It’s super industry dependent. But I also have had very little success applying to jobs myself. I put my resume on sites and let recruiters come to me.
In my experience, and in order of usefulness:
Live where there are jobs. Less relevant for work-from-home style industries, but if you have to physically be somewhere to do your job, you have a huge leg up if you live somewhere that industry is booming.
Have very good social skills. I do prep for the technical portion of interviews, but I happen to be very good at conversing and small talk and I can make people like me. That’s huge, in any industry.
Be happy with your current job. That’s not always in your control, but it makes the whole process way easier and less stress free and more lucrative. You can easily walk away from a job that tries to lowball you.
Keep an eye on market trends. I left an industry because I knew a slate of new laws would cause an industry downturn. You can’t always get this right, but be willing to pivot to similar industries with transferable skills.
I have heard and seen that networking is massive, but honestly I’m shit at networking. If you have the skills to keep a web of contacts that you can draw on to get a better job, definitely do that.
And the other commenter is right. HCOL areas are financially worth it if you can stand living with roommates (because that mitigates the housing portion). If you can save 5% of your paycheck, 5% of $200k is a lot more than 5% of 50k.
It’s super industry dependent. But I also have had very little success applying to jobs myself. I put my resume on sites and let recruiters come to me.
In my experience, and in order of usefulness:
Live where there are jobs. Less relevant for work-from-home style industries, but if you have to physically be somewhere to do your job, you have a huge leg up if you live somewhere that industry is booming.
Have very good social skills. I do prep for the technical portion of interviews, but I happen to be very good at conversing and small talk and I can make people like me. That’s huge, in any industry.
Be happy with your current job. That’s not always in your control, but it makes the whole process way easier and less stress free and more lucrative. You can easily walk away from a job that tries to lowball you.
Keep an eye on market trends. I left an industry because I knew a slate of new laws would cause an industry downturn. You can’t always get this right, but be willing to pivot to similar industries with transferable skills.
I have heard and seen that networking is massive, but honestly I’m shit at networking. If you have the skills to keep a web of contacts that you can draw on to get a better job, definitely do that.
And the other commenter is right. HCOL areas are financially worth it if you can stand living with roommates (because that mitigates the housing portion). If you can save 5% of your paycheck, 5% of $200k is a lot more than 5% of 50k.