Start with networking, thought leadership and open communication about your passions. Especially if you’ve got 6 months, just give it time and you’ll be surprised at the number of people that come to you if you just put yourself out there.
I purposefully avoided “thought leadership”. When everyone is a thought leader - no one is. And 99% of thought leadership you find is vapid especially on LinkedIn.
And these days if you are just a commodity enterprise dev, it’s almost impossible to stand out from the noise.
Those were my Plan B jobs last year and the year before and it is a shit show out there right now and it’s worse than I have seen since 1996. Including in 2000 and 2008.
Luckily, in my more targeted niche, I was able to find a job quickly both times. But I would have been up the creek if it weren’t for my last three or four years of experience.
You’re right, “thought leadership” is a loaded term. Maybe “proof of passion” would be a better one. If you write about topics you’re working on, no matter how niche and no matter which forum (it doesn’t have to be a blog, it could be anywhere with your contact details attached), then eventually people will find you. I don’t blog, but I’ve had people email me because of obscure GitHub repos they found that helped them debugging a problem.
It’s ultimately a numbers game. The more you put yourself out there, the more likely something specific will resonate with someone at some point. The best opportunities often come from the smallest connections.
Start with networking, thought leadership and open communication about your passions. Especially if you’ve got 6 months, just give it time and you’ll be surprised at the number of people that come to you if you just put yourself out there.