Monthly Challenge for March 2024: Get job ready! Resumes, Cover Letters, and Elevator Pitch

There's never a bad time to update your job application materials. This month, we're here to support you!

During this month, we'll work on creating, revising, or updating your job packet materials and that elevator pitch that might get you in the door. We'll work on a new piece each week, starting with the resume.

Theme

Get job ready! Resumes, Cover Letters, and Elevator Pitch

Goals

• A complete and updated resume tailored to your job search or position
• A complete and updated cover letter that creates a personal connection
• A captivating elevator pitch

Who can Participate?

Virtual Coffee's goal is to support all developers, no matter where they are in their coding journey. We encourage all members to participate.

How it Works

• We're focusing on creating job application materials. Whether you're actively looking, getting ready to look, or want to update your materials in case that dream job comes along, this is a great time to do it with the community and to get some feedback.
• We encourage you to post your ideas, questions, and even your fears in the #monthly-challenge channel in Slack. We're all learning and growing together!
• We'll do a Slack check-in each week to brainstorm, support, and learn from each other.
• Keep in mind that different experiences will have different approaches to the materials, but we can all provide positive feedback.

We're breaking this challenge into two parts, but feel free to focus on what's most important to you.

Weeks One and Two: Resume and Cover Letter

Resume

• Step one: Find a job post.
• Step two: Match your skills to the post.
• Step three: Make your resume stand out.

This also includes updating your LinkedIn profile if you'd like.

Cover Letter

• Step one: Do some research. Learn about a company and make a connection.
• Step two: Do some storytelling. A cover letter isn't a written resume. It's an opportunity to go deeper.
• Step three: Connect your experience to the position.

Week Three: Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short speech introducing yourself, what you do, your experience, and why you would be an excellent person to have on the team. The idea is to confidently convey information about yourself in a short amount of time and leave an impression on the mind of the person who hears it.

Week Four: Tying it Together

Your resume, cover letter, and elevator pitch should work together to tell your story and represent where you are on your career journey. Each piece should complement the others. This week, take time to make sure they work together or get some extra feedback on what you've worked on.

At the end of the month, we'll do the final check-in in our #monthly-challenge Slack channel. You can submit your resume, cover letter, and a one-minute video of your elevator pitch if you choose—this isn't required.

Each week, our monthly challenge team will start us off with check-ins. For this challenge to be fruitful, ensure you share, provide feedback, and ask for help when needed.

Job Application Materials and Resources

• How to Promote Yourself to Potential Employers – Abbey Perini – Virtual Coffee Lunch & Learn
• Optimize Your Resume For Both A Hiring Manager And An ATS – Jennifer & Abbey – Virtual Coffee Lunch & Learn
• Breaking down coding problems in interviews – Courtney Landau – Lightning Talks 2021
• Resume Roundtable – Bryan Healey – Virtual Coffee Lunch & Learn
• FlowCV: free resume builder
• A list of Ian Douglas's Interview Resources

What if I Need Help?

You can ask a question in the #help-and-pairing channel on Slack, get 1:1 help during Office Hours (you can find the doc for office hours at the top of the #help-and-pairing channel), join the VC #co-working-room, or ask at a Coffee! Asking for help is part of the process.

Our Tech Interview Study Group, The Pack Hunt, and Accountabilibuddies groups are also here to support you during the challenge! Stay tuned at the #announcement and #vc-events channel on Slack for the schedules!

And remember, we're always here to help ❤️