Every week when this email goes out, I’ll get a few emails from people I’ve never met asking me to put in a good word for them for one of the job openings below. I’ve never understood the logic.

Would you recommend someone you’ve never talked to? I didn’t think so.

Please don’t wait till you see a cool job ad before you reach out to people at organizations you want to work at. Start now – as in right now! – emailing or calling your friends and friends of friends to find people who work at your target organizations.

Build relationships before the job opportunities appear.

Then, when you see great job opportunities you’ll know who to call, what will excite them, and have an advantage over everyone in getting that job.

Good luck!
Wayan

If you’re reading this newsletter, you are probably looking for a new job, or at least contemplating one.

What do you feel is your greatest barrier to change? What is the one thing that you wish you could change, or know, or do that you feel would get you the new job you dream of?

Email me your barrier!

I promise to reply with empathy to your concerns – I’m sure I’ve had them too – and thoughts on how you can work towards overcoming the barriers you face in finding a great job that you love.

I can’t promise I’ll be right, only that we can try to work it out together.

Thanks!
Wayan

I imagine that you are reading this newsletter because you want to improve your digital development career. You either want to stand out enough to get an ICT4D job, or move into a better one.

So do you invest in your ICT4D career? As in put in extra hours and use your own money to do cool things that will teach you new skills or help you meet new people?

If Not, Why Not?

I was recently talking with someone who refused to spend $100 on new technology that they could use in their work, because their company would not pay for it. I couldn’t understand why they would be so cheap.

Yes, it would be nice if a company gave us funds to experiment with new tools, but we shouldn’t let their conservatism retard our own inquisitiveness. The value of working better, and leading with innovation should supersede such pettiness.

Invest Now to Get and Stay Ahead

I routinely invest a few thousand dollars every year in new tech, experiences, and even travel to learn new skills, meet new people, and pursue new opportunities that are beyond my employer’s budget. I am able to bring this innovation back into my company to improve its efforts and my standing therein.

Now not all of my investments have paid off, and that’s okay. The ones that do have helped me leap ahead of others and opened doors I never thought existed, much less thought I could open them. So what are you waiting for – invest in your career to find your own open doors.

Good luck!
Wayan

You are not the only one seeking to improve your ICT4D career. We all are. I’m happy to announce that I’m switching jobs too. I’m leaving FHI 360 in December to be the ICT4D lead at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) based in Los Baños, Philippines in January 2017.

I’m really excited about this new role, and I’d like to share the 3-step process by which I got it, so we can all learn from the experience.

1. I am known by my peers

This was a new role for IRRI, so they hired a recruiter to find the best candidate. Apparently multiple people told the recruiter to call me. That was a great honor, earned by years of networking.

2. I was gracious and helpful

The first time the recruiter called to ask about my interest in the role, I demurred and sent him on to others I thought might be interested.

It turns out that many of those I suggested actually recommended the recruiter call me back and try again. This is a double honor, born from years of helping others get their dream job.

3. I worked my network like mad

Once I decided I was interested, I used my network to make sure I would want the job, and to build a list of high-quality references. Many of those references, when they heard I was applying for the position, took it upon themselves to send in unsolicited recommendations to people they knew at IRRI.

Those unsolicited references helped my candidacy immensely and were the direct result of both being good at what I do, and always, always helping my friends when they needed something.

The Key Takeaway: Network, Network, Network

My journey is yet another proof point that its not always what you know, but who you know that can lead to a new job. So please stop sending out endless CV’s to random positions you see on the Internet (including those below).

Instead, invest in informational interviews. Invest in building a maintaining a network. And then, when you hear of a position you want, use that network to make sure the hiring organization wants you as much as you want them.

It feels like a longer, harder path, and it can be, but it is the one that leads to a new you.

Good luck!
Wayan