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Networking
Yuck.
"Networking" sounds like a scummy word most often used by salespeople and wantrepreneurs... and it is. But it's also a great way to get a job, though there are bad ways to go about it.
Networking is the ultimate side door. Having friends in the industry makes getting hired much, much easier.
Just Make Friends
"Networking" is just corpo-speak for "making friends who share professional interests with you". If you think about it as this sleazy, transactional thing, you'll come off as, surprise, sleazy and transactional!
The goal is simply to make friends. If you apply your kindergarten teacher's advice on how to make friends, you'll be fine.
Do Not:
Cold DM people asking for work
Join Discord servers and immediately spam the
#jobschannelShow up at meetups and hand out business cards
Send cold connection requests on LinkedIn saying you want to "network" with them
Do:
Engage in conversations about code with folks on X, LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, etc.
Join coding communities and help others out with their problems
Develop a reputation for being friendly at the local meetups
Be funny, interesting, and helpful in all your interactions
Get to know the companies in your local area and what they do
Make some friends. This takes time. Once you have some friends, you can ask them for help, or more likely, if they're aware of your goals, they'll offer to help you when they see an opportunity. Networking is critical, but it's a long-term game that only pays dividends after you've put in the time to build relationships.