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How my friends and I get jobs + $$$ opportunities (and how you can too!)

How my friends and I get jobs + $$$ opportunities (and how you can too!)

I have an exciting announcement! 🎉

Avni Barman
April 04, 2024

How my friends and I get
jobs + $$$ opportunities
^{(and how you can too!)}

Spoiler alert: it’s not job boards.

The truth is, many of my friends who grew up in Silicon Valley can quite literally just call their “uncle” and have a job offer in their hands in less than 24 hours. But what if you’re not naturally in these inner circles? Are you completely out of luck in this job market?

Absolutely not. Here’s how you can create the same advantage for yourself so you, too, can land that opportunity in just a single phone call —

Strategy #1: Mastering In-Person Networking

In-person networking is incredibly effective because, unlike a DM or email, you simply can’t be ignored when you're face-to-face. The problem is that 99% of people mess this up by coming across as awkward and transactional in their first interaction. Nobody will want to share their connections if you come across as desperate.

To effectively network, you need to build an authentic connection and demonstrate your value before others are willing to share their network with you. A good conversation starter at an IRL event is asking whether someone is local or visiting for work. After their reply about their work, you can naturally talk about your own work. This conversation starter not only fits in any setting but also leads to pitching yourself in a natural, unforced way. This method helps you figure out two important things: how to offer value and build trust, and what kind of introduction to request at the end of the conversation to gain a new opportunity.

Consistently having these in-real-life conversations and building your network is easier in big cities like SF, NYC, or LA, where you can frequent coworking spaces and attend networking events to meet professionals in the industry.

Strategy #2: Building Your Digital Presence

But what if you can’t live in these cities? Then, it’s critical to build your digital presence.

In my opinion, Twitter, especially for tech, is the best social media platform for this. LinkedIn has become one of the worst places for networking. It's a great platform to grow quickly if you're a content creator, but it's unlikely to lead to new opportunities due to its spammy nature and the sheer volume of job requests people receive.

The way to network on Twitter is not actually by messaging people. It’s by being an “active member” of the startup/tech circles. You can do this by:

Posting frequently about topics that excite you.
Commenting/replying to content in your industry/sector

This approach will naturally attract founders and other industry professionals involved in areas you're interested in. The Twitter algorithm will present your content to them, and after seeing you a few times, they're likely to reach out for a chat. This might not be a job opportunity right away; it could just be to get your feedback or perspective on what they’re working on. But it's a golden chance to pitch who you are and how you can add value to their team. Remember, 99% of startups don't hire through job boards; they find exceptional individuals through their network.

I’ve seen many friends, including myself, land jobs and life-changing career opportunities this way. Honestly, it’s quite rare to hear of someone who submitted an application, went through a few interviews, and then received the job/opportunity.

For a more detailed guide on applying these strategies, check out this 7-day schedule I created!

_{ENTREPRENEURSHIP}_{& VENTURE CAPITAL}

🛠️ Build Gen She With Me

I HAVE AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉

My best friend and I are officially co-investers!! We just put $$$ into a 60M startup, and it literally took us less than a minute!

I’m particularly excited about this company, doola, because I’m good friends with the founder and firmly believe in the product's potential to democratize access to entrepreneurship and wealth-building. Increasingly, women are recognizing that starting their own businesses—be it a part-time side hustle or a full-scale venture—is the KEY to financial independence, something men have historically dominated and taken advantage of for centuries. Plus, business owners have the advantage of saving large portions of their income by paying less taxes, as they can deduct expenses and reinvest back into their businesses. With doola, the barriers to starting a business are significantly lowered. You no longer need to pay a million lawyers to do a bunch of fancy paperwork to start a business. You can start as soon as tomorrow and have it all setup in a few minutes! You can even schedule a free consultation with them to discuss taxes, business strategy and more.

P.S. Check out the BTS here. If you are one of the first 100 people to comment 💰️ + what kind of investing content you want to see more of, you will be entered to receive $100 of beauty/wellness products!!! Good luck!

💰️ Mom, I Am a Rich Man
_{An interview series uncovering the stories and strategies of badass women on a quest to find richness in health and wealth.}

Alexandra Debow (21)
🎉 HUGE CONGRATS TO ALEXANDRA FOR GETTING ACCEPTED AS A 2024 THIEL FELLOW + she’s the only woman in the cohort this year! 🎉

Alexandra Debow is the co-founder/CEO of swsh, an app to share pictures from parties. She is also a NYU dropout and Hong Kong born and raised.

Why did you decide to drop out of college? In my junior year fall, I connected with my two amazing co-founders to start building different apps to help connect people. After we starting building, we couldn't stop and we wanted to spend our whole day doing it.
What steps did you take to transition from an idea to actually launching a startup? We starting building for our friends and ourselves immediately. We would build, test, and launch ideas - collecting feedback along the way always.
Best money advice you’ve ever received? Money just scales what you're already doing now.
What’s one non-negotiable for your mental health? Journaling daily.
What advice would you give to other young women considering unconventional paths like the Thiel Fellowship? If people say you're weird, you're probably on to something.

🤝 Invest With Me
_{Turns out you don’t need to be crazy rich to own a piece of the trillions of dollars that flow through the tech industry every year! Wefunder is a platform that allows anyone to invest as little as $100 into startups, and each week, I’ll be sharing one company that I’m investing in with you!}

Arrived allows you to easily invest in rental homes & vacation rentals

wefunder.com/arrived

✨ The company is backed by Jeff Bezos and Mark Benioff. Read more here.

✨ $146M USD invested across +340 properties in over 60 markets.

✨ The company is rapidly growing, with over 542K registered users.

Podcast Rewinds ⏪️

If you want to pivot from non-tech into tech,
THIS is the best advice I’ve seen:

@gen.she
NEW EPISODE OUT 🎉 Vivian Lynn (@vivian.lynn), with a bioengineering background, successfully transitioned from a Product Manager at beauty... See more

Vivian Lynn from “The Gen She Podcast: Normalizing Career Changes from Product Management at L’Oreal to Marketing at Amazon”

P.S. I’m so close to launching season 2, and guess what…they’re ALL SOLOS! 😬
I’m covering a lot of spicy BTS of how I saved $100K in <1 year, why your 20s are supposed to suck, and the real tea of what it’s like quitting your job and starting a co….follow along on Spotify or my new YouTube channel to be the first to hear about it when it drops!

_{RESOURCES + JOBS}

Don’t miss these 👀

^CAREER

🏙️ I’m coming to Dubai in a few weeks and hosting a networking mixer for the best founders, builders, and creators in the UAE startup ecosystem. Come join us if you’re around!

🤯 Shocking studies show us that as women get wealthier, they get skinnier, but as men get wealthier, they get fatter…here’s why.

🗞️ I got a $40K raise using this 30-second strategy, and Business Insider featured me!

👩‍🔧 A day in the life without inventions by women - this made me cackle!

^WELLNESS

🤔 Can porn actually be ethical for women?

👯 When is it okay to let your friends make bad choices?

🥊 Shim Yu Ri, a female MMA fighter, wrestles the much heavier male Hunter Lee on Physical 100 and wins, showing us the power of grit and tenacity when it comes to getting what you want!