Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@cmacaulay

cmacaulay/macaulay-job-action-plan.md

Created June 8, 2017 16:11
Show Gist options
  • Save cmacaulay/c064645fc2e5bf98bafc93818c044045 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save cmacaulay/c064645fc2e5bf98bafc93818c044045 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Download ZIP
Macaulay Job Plan
Raw
macaulay-job-action-plan.md

Post-Grad Job Search Action Plan Template

This deliverable needs to be submitted to Meg in order to have post-grad job search support from her.

The objectives of this plan are to not only help you strategize for your job search after graduation but also to help you plan for your longterm career. After all, your first developer job should align with those goals as well so that you're on track for a longterm successful career.

Some things to consider:

  • What do you envision for your career?
  • What do you want your 2nd and 3rd jobs to look like?
  • How do you want to be involved with the Turing community? The greater developer community?
  • Where do your passions lie?

How to complete this plan:

Create a gist from this template and fill out the first two parts of this plan:

  1. Job Search Plan
  2. Longterm Career Plan

The third part is optional although highly encouraged.

Note: If you have already secured a job prior to graduation, skip the first part of this plan and please fill out the second part of this plan.

#1: Job Search Plan: Create a schedule & goals

  1. Design a 40-hour "work week" that provides time for:

    • Code (ideally, 2-4 hours a day will be dedicated to coding)
    • Outreach
    • Research
    • Network
    • Any other areas where you'd like to grow Weekly Plan Trello

  2. Backwards planning: What is your cut-off for ending the job search? When do you want to receive and sign an offer by? Mid-august at the latest.

  3. Based on what you outlined above, create monthly, weekly, and daily goals in order to reach your big goal.

  • Daily Goals: Code every day, to one job search related thing a day (technical challenge, apply, send a cold outreach email)
  • Weekly Goals: Apply for 5-10 jobs per week, code at least 15 hours a week, attend one networking event
  • Monthly Goals: 3-5 interviews per month, 5 coffees a month

  1. Block out time on your calendar now to adhere to these goals. At the end of each week, assess what worked with the schedule and what didn't so that you can make adjustments as needed and manage your time even more effectively for the following week.

  2. What "barriers" tend to hold you back in the job search? What steps will you take to overcome those "barriers"?

  • Depression - have a regular schedule

Example of clearly outlined goals and schedule to complete them.

#2: Longterm Career Plan: What are your career goals?

Where do you want to go in your career?

Reflect on this narrative rule described by Emma Coats, former Pixar story artist:

Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. 
Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
  1. Imagine that it's 5 years from now - what have you accomplished during that time? How is your life different? What steps did you take to achieve your goals?
  • Will have lived in at least one foreign country, while either successfully working freelance or working at a remote job
  • I will be a senior developer
  • I will have worked in both the front and back end and consider myself a full-stack programmer
  • I will have influenced positive change from within the companies I have worked at
  • I will mentor junior developers

  1. Create a vision statement for these longterm goals. I will become a senior, full-stack developer known as a positive change maker for diversity and inclusion in tech.

    Guidelines for writing your vision statement:

    • Make your statements stretching, challenging, and interrupting of the status quo.
    • Write in the future tense (I will...)
    • Is the statement grounded -- have you been able to demonstrate something similar in the past?

  2. Reference what you outlined in your Flower Exercise -- what preferred level of responsibility do you want to move to? Do you want to start your own company? What kind of work do you see yourself doing longterm? In your first year on the job, what skills do you want to develop to work towards your longterm goals? I would love to manage people, doubtful I would want to start my own company but don't want to rule anything out!

Optional: Furthering your Skills and Contributing to the Developer Community

You're encouraged to pick one of the below options to work on in addition to the previous two. However, these are both completely optional.

Option #1: Side Hustle Plan

What side project(s) do you want to work on? How could you decide on a side project?

Take these steps:

  1. Generate and come up with an idea:

    • Read and research -- what problems need solving?
    • Brainstorm -- what's important to you?
    • Have fun! What would be fun and exciting to try out?

  2. Document a plan for your side project:

    • What will your MVP look like?
    • When do you want working software by?
    • Who are your users?
    • Etc.

Option #2: Open Source Project

How do you want to contribute to the developer community?

  • Find an Open Source project couple projects you’d be interested in, why you’re interested, how you would like to contribute

Option #3: Community Involvement

How do you want to be involved in the developer community?

How you could approach this option:

  • Research at least 3 conferences you'd be interested in attending -- what would you get out of them? Do you want to speak at a conference at some point?
  • Find 3 new meetups to join -- how could you contribute to those meetups?
  • Write 3 new blog posts -- how can you share information with others?
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment