|
I was in a somewhat relatable situation around 10 years ago after I'd finished a coding bootcamp right after graduating college. I didn't major in computer science and bootcamps were at the time already viewed with skepticism among most tech companies, but I did have a degree from a top 10 US university. I thought that meant I would be able land an engineering job, even if it was a bad one. I was in for a horribly rude awakening. I spent 4 months applying for jobs non-stop through linkedin and company career pages and didn't receive a single response back. Finally, when I was nearly ready to give up and move back to my parents' house, I went on my university's alumni directory and searched for people in the Bay Area working in eng leadership at tech companies. I emailed the first person I found and explained that I was really struggling to get interviews and would be willing to take an internship or work for free if it meant I could get some experience on my resume. I got a response within the day. The guy told me that, while the roles listed on his company's website were filled, his wife was worked in engineering recruiting. He passed my resume along to her and within a day I had 3-4 companies asking for an interview. In the end, I got one final round interview and landed the job. Looking back, if it weren't for that email I likely would have given up and pursued another career path. In short, my only advice is: completely stop applying to open job listings on linkedin or on a company's career page. Those jobs literally receive thousands of applications and, additionally, there is often a recruiter representing the company who is directly reaching out to the most desirable candidates for that position. There is nothing but disappointment that comes from applying to those jobs and, given we're in a very uncertain economic environment, doing so will only discourage you. Instead, try to find anyone working in the industry you're targeting with whom you have some loose connection and send them an email. I know that sounds scary and stupid, but you would be surprised at how eager most people are to help others. At the end of the day, most people don't derive that much personal satisfaction from their work, but they do get a lot of satisfaction from helping other people. Does MIT have an alumni directory where you can search for alumni contact info by industry and location? Are you in a fraternity or any social club that might have older MIT alumni that you could get in touch with? Try sending 2 or 3 people an email and see what happens. |