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In-Person Meetups
Physical in-person tech meetups are by far the best networking activity you can do. If you're not going to a local meetup (given that one is available to you), I'd question your commitment to getting a job.
Why Local Meetups Are So Good
- Meeting in person builds much stronger friendships than online chats
- They are almost always free
- Sometimes you get free food
- The people who attend meetups tend to be well-connected
- You will learn a ton from the talks
Check Meetup.com for local tech meetups and try to go to one each week. Most meetups meet monthly in the evenings, so try to find several that you can attend regularly.
What to Do at a Meetup
Individual meetup events usually work like this:
- People trickle in before the talk starts (try to sit by someone and say hi!)
- ~30-minute talk about a tech topic
- People hang out and chat for ~30 minutes after the talk (this is the best time to meet people)
Your goal, again, should just be to get to know the people there. If you show up consistently, you'll figure out who the "regulars" are. Make sure you get to know them. Become a regular yourself. Make it known to the world that you're new to programming and you're looking for your first job, but don't ask favors of people you're just meeting for the first time. If they have advice or connections, they'll let you know once they get to know you better.
Miriah Got Jobs from Meetups
In this ~60-second clip from the Backend Banter podcast, Miriah talks about how the majority of her jobs have come from either going to meetups or hosting them.