Why Sending a Stranger a DM Helps Your Career - Issue #29

Hey friend! Hope you’re having a great week! Getting this newsletter out a little later than I would like but it’s been crazy this week getting ready for my conference talks next week at codepaLOUsa in Louisville, KY. If you are around the Louisville area let me know and let’s hang! This episode was such a great conversation with my friend Conner Bush. Conner was happy where he was at before he ended up at Netflix but knew he wanted to keep networking. Well after one DM and quite a few conversations…Conner ended up at Netflix. 

Link to the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JDkwO03y5RBO6qE0freDo?si=Sm0tqNhWTzWDTlWNubZBmA

If you don’t want to listen to the episode, here is the TLDR….

• Create a spreadsheet of the companies you want to work for to keep yourself organized

• Break it down by categories 1. Prestige 2. Pay 3. Purpose 4. People / Culture

• Find the managers of the company that have posted positions on social media i.e. LinkedIn

• Watch their activity on LinkedIn. If they are NOT active they won’t see your DM

• Search for people who do the job you are currently doing and reach out

• “Hi Susan I see you’re a growth engineering manager at xyz, I’m in the same position at xyz. If you have a free 8 minutes I would love a chance to chat with you to learn more about your team”. 

• Set your DM’s up with 1. Admiration 2. Flattery 3. Specific question 4. Specific amount of time 

• How do you end the conversation? Be thankful for their time, reiterate how much you appreciate their time and taking time out of their day to connect and pick their brain.

• Be prepared with questions and include topics of conversation

• Know who you are talking to, do your research and ask them about the content they have posted

• Be a good listener, be curious

• Continue to watch their postings, stay connected

• Don’t hesitate to apply for a position you are interested in. If you feel confident you can learn it, apply for it.

As always I am looking for 3+ year developers of any skill set! If you or someone in your network is looking I would love to speak with them! Talk next week!

-Taylor