Are you looking to enter the tech industry? If you feel like you're lacking experience and feeling lost, fret not! Here are five tips to get a job in tech:
1. Start building your skill set
Technology companies have an increasing need for multi-disciplined employees. Whether you are interested in pursuing a technical or non-technical role, take some time to learn about and understand the general responsibilities of all the different roles in a tech team. Learn about the basics of product management, sales, marketing, communicating with users and clients, UI/UX design, research, and testing. Keep up to date with latest trends and be knowledgeable about major companies and products. Having the knowledge and general understanding of other disciplines is a great asset for any team.
2. Participate in hackathons and projects
Find local or virtual hackathons and pick up side projects whenever you can. Hackathons are unique experiences where you are presented with a challenge, form a team, and build a solution collaboratively. See our blog on AngelHack, the world’s largest and most diverse global hacker community, helping to drive open innovation of tech products, platforms, and brands.
These events are great ways to meet influential techpreneurs, investors, and like-minded people. Be ready to speak about these projects and how you executed them.
3. Always be pitching
Build an online portfolio and make sure you have a public persona on the web. Update your Linkedin, AngelList, Github, Behance, Medium, and Twitter accounts and make sure the way you brand yourself is consistent across all platforms. Highlight any work you have done and make sure you connect with your friends and colleagues.
4. Network offline and online
Find local tech events in your neighborhood through sites like Meetup, Facebook Events, Groups, and Eventbrite. Challenge yourself to attend at least one event a week and make it a goal to start up a conversation with at least a few attendees at each event. Always follow up with your new connections after the event.
Reach out to interesting people you come across on Linkedin, Twitter, and email. Sign up for online webinars hosted by tech companies. Make an effort to continue to build on these relationships.
5. Attend the 2017 Net Impact Conference
Kickstart your career in tech at the 2017 Net Impact Conference. Here is some of what you can expect:
Keynote: Kathryn Finney
Learn from White House Champion of Change and award-winning founder and Managing Director of digitalundivided, a social enterprise helping Black and Latina women own their work using innovation and technology as a tool.
Panel: Founders Who Paved Their Own Way
Entrepreneurs and the mission-driven companies they create are changing the world. But charting your own path is not easy. Come hear what it really takes to build a social venture and maybe even be inspired to start your own.
Boot Camp: From Design Thinking to Design Doing
Human-Centered design is a methodology to build intuitive and empathetic products. It provides deep value by checking expert assumptions, encouraging rapid iteration, and testing prototypes. In this 3-hour boot camp, participants have the opportunity to engage in experiential learning, understanding what it means to design with empathy for base of pyramid end-users in challenging environments.
Register for the 2017 Net Impact Conference to build new skills, network with emerging leaders in tech, and spruce up your resume. With the right connections, skills, and determination, your career in tech could be just around the corner.
