We recommend spending 5 minutes on this section.
The key to a successful quest is stying organized and efficient. In this sprint we'll outline some tools and practices that will help you spend your time efficiently.
We've provided a helpful template for keeping track of which companies fit your values. You will find the template in the tab next to your "Networking" template from Sprint 3. Here it is again just in case and be sure to make a copy and save to your Google Drive Folder. The values provided in this template are just placeholders – feel free to substitute your own. Every time you find a company you might want to apply to, rank it across your top five values and add that information to the sheet. Having this list on hand will help you prioritize as you move through the search process.
How to Approach Building a Company List Template
Make a copy of the sheet for your records. The values provided in this template are just placeholders – feel free to substitute your own. Every time you find a company you might want to apply to, rank it across your top five values and add that information to the sheet. Having this list on hand will help you prioritize as you move through the search process. This video helps outline tips on how to fill out Company Brainstorm list.
We recommend spending 30 minutes on this section.
How do you start finding companies to even build a list? A lot of today's job boards are created by individuals. Leaders on Substack or part of small, niche communities. We're sharing some of our favorites below, in addition to the larger popular job boards:
Larger job boards
Angelist
The best job board for start-ups, especially early stage start-ups
Indeed
Largest job search engine out there, better for larger companies and enterprises
LinkedIn Jobs
Great way to also search for hiring managers and network connections tied to jobs you're interested in
Simply Hired
Good for start-up, freelance, and part-time roles
Boutique and curated job boards
Lenny Rachitsky's Job Board
A key focus on the best jobs in product, growth, design, engineering, and more fro start-ups
MKT1
Marketing roles at early and growth stage start ups
Ali Rhode's Job Board
For Operations and Chief of Staff roles
Getro.org
Community organized job board for 600+ focused tech companies
We recommend spending 30 minutes on this section.
It's important to keep in mind that both you and the company are looking for the right fit. Identifying a company's culture and values can sometimes be hard sleuth out.
Now that you've learned how to brainstorm a list of companies think back to you Values criteria from Sprint 1. If not, you can find a blank copy of our values criteria worksheet here. Take a few minutes to fill it out. Keep your most important values in mind as you look for potential employers. Read job descriptions closely to get a sense of their company culture. Do you value independence, or do you prefer having clear-well defined tasks? Do you like to keep things moving quickly, or do you prefer a more relaxed working environment? Are you big on collaboration, or do you prefer to do things your own way? Companies want to hire good culture fits, so they'll often tell you about their work environment up front. Here are some specific tools and resources to help suss out culture, and openess to career shifters.
Key Values is another great resource for identifying companies that meet your values and priorities.tart-ups, especially early stage start-ups. Pay attention to how the job descriptions are phrased and for keywords that signal whether the company is aligned with your values. Here's a great example from ex- AirBnb Product leader, Lenny Rachitsky, on how a company writes a thoughtful job description. A seasoned product leader and career coach, Mindy Zhang, also pointed out that the way a company highlights soft skills in a job description can be an indicator of cultural values and being open to career pivoters. She also outlines strong ways to ask and learn about a company's values during your conversations and interviews.
Key Values is another great resource for identifying companies that meet your values and priorities.tart-ups, especially early stage start-ups.
Pay attention to how the job descriptions are phrased and for keywords that signal whether the company is aligned with your values. Here's a great example from ex- AirBnb Product leader, Lenny Rachitsky, on how a company writes a thoughtful job description
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A seasoned product leader and career coach, Mindy Zhang, also pointed out that the way a company highlights soft skills in a job description can be an indicator of cultural values and being open to career pivoters. She also outlines strong ways to ask and learn about a company's values during your conversations and interviews.
We recommend spending 20 minutes on this section.
It's important to keep in mind that both you and the company are looking for the right fit. Identifying a company's culture and values can sometimes be hard to sleuth out. Read as much as you can about the career you're trying to pivot into. Leverage your transferable skills analysis to identify the specific roles, companies, and titles that align with your eclectic skills. Here are some specific questions to ask yourself as you develop a list of companies and opportunities:
What appeals to you about it?
What skills does it require?
What added value could I bring to this role (e.g. domain expertise, industry, etc)
This is precisely why we built our archetypes job board —which breaks down the different styles and shape of the roles. Check it out for inspiration on how you can use your unique skills to make yourself a great candidate for your dream career.
Congratulations you have just completed your 4th sprint!! As you move through your quest, share updates with the slack group! It's a great place to check in with other people who are going through the same thing you are. Since we have experts from a huge variety of fields, also an excellent resource to start looking for informational interviews.
Try pinging the officehours slack channel for connections at specific companies you're interested in, or reach out for tips and informational interviews in different industries. Or, feel free to offer intros to companies and individuals you think people in the community could benefit from
Check in with your peer cohort and feel free to share your company list to see if your friends have thoughts
A few resources found in this sprint:
- How to Approach Networking and Building a Company List Template
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