🌴👨🏻💻 Remote Work Resources
Job Boards, Job Sites, and Newsletters
I started writing a friend to share some favorite resources for remote software engineering work, and remembered something I read and appreciated: If you're writing something that might have utility for more than one person, consider making it a blog post.
Here it is! What did I miss? Hit me up!
Personal Connections #
I've seen tech workers make the following case: cold applying (aka "Spray and pray") doesn't work; you're up against way too many candidates. (One role I was in final rounds with had received ~1400 applications, half of whom were qualified to do the work.) Just keep talking to friends and connections, telling everyone you're looking for work, and at some point, you'll find an opening that you're a good match for.
I can relate to this: there was a point in my current job search in which cold applying was landing me exactly zero interviews, and my only interviews were via friends' connections.
Hired.com #
If you sign up with that link and get hired, I get some 💵. Thanks! 🙏
How it works: You sign up. If you're accepted, your profile / resume is shown to internal hiring managers / internal recruiters of hiring companies. If they're interested in you at your asking salary, they'll reach out about an interview.
🤩 During my 2017 and 2022 job hunts, I received a total of 30 interview requests and landed two amazing dev roles.
😭 During my 2023 job hunt, I've received exactly one interview request.
LinkedIn #
💡 Tip: search for jobs at companies where you have a connection. The majority of interviews I've landed this round have come from connections.
💡 Tip: the LinkedIn algorithms have to account for folk who don't update their profile, e.g. a stale #OpenToWork status. So it prioritizes folk who have recently updated their profile's "Open To ___" setting. Flipping your "Open to work" setting off on a Friday and back on on a Monday can help your profile show up higher in results for recruiters looking for your skills.
If you're on LinkedIn, say hi! Here's my profile.
Climatebase #
"A hiring platform for the climate workforce." I attended their virtual job fair, which landed me two interviews. They have a ton of remote roles listed.
Wellfound #
Formerly AngelList, it's a sizable, easily searchable collection of roles with startups.
We Work Remotely #
I don't have personal experience with this site, but it is a popular job board for remote roles.
Key Values #
"Find engineering teams that share your values." This one is not a huge job board, but it does have some brilliant functionality.
From the homepage, you can the values that are most important to you in a work environment. Then, scroll down to find comanies with open roles that share your values.
Culture Queries offers really thoughtful questions for you, the candidate, to ask the folk you're interviewing with. Once you've selected your values, scroll down and click "See results".
A favorite of mine:
Technical capabilities aside, what soft skills would make someone successful in this role?
SUNrise #
A weekly newsletter tracking companies that have recently raised heaps of 💸 money, and are now hiring.
Recruiters #
In a surprising turn of events, it was an external recruiting agency that led me to my latest software engineering role.
My interactions with external recruiters have mostly been dead-ends. I've spoken with hundreds, and about 99% of the time, the experience is like this:
Recruiters often present me with exciting roles that appear to be a good fit, but rarely do these discussions progress to an interview stage.
There have been a few exceptions. For example, I once got to the onsite interview stage for a position at Cruise through an external recruiter. Unfortunately, it turned out they had submitted my application with a higher salary expectation than I had specified, to incorporate their commission. This discrepancy in salary expectations was a key factor in Cruise deciding not to proceed.
But then came Caitlin and Gavin from TEKsystems. They had a role with an EdTech company and were its exclusive sourcing agency. They leveraged their internal contacts, including an engineer they had previously placed, to my advantage. Their communication was outstanding, and they provided excellent preparatory materials, ensuring I was well-prepared for each interview round.
If you're interested in working with them, hit them up on LinkedIn (Caitlin and Gavin), and tell them I sent you. (I don't get any kickbacks.) Caitlin informed me that they usually recruit for roles requiring skills in Java, React, Node, Angular, Python, and .NET.
💡 Tip: It's a common line from recruiters that your higher salary means higher pay for them, suggesting they'll always aim for the best offer. However, remember that once you're close to receiving an offer, a recruiter's priority often shifts to closing the deal rather than pushing for a marginally higher salary, which would only slightly increase their commission.
Those are my favorite resources! Did I miss any that you like? Let me know on Mastodon, or Ethan [at] EthanStark [dot] com.
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