Research the Role and Company – Visit their website. Browse pages like About Us, Our Mission, Core Values, etc. Look for a Careers page to verify the job is a legitimate job posting. If possible, apply directly on their website. Browse through their employee list on LinkedIn to look for connection bridges.
• Apply for Your Top Favorites (Top 5) – Once you have your top five jobs narrowed down and researched it's time to apply! Apply one at a time and update your Huntr account as you go to stay organized. Save the remaining 5 jobs in Huntr just in case a particular job continues sticking out to you later. You can always go back and apply the next day before you start the process up again.

5. Stay Organized

There's nothing more stressful than scrambling and feeling scattered, especially when up against a time crunch. You can take that out of the picture completely simply by staying organized. Use your Huntr account to stay organized and manage your job search so you can maintain good confidence throughout the whole process.

BONUS!!! REPEAT UNTIL YOU LAND YOUR JOB

This goes without saying but it's easy to slow down or stop when you've applied for a few exciting positions. DO NOT stop applying until you've signed the dotted line for your new role. You don't want to go through the whole process only to have another candidate chosen and not have any other lead opportunities waiting.

Your Assignment

You have the tools and a proven plan in place and now know how to work the plan for a successful job search. Right now, you'll get the opportunity to PRACTICE your plan so you dip your toe in the water and get a feel for what it'll be like. Trust us, it won't be as big, hard, or scary as it seems.

Again, you're just PRACTICING job searching right now. Save your energy for Stage 2 - Experience Stage, when you'll start job searching FT.

Practice your new job search plan:

1. Perform a search and explore each recommended job search site
2. Think of 10 different soft skills, hard skills, keywords, and/or titles as starter searches
3. Identify what filters matter to you
4. Gather 10 jobs across the recommended job search sites and practice organizing them in Huntr
5. Practice researching using 3 of your gathered jobs and look for reasons why this step is so key.

You're one step closer to your amazing career in tech. Are you feeling more and more confident and ready for your upcoming job search?!

Most tech students get pushed through loads of curriculum only to be left holding a certificate with no real plan on how to get a job in tech. That feels defeating. No one should be left feeling that way.

At V School, we not only get you skilled and certified for your new career in tech, we also give you a proven plan to successfully break into your new career.

At this point, you're probably thinking...

Where do I even start...

Should I just start applying ASAP...

I don't even want to think about job searching. You're not alone. Don't worry. As long as you have a proven plan and stay organized, you can confidently land an amazing job in tech. Plus, by taking the time to learn and practice job searching now, you'll save yourself a lot of headache and frustration later.

(Pssst... and it's actually not that hard!)

Sit up in your chair because we're going to show you exactly the plan you'll need to succeed in your job search and break into tech.

Your Proven Plan

There are 3 specific things you need in order to set yourself up for job searching success. You need 1) a personalized job search schedule, 2) a weekly application goal and 3) an easy way to track and organize your applications as you go. Let us break that down for you.

1. Create a Job Search Schedule

The more time you spend on goals, the likelihood of you finishing them goes way up. You'll need to dedicate time for your job search. Treat this special time like it's your new full-time job and you'll speed up your job search.

Recommended Job Search Schedule:

• 9 AM - 12 PM | Gather 20+ jobs you think you'd excel in
• 1 PM - 3 PM | Research and narrow down your top 10
• 3 PM - 4 PM | Apply for your top 5 favorites
• 4 PM - 5 PM | Follow up on applications
• 6:30 PM - 8 PM | Keep your coding/design skills sharp by working on a Stage 2 project and/or personal project

Still thinking about a job you left on the table from the day before? Go back and apply for it then repeat the daily process. By the end of the week, you'll have 20+ strong job leads in the works.

Refine your process and the end of each week and repeat. Do what works for you and customize your schedule to fit your unique life's needs. Remember, once you start applying you won't stop until you accept a position so keep it consistent and tangible.

2. Set Your Weekly Application Goal

In tech, you want a good combination of quality AND quantity to best position yourself for a job that's aligned with your talents, passions, and mission. Submitting to too many random "tech" jobs can water down where you're really trying to go. Not submitting enough applications each week can also drag out your job search. You want to find that perfect balance.

 Recommended Weekly Application Goal

• Apply for 20+ jobs per week that you're genuinely interested in and align with your personal goals

As long as a job is in the general ballpark of your sweet spot (talents – what you do best, passions – what you love to do the most, mission – gets results that matter deeply to you), go for it! Having a weekly application goal gives you a foundation and locks you into a rhythm, which ensures strong job opportunities.

3. Set Up a Huntr Account

It doesn't take long for a job search to get confusing and messy. Thankfully, Huntr.co prevents that for you! Huntr allows you to organize your job search and discover new opportunities, all in one place.

You'll be able to add personal notes to each job, manage your follow-up timeline, set reminders, and keep track of where you are in the process for each role – all in one easy spot.

Recommended Job Search Tool

• Huntr - Set up for your free Huntr account
• As an added BONUS, you can also download their free Huntr Job Search Tracker Chrome extension, making it even easier to collect, track and manage your applications across the web!

That's it. Really!

You're now organized and ready to set up your job search.

Your Assignment

You've already got what it takes to get a fantastic job in tech. Now you've got the plan and tools to help get you there. We'll use this plan to PRACTICE your job search in the next assignment.

For now, plan out your potential job search plan:

1. Create a job search schedule
2. Create a weekly application goal
3. Set up your free Huntr account (BONUS points if you download the free Chrome extension!)

Job searching can be a stressful and daunting experience. But it doesn't have to be.

Getting connected with the right people and the right places can help make your job search a lot easier and a lot more exciting. In other words... networking.

Networking gives you the best chance at landing a great stepping-stone opportunity in tech. Why? Because relationships matter.

At its core, networking is really about building good relationships in and around your industry. Those relationships often allow new doors of opportunities to open.

Having a good network gives you the ability to get closer to the people who are at the companies you're interested in and shows your credibility to potential employers, making you a more trustworthy candidate.

There are a 3 key things you'll need to do to successfully network your way into tech:

1. Get Connected

You're going to need to get connected to the people and places who are already doing what you want to be doing.

One of the best places to start is by connecting with your V School community. You'll be surprised how deeply connected V School is in the tech world but you'll quickly see how close you really are to your dream job along the way!

Start simple by connecting with V School staff and alumni on LinkedIn and getting active in your existing V School Slack channels.

While you're growing these connections in the background, you'll also need to join a few networking groups. These groups are a special part of the recipe as they often foster a unique way to meet new people, safely ask behind the scenes questions, and hear about new job openings (often times before they're even posted online).

Since there are literally thousands of groups out there that you can be a part of, we've provided the top communities we recommend to help you break into tech:

Top 3 Communities for ALL Students:

1. V School Meetup
2. Silicon Slopes
3. RizeNext

Top 3 Communities for Web Developers:

1. Product Hive
2. Silicon Slopes Dev (Meetup)
3. UtahJS (Slack)

Top 3 Communities for UX Designers:

1. Product Hive
2. Friends of Figma
3. Better UX

Once you establish yourself in these credible communities you can then join additional groups to supplement your unique goals and interests. There are many platforms to choose from. Some of the most popular go-to networking platforms are Meetup, Slack, Facebook Groups, and LinkedIn Groups.

Want to find a group near you? When searching for groups on platforms like Meetup.com, you can simply search using your favorite interests/terms like "Javascript" "Coding" "UX Design" etc. and include your zip code when filtering results.

Conferences are also still an effective way to meet new people in your field, grow your contacts, and learn about job openings. Many traditional networking conferences are now being held online, making it easy to attend no matter where you live! For example, we recommend: https://recruitersofutah.com/

2. Ask Good Questions

Many people may think that good networking is all about growing your numbers. While having a larger network is helpful, the real key to good networking is asking good questions.

The people in your network often hold the answers to your questions for the kind of jobs you're interested in. They're also usually more than willing to share their knowledge -- if you simply ask!

These are the kinds of questions to ask:

• What company do you work for?
• What do you love about your job?
• What was your interview process like?
• What types of people win at your company?
• What's the toughest question you've answered in an interview?
• What's one thing you did differently to get to where you're at?
• What's one thing most people don't do that could help them a job?

3. Be Direct

You might feel Impostor Syndrome nagging at your shirt when you join a networking group. Instead of feeling like you don't belong, simply be direct and share who you are, where you're in your journey, and what you hope to get out of the group.

People are very willing to help you get to where you're trying to go if they understand where you're at now and what it is you want to do.

Your Assignment

Are you ready to start networking?! Trust us, this is much easier than it seems. Just start by taking a few small steps forward and the rest will follow. We'll guide you with those initial steps so you can get it down and start growing your network!

1. LinkedIn: Connect with at least 25+ VS staff and 35+ VS Alumni
2. Join at least 3+ of the recommended networking communities
3. Introduce yourself and ask at least 1 question in each of your new groups

When you hear "Career Prep", where do you think you need to start?

I need to update my resume...

I should probably call around for possible work connections...

I need to practice my interviewing skills...

I don't know where to start at all. If you're like most people, you'll probably think something around this ballpark. Want to know the best place to start? The answer may surprise you but it's actually LinkedIn.

So that's where we're going to start. We'll share why this is a vital first step in the career prep process and provide the tools and guidance you'll need along the way so you can build a professional LinkedIn profile and land that stepping-stone opportunity.

Why Start with LinkedIn?

Think of LinkedIn an an overarching umbrella in your career prep journey. It will become the center hub for everything you'll need in order to put your best foot forward while pivoting into tech.

By focusing on LinkedIn from the beginning, you'll be able to 1) network more confidently, 2) make the resume process pain-free, and 3) make the job searching phase easier down the road.

Introducing the V School LinkedIn Guide - the fastest and easiest way to get a professional LinkedIn profile!

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE NOW

Your Assignment

1. Sign in to your LinkedIn account or create a LinkedIn profile (if applicable)
2. Download the V School LinkedIn Guide and use it to make targeted adjustments to your profile. (allow 1-2 weeks for this assignment)
3. Once you've completed the guide, submit the assignment form.

Do not submit assignment until you've first completed the V School LinkedIn Guide

Your Student Success Mentor will review your profile with you and provide additional recommendations, tips, and tricks to polish it up!

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong, even though you do? Then you’ve likely already had a taste of what we’re going to be touching on and, as you already know, it’s not a good feeling.

Before we dive in and start your career-prep transformation, it’s important to take a moment to pause and become aware of something that affects up to 70% of people -- Impostor Syndrome.

What is Impostor Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud". – Wikipedia

Experiencing Impostor Syndrome

How will you know if/when you're experiencing Impostor Syndrome? You'll likely find yourself experiencing:

• Self-doubt
• Comparing yourself to others
• Consistently negative
• The feeling like you don’t belong
• Fear of being found out as a fraud
• Feelings of paranoia while working

“Do you want to stop FEELING like an impostor? Then you have to stop THINKING like an impostor.” –Valerie Young

Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

According to Valerie Young, Ed.D., these are 10 proven ways to overcome Impostor Syndrome so you can be confident at work and in life:

1. Break the silence
2. Separate feelings from fact
3. Recognize when you should feel fraudulent
4. Accentuate the positive
5. Develop a healthy response to failure and mistake making
6. Right the rules
7. Develop a new script
8. Visualize success
9. Reward yourself
10. Fake it ‘til you make it

Now that you're aware of Impostor Syndrome, we've got good news for you!

Over the coming weeks and months, we'll provide touchpoints and opportunities to call out Impostor Syndrome as we take you through the Career Prep journey. We'll also share tools and knowledge that will help avoid the trap of Impostor Syndrome while breaking into tech. You deserve to build the skills, think confidently and succeed in your new career in tech.

Your Assignment

Are you ready to become the best you can be? This assignment is simple, yet powerful.

Take a look at the list above and write down a simple plan of action on how you plan to overcome Impostor Syndrome (should you sense it trying to creep in).

Guessing which way to go into tech makes the process feel big and ambiguous. When you have a compass, you can get right to where you're going much easier and more efficiently. We're here to give you that compass.

Before you look ahead, it’s important to look back, understand where you’ve been, and get clear about where you’re wanting to go.

Your Story is a simple assignment that will help you 1. understand your story, 2. clarify your direction for future goals, and 3. give you a clear path ahead.

Most bootcamps push you through a ton of curriculum so you can get a fancy certificate. Afterward, you still have to go out and get a job. That’s a lonely and overwhelming process. We don’t want that for you.

At V School, we do things a bit different. Our proven plan walks you through the entire journey until you confidently land your stepping-stone opportunity in tech.

You'll have a dedicated Student Success Mentor who will guide you through each step of the way so you 1) don’t have to mentally carry everything all at once and 2) can build confidence and be ready to get a new job you’ll finally love!

We’ve designed a series of simple Career Prep assignments that are baked right into your course. These assignments guide you through our proven career-prep process so that when you’re finished with your course and see a job you want, you can go get it!

Trust us, you’re going to love this process and you’re going to win.

From your entire Outcomes Team, welcome to V School!

Career Prep Overview

Level 1

Your Story: Article | Assignment
Impostor Syndrome: Article | Assignment

Level 2

LinkedIn: Article | Assignment
Networking: Article | Assignment

Level 3

Job Search Plan: Article | Assignment
How to Job Search: Article | Assignment

Level 4

Resume: Article | Assignment
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): Article | Assignment
Cover Letter: Article | Assignment

Level 5

Portfolio: Article | Assignment
Interview: Article | Assignment
Negotiation: Article | Assignment

Level 6

Application Packet: Assignment