Thread by @ngkabra

1/ Mid-career job switches are difficult for most people. Two people I know switched jobs after long stints in great companies, and have written about their learnings during this process. Highly recommended reads:
medium.com/@kanika.nema/h…
and linkedin.com/pulse/i-left-m…

2/ In this thread, I'll highlight some of the points mentioned (but I highly recommend reading both the articles), and some additional suggestions of my own, based on years of helping people with mid-career changes (sometimes known as mid-life crises 😀)

3/ For now, I'll focus on people who have spent a long time at a single company. (Those who've switched jobs often don't need help: they already know what to expect, and how to position themselves.)

4/ If you've had a long stint at your current company, you are likely to have a number of blind spots (especially if you haven't had customer facing roles).

Your sweat equity/reputation within the company doesn't carry over outside, and this usually comes as a surprise.

5/ You need to put effort into clearly communicating the value you added to your company/role. And do this using terms and concepts obvious not only to people outside your company, but also people outside your domain.

Get a non-company/non-domain friend to help with this.

6/ Read Nupur's post to see how she struggled to articulate her value to people outside Google and outside data-center infrastructure.
linkedin.com/pulse/i-left-m…

You don't realize things that are obvious to you aren't obvious to outsiders

7/ Points #1 and #2 in @kanikanema's article give you specific suggestions on how to do this. And don't forget to get your friends to critique what you've written.

linkedin.com/pulse/i-left-m…

8/ Then comes the interviewing. Just because you are great at your current job, and you will be great at your future job, doesn't mean you'll ace the interview that sits in between

Interview processes are broken everywhere, and you'll need strategies to navigate the mess.

9/ People will ask questions about long-forgotten basics. Or about data-structures that nobody really uses, but everybody loves asking about in interviews. It's an unavoidable evil, so brush up on your basics.

10/ Some people don't realize that you can't really get interviews by applying through company websites or HR. Emails and resumes go there to die.

You *must* be able to connect to hiring managers or senior employees in the target company through come common connection.

11/ A "warm" introduction to the right person in the target company goes a long way towards ensuring that (1) you get an interview, (2) with the right team, and (3) the interview is not too adversarial.

The best introductions result in the company trying to sell to you!

12/ Which brings me to networking and industry awareness

If you've been in the same company for a long time (especially in a non-customer-oriented role) you're probably bad at this. You must improve both: connections to people outside your company, and awareness of trends/tools

13/ You must start going around meeting people in the industry. Ask your friends to introduce you to the right people. Everyone in the industry is happy to meet senior folks with good background. (Note for juniors: most people are happy to meet juniors who show initiative.)

14/ Two book recommendations if you are in this boat. 1st:
Designing Your Life. Stanford Univ/Silicon Valley Design Innovators teach you how to apply design thinking to improve your own life/career.
amazon.in/Designing-Your…

Especially good if your confused about what to do next

Oops, sorry. Put the wrong link here. Now can't edit the tweet. Correct link to @kanikanema's article is here: medium.com/@kanika.nema/h…

15/ Book recommendation #2: What Color is Your Parachute is a step-by-step guide on how to significantly improve the effectiveness of your job search.

amazon.in/What-Color-You…

(Note: both books are applicable to everyone; not just people switching jobs after 10 years)

16/16 Anything I missed? Any other advice you have for mid-career job switchers?

Errata #1: I gave an incorrect link for @kanikanema's article in tweet 7 of this thread. The correct link is medium.com/@kanika.nema/h…

If you prefer reading an article instead of a tweet-storm, I've collected all of this here: linkedin.com/pulse/how-navi…