- Why do you want mentoring in the job search?
There is lots of new developer competition in the field and I want to stand out by having the most efficient and effective job hunt strategy possible. The mentors at Turing are spectacular and much more knowledgeable than I am in how to stand out in this field. It has been over 6 years since I have job hunted and never in this field, so I welcome the guidance and support.
- How will you hold yourself accountable to balancing time for your job search and following your mentor and group's advice?
As my Mod 4 instructor Pam told us, time blocking. By continuing to time block all of my Turing work and job search efforts I will avoid going down rabbit holes and wasting time. I love practicing the skill of time blocking and switching focus, its hard and I would like to improve.
- What is the focus of your job search (timeline, ideal job, steps you’ve already taken)? Be as specific as you can.
The focus of my job search early on is to build a good routine so the hunt itself becomes familiar and less daunting. By sticking to the timeline I've created and will tweak with my mentor's and team's help, chipping away at the job hunt consistently will make it more manageable. Included in this good routine will be learning to write great cover letters faster. Cover letters currently takes me a lot of time and the time commitment prevents me from applying to more than one job a week. With that in mind, another focus of mind will remain quality over quantity. I don't just want any job, I want a job that is right for me and vice versa. I want to put focused effort forth into those positions. Another focus is to continually prep myself for coding challenges by doing vanilla js problems and algorithm practice.
Regarding my timeline, getting a job sooner rather than later is ideal. But I also will not accept any position. It has to be right for me and I for it. I am ok working hard and searching for the right fit.
I am unclear of my ideal job, but I have a meeting with Robyn set up to try and focus that scope. From our PD sessions at Turing, I've learned a healthy work environment with good leadership is very important to me.
So far, I have done lots of outreach to friends and friends of friends to build up my network. So far this has proved worthwhile because I am now connected with 3 companies who are looking to grow and have me in mind. Because of Turing I've prepare my Alumni portfolio, resume, and cover letter draft. I have updated my personal portfolio site in addition that was focused around graphic design, but now shares a development focus. Throughout the entire Turing program, I have used Anki, stored notecards, and continuously reviewed daily to help remember the important material learned.
Thank you very much for your consideration in the mentorship program! If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask!