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I remember when I passed out of college and was searching for a job online. I got campus placed but I still wanted to know what else is out there. I did a bit of search, didn’t see anything more interesting than the job I had landed. I thanked my lucky stars and went to work.
Everything was new to me – the professional atmosphere, the technologies, the learning, getting money into my account, building real software for clients from across the world, teamwork, pizza lunches every Friday, monthly outings – it was fulfilling and everything I had dreamed of.
The 5 years from now question
“Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?” This question, this old friend I had seen in campus interviews now re-surfaced inside an appraisal. As an industry insider, I had been hearing about interesting jobs and companies that stood out from the sea of jobs out there. I had more options now.
- I could continue to build expertise in my current tech stack
- I could work at a startup and pick up new tech skills
- I could move to a job where I can work on the latest trends in the industry – big data and AI.
Suddenly I, a pro at answering this question, didn’t have an answer. I wanted to know more about my options to answer this question, though I didn’t want to change my job per se. Some of my colleagues, clients and friends echoed the sentiment when I spoke to them about it. The mantra seemed to be “keep my options open”.
The only problem was, committing to a job search and sifting through thousands of jobs on job platforms was the only way to get even a vague picture of my options.
The Unrealistically High Investment in Job Search
This is true for all professions, not just developers. Job seekers don’t have a way of knowing what the most interesting openings in the market are, without committing to a full-fledged job search. A lot of time and effort has to be spent just to shortlist companies and openings that might be a good fit for me and vice versa.
For developers, it’s worse because there are 5 million things one has to do from searching and shortlisting jobs, sending out your customized CV to each company, initial interviews and HR rounds, to code pairing, face to face interviews, offer, negotiation, final offer and acceptance. This, multiplied by the number of companies one wants to apply to, is a pretty intimidating investment.
90% of the effort a candidate puts into the job search process is just for screening – to decide if the candidate is suited for the job. And that contributes only a measly 20-30% to the final decision. Wow! If you have a reasonably good job where you are still learning and there is room for growth, you are better off not entering this mayhem, which is what the majority of us did and still do.
Power to You: A Long-term Approach to Job Search
What if I could eliminate all this screening and drudgery, and concentrate on getting the best job that matches my skills, career goals and aspirations?
We started Geektrust.in with the intention of doing exactly this. We built a platform where software developers can explore their long-term options, get through the 90% stretch on the platform itself and proceed directly to the final interviews with companies they find interesting. This would mean freedom from a hurried, harried search for the next job and shift the focus to the best job for your career goals.
The Geektrust Advantage
It’s not a great experience for candidates or companies to spend too much time, effort, half-day leaves and money only to discover it’s not a good match half-way through the job-finding process. Instead, imagine a world where people can go about their daily lives, staying aware of their opportunities and pursue ones that interest them, without putting their life on pause. That is the vision that is at the core of Geektrust.
Some of the features we built into the platform to make this a reality are:
- The “Find Your Startup” tool – To know which companies are interested in you.
- The “Know Your Market Worth” tool – It does exactly what the name suggests.
- No resumes – The GT profile is what companies will see.
- Anonymity – Choose to keep your ID private until you want to connect with a company.
- Coding challenges – We developed interesting coding challenges. Solve any one or more to evaluate and showcase your coding skills on your profile. You also get feedback on how market ready your skills are.
- No searching through hundreds of jobs – Jobs that match your profile find you and companies pitch to you.
- Get preferred – Geektrust candidates are preferred by our clients and they proceed directly to the final interviews.
Great Opportunities Don’t Knock Twice
In fact they may not knock at all. If you wait to get into the job market to find great jobs, your options are limited to what is open at that point in time. The trick is to stay aware of opportunities always, even when you are not looking out. That way, when the one comes along, you’re there waiting, badges and all, ready to go for the kill.