digitalBush

Some of you may know that I've recently switched jobs. For several months I tried to find just the right job using traditional job search mechanisms and was failing miserably. I got a few interviews, but nothing really clicked.  I didn't want to get stuck in some soul sucking corporate dev job wasting away in a cube while writing COBOL.  Unfortunately that's what I kept finding.

If you want something different, sometimes you have to look in different places. That's what I was thinking when I started seeking out local devs on twitter in the Nashville area. I started this quest about a year ago and I thought it would be entertaining to share with you how twitter found me a job.

The first step was to find some Nashville developers. This wasn't as easy as it sounds. You see, you don't just go out and do a search and come up with 20 or 30 people by location. Twitter doesn't quite work that well.  It really started with Elijah Manor.  I stumbled upon him one day from a retweeted tech tweet of his. I saw that he was from Nashville and thought that was neat, so I followed him and started looking over the people he followed. From there I found a few more local developers.

The next step is to wait and watch. This is really just a continuation of step one. The only way to find people to follow is to see how people interact with one another. Some of the Nashville tweeple I had found were duds while others were awesome.  Some of them interacted with other local devs. Jackpot! Over the course of a few months I picked up a few more local people who I thought were interesting.

The third step is to interact.  Twitter doesn't work unless you are producing output. Twitter will let you virtually stalk someone, but I doubt that would land you a job. "Hello sir, you don't know me, but I've been following you for a few months..." That just won't help any. No, you just need to put yourself out there.  Talk to other devs about interesting stuff.  Build relationships.  Try not to be stupid or controversial.  It's that easy.

The fourth step is to wait (again).  At this point you aren't looking for a job, you are waiting for opportunities.  While you are having fun interacting and learning from others just keep an eye open for goodies.  When you see something, go after it and see where it takes you.

Where it took me was two different opportunities. I can't believe it, but not only did twitter get me in the door with two companies, but it got me two, count them, two job offers.  Both of those opportunities I thought were very good and would have suited me well.  Traditional job searches got me in the door, but it was with the wrong companies for my needs. The interviews I got via twitter were very laid back and natural.  They were more of a friendly chat than anything else.

After a couple of brief discussions with Alex Robson and Dave Purdon about how I got hired and why they chose me I've come to a few conclusions. Alex told me that he felt that using social mediums allowed them to find like minded people.  I share the same feelings towards my employer. Being able to interact with potential co-workers well in advance of my hiring showed me which employers treat their employees well. Dave said that they felt comfortable with me because they saw that I loved what I did and used my own time to research and explore software development. From my point of view, I felt that a company that allowed (or even better, encouraged!) their devs to use twitter would be a good fit. It showed me that they promote openness and are current with trends.

I just want to let everyone know that you have options when it comes to finding a job.  There is certainly more than one way to do it.  The most important thing is to always be looking for opportunities.  Sometimes they might appear in places you aren't expecting.