ericberglund117/Mod3_week_5.md

## Mod3_week_5.md

      
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              Mod3_week_5.md
            
          
    Taking stock of where you are: what have you accomplished this module? What have you learned? Where are you stuck (have you not been able to follow through on outreach? Is your resume not finished?)?

I have built out a resume/portfolio, created a coverletter, done some company research, and have done some warm networking with people I already know in the industry. I have learned a lot about how to get a job in this industry and how it is different from other industries.
I mostly get stuck with cold outreach/networking. I know how important it is, but I just have trouble getting over the awkward hump.

Create plans for 3 different companies you want to target:
Questions to reflect on here:
Why do you like this company?
What makes you want to work there? Why are you a good fit for this company?
What do you bring to the company?
What transferable skills do you have? What do you already know about the company (product, team, culture, company size, location, etc.)?
What do you need to learn?
Steps to take:
The Outreach: look at the company’s LinkedIn page: who could you reach out to? What questions do you want to ask that person?
Experience: once you've made a connection at the company, how could you find out more? Consider setting up a job shadow or exploring their tech stack in your projects
Read back over the plan. How does it reflect your vision?
Imagine that you get the job. A year later, what have you gained from this experience? How have you started to fulfill your vision?
Plan #1:


Guild Education


What I like about Guild is that they are education focused. They also seem to be very includsive and want what is best for their employees because they can in turn deliver a better product for their users. I think I'm a good fit for this company because I know what the education world needs from technology. I know a bit about the company already, but I'd like to know more specifics on the products they create. I would also like to know about about the culture and how they are relative to education.


I could reach out to my friend who works for the company and the recruitment manager. I would just like to ask how they became involved with Guild and what steps did they take.


I would reall like to set up a job shadow or some sort of connection with someone who works there. I could also try my hand with the tech stacks they use.


Plan #2:


Teachers Pay Teachers


What I like about this company is that they really help teachers with their overworked schedules and they constantly have education in mind. I want to work here because they foster support for educations who are wanting to stay current with the technological world. I also like the community they have displayed online. I bring a educator's perspective that can help TPT design a website that is even more intuitive and user friendly. I can also help them refine their product based on what the user is looking for. I want to learn more about their tech stack and how they operate.


I could reach out to their recruiter, and their front-end manager or a current FE engineer. Again, I would ask them how they got the job and what they like about TPT. I would reall like to set up a job shadow or some sort of connection with someone who works there. I could also try my hand with the tech stacks they use.


Plan #3:


CuttleSoft


What I like about CuttleSoft is that they really emphasis empathy and collaboration to solve problems. They also seem to be very diverse with culture, their tech stack, their goals, and users. A quote from a customer describes CuttleSoft as "The Cuttlesoft team is a mix between Jesus, Optimus Prime, Beyonce, and Elon Musk." To me, that sounds like a great team to work with. I think I could bring an open minded approach to problems and thrive in an environment like CuttleSoft. It seems like they take their work seriously while having fun. I already know a good portion of their tech stack and recognize the other languages/frameworks they use.


I can reach out to their recruitment manager and someone who currently has the job I want to see how they acquired it and the steps they took. I would reall like to set up a job shadow or some sort of connection with someone who works there. I could also try my hand with the tech stacks they use. (I recognize this is the same for all three, but I still think it would be beneficial to do these things for each company if I can)


Make it actionable: rank each plan on a scale of 1-5 for how much your plan aligns with the following:

Plan 1 - resources = 3, coherence = 4, confidence = 3, excited = 4.
Plan 2 - resources = 3, coherence = 4, confidence = 2, excited = 4.
Plan 3 - resources = 4, coherence = 2, confidence = 2, excited = 3.

Available resources to help you pursue it: contacts, time, knowledge of the company, etc.
Coherence: how it aligns with your career vision
Confidence level: how feasible does this feel to you?
How excited you are about it?
Now, pick the plan with the highest numbers across the board. What steps will you take next to pursue this strategy as you go into the next module?

I really want to take action with outreach and networking with Guild. I understand how competitive and highly sought after the company is so I need to establish myself before taking concrete steps towards applying.