oleksandr_tereshchuk September 9, 2020

business autonomus vehicles, job hunt, job search

21 Autonomous Vehicles & Car Companies | Job Availability Research

In this post you will learn about the following 22 autonomous vehicle and car companies:

Some are well-known, some are not. Let’s dive in and explore career opportunities in autonomous vehicle industry.

Amazon recently acquired a startup called Zoox. The company develops self-driving cars and it cost Amazon over $1 billion.

Amazon buys driverless car startup Zoox for undisclosed price

Jobs AT AMAZON

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle related jobs here: Amazon Jobs
Apply for Analyst jobs here: Analyst Jobs at Amazon

Apple keeps its work on self-driving cars behind closed doors. Apple employees spread rumours about work being done on an electric autonomous car. People say different things, but what we know is that there was a project like that, however, the project’s focus has changed to developing self-driving car software instead of an actual vehicle. Few facts:

According to MacRumors:

Apple might still be working on building the self-driving car
The vehicle will be deeply integrated with Apple’s software
DMV issues an autonomous testing permit to Apple
The company is testing self-driving software

Jobs AT APPLE

On their job board web page Apple added the filter named “Home Office”. If applied, you will filter out remote jobs. Search for “self-driving” or “autonomous” keywords.

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Apple here: Apple Jobs
Apply for Analyst jobs at Apple here: Apple Jobs

Also called Apolong, its bus mass production was started three years ago in 2017. Three companies work on its production: Baidu, Kinglong and SB Drive (a subsidiary of Softbank). You won’t find a steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals in the vehicle. It drives at speeds of 20 to 40 kph and is capable of sensing and predicting pedestrian and vehicle movements. It runs on an open-source driverless operating platform called Apollo 3.0.

Baidu just made its 100th autonomous bus ahead of commercial ... — *Baidu’s autonomous busses*

JOBS at BAUIDU

USA-based Autonomous Vehicle jobs at BAIDU: Autonomous Vehicle Opportunities
China-based Autonomous Vehicle Research jobs at BAIDU: Research Job Opportunities

Hyundai-Aptiv joint venture promises commercial autonomous ...

Recently, on August 11, 2020, Aptiv announced its autonomous driving joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group. They called the project Motional.

Motional has its offices in Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, and Singapore.

Jobs at APTIV

The company takes serious precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Read more about it on their career page. Also, they warn you about job scams. Nevertheless, you can apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Aptiv here.

Jobs at MOTIONAL

A simple website takes you straight to the one-page career website. Apply for Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Motional here.

In July 2020, BMW Group, Intel, and Mobileye had joined their forces to push the needle further in self-driving vehicle development. Such a partnership will enable developing a truly end-to-end solution. Each company promises to contribute to this partnership in the following ways:

Mobileye contributes expertise in sensing, localization and driver policy. Mobileye currently plans to deliver fully autonomous cars to customers in 2022.
Intel brings a comprehensive portfolio of hardware solutions. The company will supply self-driving vehicles with powerful and reliable electronic brains, capable of processing terabytes of data in a matter of milliseconds.

JOBS AT BMW

Autonomous Vehicle jobs at BMW: Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at BMW Group here.

JOBS AT Intel

Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Intel Automated Driving Group: Apply for numerous Autonomous Vehicle positions at Intel here.

JOBS AT Mobileye

Autonomous Vehicle jobs at Mobileye: Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Mobileye here.

Bosch to Build $1.1 Billion Chip Plant for Self-driving Cars. According to Bloomberg:

Auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH will build a 1 billion-euro (US$1.1 billion) semiconductor plant, the biggest single investment in its history, as the maker of brakes and engines prepares for a surge in demand for components used in self-driving vehicles.
Bloomberg

Australia's first self-driving car hits the road - www.carsales.com.au

Jobs at Bosch

Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence: Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Bosch here.

Currently, Waymo operates their Level 4 robo-taxis in Phoenix, Arizona (there are drivers upfront functioning as a backup driver). Few weeks ago, in July 2020, Waymo LLC and Fiat announced their partnership to commercial vehicles. Fiat Chrysler will produce fully self-driving vehicles exclusively with Waymo going forward.

Since last year, Waymo nearly doubled its headcount from 800 to 1,500 employees. They call them “Waymonauts”. Waymo hopes that hiring of hundreds of engineers will help it achieve a technological breakthrough in developing autonomous vehicles.

Jobs at Waymo

The company warns applicants about potential scams and informs that they “…do not contact candidates about career opportunities through instant messaging apps like Telegram, email addresses from domains other than waymo.com…”
Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Waymo here.

At the end of July 2020, Argo AI was valued at $7.5 billion. Three years ago, in 2017, the company cost just a little more than $1 billion. The company shows significant growth, and expansion, which means more jobs and opportunities for professionals in the autonomous vehicle development industry.

Jobs at Argo AI

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Argo AI here.

Amazon Reportedly in Talks to Buy Autonomous Vehicle Company Zoox ...

The company laid off nearly a hundred employees, under 10% of the entire staff, in April. Zoox’s job openings were the same in February as they were in October, however, fallen down 31% since then. While it doesn’t seem promising for prospective employees, you still should apply and see if you win the lottery.

Amazon buys self-driving cars startup Zoox for $1.2 billion

Jobs at Zoox

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Zoox here.

If you are not familiar, comma ai develops integrated third party autonomous driving solutions that retrofit into your car. The make an “open pilot”, which works by taking your car’s radar data and combs it with the camera built into comma hardware. Then the device determines what acceleration, braking, and steering events are required. The company had the mission to solve Level 3 in 3 years.

Jobs at Comma AI

Apply for Autonomous Vehicle positions at Comma AI here.

The Nuro R2 is a self-driving vehicle used only for the delivery of goods. It l transports goods instead of passengers. The vehicle is being tested on public roads in Houston, Texas. What is special about this vehicle is that its the first company to receive an autonomous exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since its vehicles are designed to carry goods instead of humans.

Introducing R2, Nuro's Next Generation Self-Driving Vehicle | by ...

Jobs at Nuro

Apply for Analyst and Autonomy Jobs at Nuro.ai

Lucid Motors, Inc. is an American automotive company specializing in electric cars. The company was founded in 2007, and is based in Newark, California. The company’s CTO, Peter Rawlinson, is the former Tesla Model S chief engineer and their first vehicle is an electric luxury sedan to compete with the Model S.

Lucid is currently best known for supplying batteries to Formula E race cars.

Jobs at Lucid Motors

Good news! CEO of Lucid Motors said that the company is still hiring and moving forward with its plan to bring the Air to production. He told the Silicon Valley Business Journal:

“Leading up to the rise of COVID-19, Lucid had grown to over 1,000 employees and we are maintaining this aggressive growth trajectory even now. We have worked with the HR team to maintain interview schedules for new-hire candidates while switching them to phone calls, and we are also moving forward on talent acquisition strategies.”

Apply for jobs at Lucid Motors here.

The company builds autonomous trucks. From their website:

“TuSimple is a self-driving technology company making it possible for heavy-duty trucks to operate autonomously on highways and surface streets. Founded in 2015, our global headquarters is located in San Diego, and we also operate facilities in Tucson, Shanghai, and Beijing. TuSimple achieved unicorn status in 2019 and is backed by an impressive group of investors which include UPS, NVIDIA, and SINA Corporation among others.”

TuSimple recently unveiled its plans to build out a coast-to-coast freight-hauling business. Following that announcement, US truck maker Navistar had joined forces with TuSimple, to build a self-driving semi-trucks.

TuSimple Expands Autonomous Trucking Program With UPS | Transport ...

JOBS at TuSimple

Apply for jobs at TuSimple here

ON Semiconductor and Pony.ai Collaboration on Next-Gen Image ...

Pony.ai is an autonomous vehicle technology company co-located in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Guangzhou. It was founded in late 2016 by two gentlemen: James Peng and Lou Tiancheng – former developers for Baidu.

The startup aims to build reliable autonomous driving solutions. From their website:

“Pony.ai has been committed to revolutionizing the future of transportation by building the safest and most reliable solution for autonomous mobility. Pony.ai has been testing its Robotaxi pilot service, PonyPilot since late 2018 in Guangzhou, China. With PonyPilot, Pony.ai became the first company to launch a Robotaxi operation and offer self-driving car rides to the general public in China. In November 2019, Pony.ai also became the first company to roll out a public-facing Robotaxi pilot service in California, demonstrating its ambition and commitment to mobility services at a global scale.”

$400 million were invested into the company by Toyota. (Feb, 2020)

Jobs at Pony.ai

Apply for opened positions at Pony.AI here

Embark Unveils Self-Driving Truck | Business Wire

Embark is building self-driving trucks. Their automated trucks performed cross country rides, operating in rain and fog, and navigating between transfer hubs. The company’s website emphasizes the value of the team and employees, which makes it appealing to job seekers. Below is what they say:

“Embark is assembling a world-class group of engineers from companies like Tesla, Google, Audi and NASA with a professional operations team that averages over a million miles per driver. Working together, we are able to develop a system tailored to the demands of real world trucking.”

Embark unveiled its new self-driving truck technology Feb. 24.

Jobs at EmBark

Apply for jobs at Embark here

Four years ago, in 2016, Nissan announced its self-driving system ProPilot. This ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist System), evolved over time and New ProPilot 2.0 now has 3D mapping navigation, and with its advanced sensors and cameras, it even recognizes pedestrians’ faces.

Nissan ProPILOT Assist 2.0 Brings Hands-free Driving to the ...

Jobs at Nissan

Search and apply for Autonomous vehicle technology jobs at Nissan here

Created by former MIT faculty Dr. Karl Lagnemma and professor Emilio Frazzoli, self-driving car startup nuTonomy has been getting autonomous cars on roads from Boston to Singapore, where it has been providing autonomous taxis since 2016. NuTonomy has also partnered with Group PSA, owner of European car brand Peugeot SA, to bring self-driving SUVs to Singapore. In August 2016, it launched its autonomous taxi service using a fleet of 6 modified Renault Zoes and Mitsubishi i-MiEVs.

In June 2017, nuTonomy teamed up with Lyft to figure out how autonomous vehicles work in practice, whether they’re put toward ride-sharing or personal ownership. In the same year, in November, nuTonomy joined Aptiv and is now an integral part of Aptiv’s Automated Mobility team.

Startup bringing driverless taxi service to Singapore | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jobs at APTIV (NuTonomy)

Tesla is one of the early pioneers and leaders in the self-driving cars market. It has the self-driving system “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”

In his Tweet, Elon Musk wrote: “If you don’t have a college degree, it won’t hold you back from working for Tesla“. “Join AI at Tesla!”. The artificial intelligence team “reports directly to me [and] we meet/email/text almost every day.”

APPLY FOR AI JOB AT TESLA

Autopilot – find jobs related to autonomous vehicles
All Jobs – search through all job postings

Get to Know Uber ATG at ICCV, CoRL, and IROS 2019 | Uber Engineering Blog

Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is working on developing self-driving cars. The team consists of world-class researchers, engineers, and product specialists. Company’s mission is to bring safe, reliable self-driving transportation to everyone, everywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGLQ7YLGRtU#action=share

jobs at Uber

Find and apply for jobs at Uber ATG here

Formerly Known As Azevtec, Outrider – the pioneer in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, helps large enterprises improve safety and increase efficiency. The only company exclusively focused on automating all aspects of yard operations, Outrider eliminates manual tasks that are hazardous and repetitive. Outrider’s mission is to drive the rapid adoption of sustainable freight transportation by deploying zero-emission systems. Outrider is a private company backed by NEA, 8VC, and other top-tier investors.

Outrider raises $53 million to develop autonomous truck technology | VentureBeat

Jobs at Outrider.ai

Apply for opened job positions at Outrider.ai here.

Self-Driving Car Technology - Autonomous Vehicles | Torc Robotics

Torc Robotics, headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, offers a complete autonomous software solution for mobility applications like self-driving cars and transit by working with partners in automotive, transit and technology. The company produces an autonomous technology that retrofits to existing machinery and vehicles. Its custom products, software and automation kits have been used on vehicles in several industries, including military, mining agriculture, and automotive over the last decade.

Self-driving car arrives in Seattle after 2,500-mile autonomous cross-country trip - GeekWire

Jobs at Torc Robotics

Apply for jobs at TORC here.

GM Cruise, commonly referred to as Cruise, is an American self-driving car company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Cruise is a majority-owned subsidiary of GM. Cruise vehicles are purpose-built for self-driving at a dedicated GM manufacturing plant.

Self-driving cars are built on the platform of Chevrolet Bolts. The company also works on its “electric shuttle”.

Jobs at GM Cruise

Apply for GM Cruise opened jobs here.

oleksandr_tereshchuk September 8, 2020

business, Entrepreneurship, Mindset data analysis, data analyst, job hunt, job search, project management

I Was Born For This Work

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This post is about me, me, me… Why write? Why post? I believe that my job search experience can be useful for those who are in the same boat as me – in transition. This subject is very relevant because a lot of people had lost their jobs because of the COVID pandemic. I would love to hear your thoughts and if you find at least one useful sentence – I am happy.

Analysis, Data Analytics. I enjoy any kind of analysis. My mind is very analytical and always searches for hidden meanings and connections. I question every step I take. Why? To know. To understand. I analyze everything: my thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions. I break down the things into pieces and analyze the crap out of it. I have inborn strong analytical skills. My brain is wired in that way.

Research and analysis is my meditation. I get joy from such work. My recent position at Uber as an Engineer/Project manager required me to work with lots of raw data. Dry numbers and spreadsheets – boring stuff. I loved it. Whenever I sat down to extract, analyze and try to make sense out of datasets – the time flew. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop. I would wait to go to the bathroom, so I can dig deeper. I would hold for so long, that I would almost pee in my pants. That’s how consuming this type of work was to me. I would be afraid to lose that state of mind – the “flow state”. I would often skip on meals and drinks. Not because I didn’t want to eat, but because I didn’t want to interrupt that free fly of my mind. I was comfortable in my thoughts and ideas. I would have to force myself to close the laptop, so I can train. I knew I was exhausting myself mentally and I needed to leave the energy for physical training.

People I used to work with often said that I had a very analytical mind. My co-workers praised me for the research I’ve done on various projects. I was not afraid to approach people and ask questions. I asked a lot, a lot of questions. This might be one of the major reasons why I was able to get into the self-driving vehicle industry and learn. My co-workers would often say how disciplined I was. After the fact, I recently learned that three years ago, when I just started working at Uber as an autonomous vehicle reliability technician management saw the qualities in me that I was not aware of. Now my friend, one of the managers said that they saw how disciplined I was. I had the ability to approach people with questions or suggestions. He said that I was perceived as a very reliable person. They knew that if they were to ask me to do something, I will have it done. There was a “management aura” around me. They saw that I had not only the discipline and the skill of managing my own work and execute on the plan, but also influence others.

Discipline at everything:
life and work

I always say: Discipline is Freedom. I really mean it.

Over the course of several years, I managed full-time work with triathlon training and racing. Just for the reference, the training piece typically takes two workouts a day and approximately 15-20 hours a week. I also managed to run several “side hustles” and tried myself as an entrepreneur. I read a lot, I studied, I took courses and I travelled. Oh boy, did I travel?

Because I was interested in so many things, I had to have a system that would help me manage them all. I developed the structure that made it all possible. It all started with “To-Do Lists”. I would have multiple: for work, training, packing for the trips, my dog, my car, reading or studying… Then I evolved to Gant Charts, Calendars and task management tools. I was always on a hunt for tools that would help me organize my life. I was always striving to be as efficient as possible. Why? So, I can fit in more. There are so many cool things I want to try, but I have so much time… I became pretty damn good at managing the most important project – the project of My Life. I read a lot of books in search of structure. Among them are such bestsellers as:

“The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals”, by Chris McChesney
“The ONE Thing”, by Gary W
“Getting Things Done”, by David Allen and more…

Every time I would learn about a new managing tool or technique – I would get excited. I am still searching… The point here is that I became very, very good at scheduling and organizing. I get a sense of joy from turning a mess into a nicely organized and structured thing. Everything in my house has its own place. Everything is organized by colour, purpose, size etc… Yes, I know, I am weird in that way, but I need it. It’s not my preference – it’s my physiological and mental need to have everything in order. I feel uncomfortable when it’s not.

The Sport

Triathlon training involves three sports: swimming, cycling and running. Three separate and different projects to manage in a way that when combined, would result in high athletic performance. This sport had though me a lot about planning, scheduling and logistics. I had learned how to self-motivate and push beyond the limits. The discipline that so many people admire in me, I got from the sport.

Entrepreneurship

I have always had a lot of interest in business. I didn’t care what kind of business. If I saw the opportunity, imaginary or real, I would act on it. I’ve attempted several businesses, which are absolutely unrelated to my education or work experience. Dog grooming salon; Pool Cleaning and Maintenance company; High-performance athletic recovery center… and others. There is a lot to tell about those experiences, but the reason I bring it up is the skill I gained. Every business was a project with a lot of moving pieces. Every time I went into the new venture – I mastered this critical skill – project management. I thought I was working on my business, while in fact I was working on myself. Combined with full-time job and training I became pretty damn good at project management.

I’ve been searching

For the past three-four months I’ve been searching. I’ve been asking: What kind of work do you want to be doing? I did a lot of thinking and analysis of the past events. I’ve spoken to a lot of people, trying to get some clarity and insights into my strengths and weaknesses. I thought I figured it out – analytics. While this remains true, it’s so brought and wide opened. You can be financial analyst, business analyst, investment banking analyst. You can work as such in healthcare, aerospace, real estate, autonomous vehicles… you name it. There are so many different industries and businesses and each one offers data analyst positions. I had a direction, but still it was not clear where to go.

The more people I talked to, the clearer it got. I was able to extract the common theme – analytical, disciplined, well organized, self-motivated… How do use these personal traits in a way that bring me money and pleasure from work? Is there is a job that would require such skillset? If not, can I create such a job for myself? No need… there is one.

I have recently applied for an engineering position at very well-known autonomous vehicle company. I passed the phone screening; however, the manager had more questions. The questions seemed unrelated to position I’ve applied because he was asking a lot about my experience managing my businesses and different projects at work. He asked a lot about my experience with analysing data, drawing conclusions and presenting my findings to the broader audiences. His questions made me wonder if he was looking to put me in another position. Indeed, he was. Even knowing I’ve applied for an engineering role; the company suggested a better fit for me – Technical Project Manager.

I didn’t know much about the TPM role, so I went to people who did. I talked to my former co-workers and friends. Some of them had actually worked as TPMs and knew what it’s like from the inside. I asked questions and listened… The more they told me about their work duties the more I realized – this is it. I’ve been already doing all these things, but in my personal life, training and business. I realized that all I’ve been doing is managing different projects. Everyone Whenever I said that I was interviewing for a Project Manager position, they all said that I would be a perfect fit for that. “You were born to be a TPM”, one of them said. This is when it hit me. What is it’s my calling? What if I can get really damn good? What if this is my “superpower” – to bring the structure into the chaos? I got this euphoric feeling that I’ve found something very valuable in me.

Is this it?

I can help people and businesses to organize themselves. I can bring the order and structure. I can move the projects forward by motivating and keeping people accountable. I enjoy talking and learning new things – cross-team networking. I enjoy research – necessary to understand technical detail of the project. There is an analysis piece to this. I love to analyse data – project metrics and status updates. I love presenting the finding of my analysis, finding new ways of doing things, putting together presentations and delivering my findings. I am very good at planning and scheduling. I have a lot of technical experience and a degree in Computer Science. I have in depth understanding of the different business processes – the MBA degree. I have the energy and ability to motivate others. Holly smokes, this is it! It seems that my entire life was preparing me for this.

I felt euphoric. I have discovered what my talents are and what I am naturally good at. I also know where my skills are in demand and what’s the name of such a job. I know where I can get very good at. A have a feeling that I can get pretty good at this. I am confident! A huge sense of relief – I have found what I was searching for. I still don’t have a job, but I am calm and happy because I know exactly what I want to be doing next. I will try wearing a heat of a TPM – Technical Project Manager. And it’s a fully remote position…

oleksandr_tereshchuk August 21, 2020

Entrepreneurship job hunt, job search, networking

Strategy, Scripts and Books for Effective Digital Networking

Step 1: Schedule a meeting (Call)

How to start a conversation? How to approach a person? It’s so much easier to shoot a message to the people that know you well, than email a person whom you haven’t talked for years. You got to have a strategy. You need to know what to say.

First, I suggest that you do a little research. Most likely you are connected with the person on Facebook or LinkedIn. Open up the profile and scroll through their newsfeed. You will find out what they’re interested in, what they talk or post about. Maybe there was some significant event in their lives. New job, the birth of a child, gettings engaged, purchase of a house, finishing the first marathon, you name it. Whatever it is – it’s your conversation starter.

Next, message your connection: email or social media. You want to be short and friendly.

Your main objective is to build a relationship

You want to meet to listen and learn. The other person has a lot of experience in his or her space, and you want to sit and learn about the industry they are in. Ask about the challenges they have. What are they proud of?

Another thing to mention is the time we’re in. You got to be empathetic. Coronavirus had impacted a lot of people around the world. Be mindful of that and open up your message with ensuring that the recipient is well and healthy. Nowadays, you need to be as thoughtful as ever. Realize that how you compose the email with another professional entirely depends on whether your relationship is close or distant.

Think twice before you hit “Send”

Generic, lazy man Greetings

“Hope you’re well.”
“Hope this email finds you healthy.”
“Hope you and your family are healthy and safe during these uncertain and unprecedented times.”

Everyone’s writing the same greetings. You can do much better than that.

Get Creative

“I hope you are staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper, and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times.”

email script EXAMPLE

Hi [Name],

I hope you are staying safe, sheltered in place, stocked with toilet paper, and healthy during these absolutely unprecedented, wild, chaotic, terrifying times.

I know you have a lot of experience in [their area of expertise], and I would love to have a chat with you over the phone or FaceTime to learn about the industry as well as the “do’s” and “don’ts” as I get started.

Please let me know if you’re free over the next couple of weeks for a quick conversation. I’d appreciate the chance to ask questions.

Regards,
Alex

LINKEDIN SCRIPT EXAMPLE

Hi [Name],

Your LinkedIn profile got my attention OR We are both in the [name the group] group and I wanted to reach out and introduce myself.

In the interest of expanding my professional network and collaborating with fellow professionals, I am hoping we can connect.

Would you be open to a 20-minute phone or video call to get to know each other? If so, please let me know what days/times work for you.

Thanks for considering the possibility,
Alex

Step 2: Have a conversation

tips for conversation with your contact

Once you’ve scheduled a meeting, use these tips to structure an effective conversion with your contact:

Research their connections on Linkedin and determine who you may like to be introduced to
Be enthusiastic, express energy in a way you speak, be personable and curious
Make sure you have good reception/no background noise for phone conversations
Be respectful of their time and pay attention to the clock
Always ask how you can help them, and thank them for their time and support

One-on-One script EXAMPLEs

Before you start talking, you need to know what you want. What is the outcome of the conversation you are after? What do you want as a result of it? I suggest that you ask for connections. Most likely, the person you are going to talk to won’t be able to help you, BUT they probably know someone who can. This must be your main objective – to get a reference. Ideally, the person will introduce to their contact.

Open the conversation
“Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I am excited to learn more about you and see how we can help each other professionally.”
Learn about them
“How did you get your start? I’d be interested to learn a little bit about you.
What is it that you currently working on? What is the biggest challenge?”
Tell them what is your focus
“… my focus is on data analytics. I would like to land a position with a well established consulting company or a company that’s main focus is on data analysis and research…”
Offer to help
“Who would be beneficial for you to meet right now? I would be happy to make an introduction or be of support in any way if there is someone in my network who could help.”
Make a request
”Do you think there is someone that you know, whom I should talk to? Would you feel comfortable making an introduction?”

Let’s say the conversation went well and someone has made an introduction for you. Here is how you approach your new connection that you’ve been referred to:

Hi [Name],

Nice to meet you! Seeing that you work for [company name] got my attention and [Name] was open to making the introduction. [Name] and I know each other from [explain]. In my current transition, I am researching various companies in the market and wanted to see whether you might be available for an exploratory conversation about your career and how you like working for [company]. I would like to learn about the work that you are doing and see how we can support each other professionally.

[State your PVP (personal value proposition) and focus]
If you are available, let’s schedule a 30-minute phone call to get to know one another better.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to connecting,
Alex

Book SUGGESTIONs

Good luck my friend! Stay tuned.

Subscribe to my weekly Newsletters

oleksandr_tereshchuk August 21, 2020

Entrepreneurship job hunt, job search, networking

Digital Networking: How to Network Effectively During The LockDown?

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If you read the article about “The Three Bucket Method”, you are familiar with this approach and maybe even created the list of people to contact. If you haven’t, I encourage you to take a quick skim at the article and follow the suggestions. Once done, come back and I’ll show you what to do next.

I am sure that the list of people who know you well is much slimmer than the one full of folks whom you met several times in your life. This is normal! In your “bucket exercise”, shoot for at least 30 people in both. This is nothing, considering how many Facebook friends you have. Once done, you need to get in touch.

Ideally, you want to meet with all the people on your list in person. COVID situation does not support effective networking, so you got to get creative. There are a lot of reasons why you can’t meet in person, but that is not mission-critical. A phone call, FaceTime, Video conferencing or email at the very least.

The important thing here is how you approach a meeting and what you say. What you say matters, but what you don’t – matters even more.

Too much talking can and will hurt you.
Talk less, listen more.

Digital Networking

This is not a new thing, however, nowadays it’s as relevant as never before. What is digital networking? To better understand it, we need to refresh the memory on what business networking is. I will answer this question in two parts: “pre-pandemic networking” and “post-pandemic networking”.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want“
ZIG ZIGLAR

Also, despite the fact that things had changed dramatically over the past several months the concept of networking remained the same – help other people. Networking, particularly business networking is the process where you make an effort to establish a synergetic relationship with other people. It is called “networking” because you build a network of people around yourself. You meet new people and try to figure out how to help one another. The key part of networking is meeting people. Due to an extraordinary time caused by the pandemic, we got to redefine the concept of networking.

Digital networking is the process where you make an effort to establish a synergetic relationship with other people online.

Just one word, but changes everything. Let’s examine how much of different digital networking is from face-to-face networking.

The “Old” – Pre-COVID Networking

The best way to network with other local business owners and entrepreneurs was through face-to-face meetings and local business groups. People would regularly attend networking group meetings. However, networking did not happen only at a “networking event”. There are countless other places to meet people with whom you could build mutually beneficial relationships. Here are the 12 best typical networking places:

Any Business event
A networking club or business organization
Someplace where like-minded people belong
Any type of class you take to learn more and improve yourself
A civic organization
A cultural event
Charity or volunteering event
Trade shows
Private clubs
Health clubs
Sports events
Happy hours

Well, those places were good before the pandemic. As I said, typically networking was done face-to-face. Now things different, and we have to adapt. Let’s move to the “digital” part of the networking.

The “New” – COVID-19 Networking

Going through the list above, none of the typical networking places or events are relevant anymore. At least for now, we need to find better places to connect with others. You already know the answer – online. Everyone needs to be networking online. No matter where you are in your current career stage, networking can and will improve your personal or professional life. Digital networking doesn’t require a lot of tools and resources. A smartphone, email address, a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile as for the beginning… If you wish to go further, there are 10 alternatives to face-to-face networking, which I guarantee that you haven’t heard of at least a half of them:

The bottom line is that you need to network. Because of situation, you need to network online. You need to know where to find people online and how to approach them. In the next post I will lay out the scripts and strategies for effective networking over the internet. Stay tuned.

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oleksandr_tereshchuk August 20, 2020

Entrepreneurship job hunt, job search, lost job, networking

Job Hunt: The Three Bucket Method

To begin, let me share with you some recent statistics.

This is sad… It is even more sad to realize that you are one of those millions of unemployed people. What do the numbers tell us?

Millions of Americans have been laid off because of the COVID-19
There are four sectors of the economy that took the biggest hit:
- Private businesses
- Non-farm
- Service
- Leisure and hospitality (to a lesser degree)
There are more chances to find a job in one of the following industries:
- Utilities
- Financial Activities
- Mining and Logging
- Wholesale Trade
- IT
- Construction

What do you expect those millions of people do? That’s right – hunting for a new job. There is no time to feel bad for yourself so get to work! Competition on the job market is sky high, while demand and new job opportunities are at an all-time low. A perfect storm!

At least 70% of jobs are not even listed

According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 70% of all jobs are found through networking. Another recent survey shows that only 10% of positions were filled through job boards. The survey showed that most jobs are either filled internally or through referrals. What does it mean to you? Use your resources wisely. Time is your no-renewable resource, so make sure you spend it on the right things. Here is how:

Network – 70%
Research – 20%
Apply for jobs – 10%

Is this what the buckets for? Nope, not for that. The Three Bucket concept applies to the main task on your list – Networking.

Bucket #1

List all the people that know you very well. Family members, former colleagues, friends, friend’s friends and so on. Fill the red bucket with all the people you think might fall into this category.

Bucket #2

People who know you a little. This might be a guy you met at a networking event. Somebody you’ve had a brief chat on social media. List anyone you can think of, who you know not so well to put them into the first bucket.

Bucket #3

This is the main bucket, which comes empty by default. You are going to fill it with references from the people in the previous two. As you begin contacting people whom you know, they will refer you to someone they think might help. Those reference links can alight into the long chain of contacts, which will bring you…. somewhere. The idea is that eventually, you will get in touch with the right person and land on the job of your dreams. That’s the idea. Fill the green bucket with the references you obtain from other people. Very simple.

That’s all for now. The subject of my next post will be around effective networking and communication. How to approach people from your list? What to say? What not to say? … and more. I will also include email scripts – the actual things to say. Stay tuned.

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job hunt