how to survive in the tech industry 2023 edition

I recently had someone reach out to me for help getting a job with the tech industry. They are a skilled developer with database, backend and frontend experience. They were slightly overwhelmed at the current tech market, and rightfully so. Big tech such as Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have all had mass layoffs, among others.

I gave them some simple advice that I hope is helpful for anyone wanting to land a technology job in software engineering:

  1. Focus on yourself first. Take care of any physical, mental, emotional or other needs for yourself. Only after getting this to a happy enough place, proceed to the other items on this list.
  2. Build up your profile. Just like an influencer, you want to leverage LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are good ones to get yourself out there. More eyeballs mean more chance at being respected and given a chance.
  3. Get involved in open source development. Github is currently the largest open source platform. Make some projects on there with your favorite programming languages. Comment and get involved in other projects as well.
  4. Focusing more on LinkedIn, create a post once a week at least. Write about anything you are passionate about.
  5. Build out your LinkedIn profile. Present yourself in the best way possible. Really focus on the “About” section along with your skills and work history. Make sure to highlight any metrics that you contributed to in your jobs. This is your chance to shine and talk yourself up!
  6. Try to get at least 5-10 new LinkedIn connections every month. It's ok to connect with strangers, as long as you are professional and provide a good message with the connection request on why you want to add them to your network.
  7. Be positive. It may take a while to build yourself up and improve your connections. It may take 1–2 years. That's ok. Just focus on doing a little every day.
  8. Be kind. I can't stress this enough. This planet is full of craziness and suffering, and the more you can show empathy and support for people, the more they will return that back.
  9. Continue to learn new technologies and methodologies. Software and programming is involving rapidly, and it pays to do regular searches and reading on the latest trends.
  10. Leverage AI. Tools like Chat GPT and other AI assistants can help you with code, writing out your resume and more. Make this an extension of your brain, not a replacement.

I hope these tips are helpful for you. If you have any additional suggestions, we would love to see them in the comments!