Max Mynter - Full Stack Machine Learning Engineer
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Highlights
I found jobsearch.dev a helpful resource to work through and come up with these criteria (and generally get into the right headspace for applications). ⤴️
For my top choices, I tried to get in touch with people working there (or followed up with people I got to know in my exploration phase). The goal was to gather insider information on the application processes or sometimes even a referral.
This worked best with network contacts, but I had some luck with cold outreach on Twitter or LinkedIn. For cold outreach, I was writing something along the lines of: “I’m Max and really excited about xyz and strongly considering applying to role abc. Is there anything you can share to help me make the best possible application … ” ⤴️
Each batch contained one of my (referred) top choices as well as other companies I was less excited about, but would still consider working at.
Proceeding through parallel processes in lockstep made coordination a lot easier. More importantly, I could schedule the lower-stakes interviews before the ones with my top choice. This way, you get some routine and do all the dumb first-time mistakes in a setting where the damage is reasonable. ⤴️
Online and offline, my formula for making friends in the same domain works is (1) doing interesting things, (2) talking about them, and (3) being open and interested. ⤴️
If you want to read more about why and how to share your progress and why you should do so, even if they aren’t polished, I recommend Show your work by Austin Kleon. It’s more geared toward artists, but the lessons generalize. ⤴️
building career capital, a concept introduced to me in Cal Newport’s So Good They can’t Ignore You; the building of rare and valuable skills as well as ways (projects, positions, certificates, attended institutions, …) that verify these achievements to the outside. ⤴️
Ideally, previous roles serve as sufficient capital to open the next door. If there are missing skills — something easy to identify by reading the job description — I went on to strategically select portfolio projects and open source contributions to close the gap. ⤴️
I signed up for a presentation at an AI Tinkerers event (also a great opportunity to make new friends). This gave me a repository I could add to my portfolio and the measurable success metric “presented to an audience of 100+“. ⤴️
Long term, however, fewer high-quality projects that take considerable effort to complete are almost always better than many shallow ones. Building career momentum is not about gaming the system; it’s about doing the work and learning the skills. ⤴️
I asked warm leads for referrals right away. Those whom I only knew online, I tried to get to know in a call or, even better, a physical meeting, asking for general advice on careers or insights on the role and company. I then only asked for a referral if the vibes permitted (sometimes I was even offered one). Since referees often get a bonus if I land the job, there are some aligned incentives. ⤴️
“Please walk me through your CV”.
I used this question to give a unique spin to my past experiences and map them to the role instead of talking through my past chronologically.
Ideally, the interviewer should have read my CV. That wasn’t always the case, though, so I developed the habit of implicitly asking, and when I learned they hadn’t, I would take a little more time to chronologically walk through the main stations before adding the unique spin. ⤴️