Julia Cort specializes in placing remote engineers, and that makes her unusual. Most recruiters focus on knowing the companies in a specific geographic area. In Boston, where I live, many recruiters base their business on knowing the landscape of tech companies in the area. Silicon Valley is the same way. Steve Kasmouski is a recruiter in the Boston area and he almost never deals with remote engineers. Both types of recruiters can help you.
Julia is a big fan of the specialization message. If your resume has skills that others don’t it makes you much easier to sell. She will work with you and try to find skills that you can specialize in. She also has a good feeling for what skills companies are looking for at any given time. Recruiters who can focus on finding you a remote job are exactly what you are looking for. The only problem is there aren’t many of them.
Recruiters like Steve are much easier to find. Steve works for a Boston area firm, The Winter, Wyman Companies. He has been a recruiter for over 15 years and works with remote engineers less than one percent of the time. He can help you find a job too, but it will take a little work and a little selling.
You can find recruiters like Steve in any major city in the United States. Just Google search for tech recruiter and the name of the city you are interested in. Contact the best looking ones and sell yourself. Show them your strong resume, your passion for software development, and your specialized skills. Impress them. Just remember, a recruiter doesn’t really care how good an engineer you are. A recruiter cares if they can place you at a job. Make it clear that you are professional, capable, and hireable. Then mention working remotely.
As soon as you mention working remotely the relationship will sour a little. The recruiter will wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to place someone else willing to go into the office. Make it clear to the recruiter that remote is just your preference. Tell them you understand the difficulties in placing a remote engineer and are confident you can overcome them.
After that you just need to sell yourself. Go back to the previous chapter and look at all the ways you defined your brand. Tell the recruiter about them and convince them to show you to a couple of companies. With some hard work and a little luck they will connect you with specific companies and you can start the interview process.
You’re an engineer first and a remote engineer second. Lead with your skills, show people why they should hire you, and then talk about working remotely. Find your next job by:
- Make your resume better than other candidates who will work in the office.
- Look like the people the company has already hired.
- Let recruiters help you find a job.