Overcoming common fears about pivoting into tech

(Photo credit @sammiechaffin)

How do you overcome two common fears about pivoting into tech? 

I work with clients on a daily basis who are accomplished high achievers — and yet, many are completely terrified of taking the leap to transition into tech. They don’t think they are technical enough, have enough background in tech, are the ‘right’ fit, etc, etc, etc. It’s ok - everyone has these fears. It’s natural to be cautious when making a change. Just name the fear and it’ll make it easier to move forward. 

Here are 2 common fears I’ve heard from clients that might resonate with you, along with actions you can take to get over these fears. 

MYTH 1: I heard I need to know how to code to work in tech. 

• Nope. You do NOT need to know how to code to work in many jobs in a tech company.  Those jobs include marketing, sales, business operations, finance, customer success, people operations, market research, program management and more! Tech companies need people with many different skill sets – in fact, 43% of roles posted at tech companies were non-coding.

• What tech cares about: you are able to understand tech trends, to solve ambiguous problems, to work collaboratively, and to use digital workplace tools.

• CAVEAT: Now I’m going to be honest with you: despite all I said above, it is still worth it to take an intro coding class – simply for you to learn the lingo. The better way to think of it is: what tools do I have in my toolbox to succeed? And what tools do I need to get or learn?

ACTION: Read up on the tech industry. And go take a coding class. Purely for fun.

• Start reading daily articles on Techmeme to start getting familiar with industry news.

• For coding, I would start with CodeAcademy. It’ll only take a couple hours and add immense value to your resume.

• You could also download the grasshopper app from Google to get started with learning simple coding concepts while on the go. You won’t be fully fluent in coding, but you will have picked up beginner level skills which can help you feel a bit more confident. 

Myth 2: You have to live in Silicon Valley to work in tech. 

• If you already live in California or really want to move there, plenty of opportunities exist for you at tech firms. BUT – while many of the largest tech firms are headquartered in the Bay Area, there are SO many opportunities to work in tech across the country – and across the globe. And these days, the number of remote-friendly jobs in tech has continued to increase. 

ACTION: Think about where you want to live and work. 

• Consider both the type of lifestyle you want to have and the career trajectory that you’d like to pursue. For some tech companies, you need to be in HQ to advance to higher positions. Be sure to consult any relevant decision-makers (partners, family members, friends, etc) to help you review your goals and criteria. 

• Then look to see what companies/opportunities exist in the cities you think best fit your career & lifestyle needs. 

  1. Check out the free 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem report to see where startup ecosystems are growing in the US and around the world. This serves as a great proxy for forecasting potential tech company growth in a particular city/region.

We dive further into dispelling these myths and more in my Tech Search Compass course, which is designed to help you chart your successful pivot into tech. Check it out!

How to Structure an Offer Negotiation Conversation

(Photo credit @gabriellefaithhenderson)

Last month, I was featured in a 500Startups article along with other women entrepreneurs offering hard-earned negotiation advice. I thought I’d expand a bit more on my snippets. 

My Negotiation Hack: Arm yourself with data before any negotiation. Know the questions they will ask and be ready to respond.

• I am always surprised when I speak with job seekers who wait until the offer stage to gather salary data and prepare for an offer negotiation. 

• You should start earlier in the process. The larger tech firms have hired enough people that the data is often readily available - and now that multiple states ban companies from asking for salary history, many recruiters are asking for salary ranges in screening calls or first-round interviews! Don’t be caught off-guard and anchor yourself lower than you should. 

• Resources to find salary data: 

  • Comparably has emerged as a solid source of information compared with the originals Glassdoor and Salary.com

  • Women and underrepresented minorities should check out 81cents for a $195 paid personalized report (tho they offer partial scholarships if you need it)

  • For MBAs, check out TransparentCareer.com for a very targeted data set

  • I’ve heard mixed things about Levels.fyi but still worth including

  • For pre-IPO companies, try Angel.co’s salary database

My Advice: Be confident in what you are asking for. They wouldn’t have given you an offer if they didn’t think you had skills and value to add. Ask someone knowledgeable to practice modeling out the various ways the conversation could go.

• For some candidates, they are confident throughout the entire interview process - and freeze up when the offer negotiation phase begins. You should remember that they gave you an offer because they want YOU to join their organization and bring along your skills and experience to help them achieve their company’s objectives. 

• It’s only logical to then ask for a compensation package that matches your worth. And most tech recruiters also expect negotiation. If you structure the conversation well, everyone wins. 

• PRACTICE the conversation!! Contact me or someone else who is knowledgeable about you, your industry/role, or the specific company to help plan out the conversation. I have modeled negotiation conversations with many clients, forcing them to articulate what comp package components they value most and how to respond if a recruiter says No at any stage. I’ve helped clients get anywhere from $5-25K salary bumps, include advanced promotion cycles in their written offers, added additional bonuses, and more. Reach out if you’d like to chat more! 

Can you job hop successfully?

(Photo credit @martenbjork)

In my recent LinkedIn post about cultivating two types of networking contacts, a colleague made a comment about the unintended consequences of job-hopping from the perspective of a hiring manager. I thought it would be helpful to see our comments and explore steps you can take as an early career professional to navigate career transitions successfully. 

Comment from hiring manager: “When you know you found a truly strong candidate, through networking the confidence is surely there, but you're also stung by the recent trend of young fresh graduates switching jobs frequently, sometimes every month. The amount of training the employer provided is all gone before even it converts into a value for the company. I appreciate that young grads are growing, but I wish they had someone to guide them since it's affecting the employer. Wondering if we could write an article about it.”

My reply: “That is a really good insight to share with early-career professionals. Some amount of job-hopping is expected in the first 3-5 years of a career -- but it should be weighed against the lasting impression one is leaving with those employers (aka future mentors & advisors). I'll try to put some thoughts down for a future post.” And here is that post! 

These challenges will only get worse because (a) we have a frothy job market in tech, (b) that froth means companies are dangling lots of shiny perks to lure talented professionals away, (c) not all early career professionals know who to turn to for good, personalized advice, and (d) it is getting harder and harder to build a career arc in an industry that is ever-evolving. 

Before you decide to job hop, do these 3 things: 

1. Ask yourself Question #1: in 5 years, will you regret not taking this leap? 

   • Very early in my career, I was offered the chance to move to a remote Caribbean island to serve as a live-in tutor/caretaker for a wealthy family. Surf and swim by day, tutor in evening, and my own cottage in the family compound! I had friends who said to jump at the chance while others thought it was crazy to leave NYC for that kind of work. A tiny part of me wonders what life would be like now if I had taken that gig, but most of me remembers that at that time in my life, I had other priorities I was more passionate about pursuing. No regrets (tho if that job came up today....lol). 

   • Self-knowledge is critical here so you don’t have regrets. Try to be objective in evaluating your current job situation against where you hope to be in 3-5 years. It’s a short enough time horizon to not feel overwhelming, but long enough to put today’s situation in perspective. 

   • And remember, it’s still all a learning process. Asking yourself these questions now ensures that you have the information you need to look back and assess your decision & the criteria you used. Sometimes there is no clear answer -- but at least if you ask the Q now, you can review it later without judgment. There are very, very few career mistakes that you cannot recover from. 

2. Ask yourself Question 2: are you leaving now to avoid navigating an important challenge at your current job? 

   • It’s also worth taking into consideration what might happen to your manager, your team, and your projects if you left -- but do not stay only because you feel guilty for leaving them. 

   • Considering your work situation and your colleagues will help you evaluate whether you are avoiding a prickly team conflict or a hard upcoming project. In this case, you might be better served by asking for help or seeking out additional training. Then you’ll be building up your own management skills to handle these challenges and can pivot to a new role/company as a stronger candidate. 

3. Find someone you trust with an objective perspective who can discuss this career move with you. 

   • If you’re not sure your manager will be receptive (and some aren’t), try to find an internal mentor who knows the company landscape to advise you -- or find an external coach or advisor to bounce ideas off of. I’ve helped many candidates discuss their situation and what makes sense for them. 

     1. At Google, we had a program called Gurus. As an employee, you could sign up to speak with other employees in manager-level positions, who would give promotion/career advice with strict confidentiality that they wouldn’t share with your manager. They served as knowledgeable mentors to help you navigate the often chaotic career development trajectory that is Google. If a similar program doesn’t exist, try to identify an individual who knows your work to advise you. 

   • Talk to your coach or advisor about how to approach your manager to discuss career options internally. This is often something that new career professionals avoid, assuming they will get a better deal externally & use it to ask for a raise/promotion.  It rarely works that way as now your manager is unsure about your level of commitment to their team/org. Managers want to know that you can stick with projects when it’s tough, and that their investment in you (via training, mentoring) will be worth it. Having an honest conversation about your goals and how they dovetail with your manager’s priorities will only help you in the long run.