Professional communities and job search

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve talked to at least 5-10 job searchers weekly. They want feedback on their resumes, they want to network, and they hope I can point them to new openings.

(This article complements my earlier one: How to get a tech job in 2024.)

But the best advice I can give them is to invest in community. Community is the fastest way to expand your network, increase confidence, and provide emotional support and motivation. Job seeking is hard, but the community can make it easier. But where do you find community?

1) Rands Leadership Slack.

This entirely free community has over 33,000 members spread across the globe and over 600 active channels. While heavy on engineering and leadership, there are channels for industries, professionally focused channels, and many for job searchers. There are also geographically focused channels for networking with people who live nearby and plenty of “lifestyle” channels for whatever your interests are outside of work. The one thing you won’t find is spam: the community is aggressively allergic to commercial content and self-promotion. To join, follow the directions here: https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/. And when you join, let me know!

2) Communities of practice.

Whether you’re interested in product management, sales, design, startups, healthtech, fintech, greentech, edutech, or some other focus, there’s a community for you. While some are free, some are paid, and some require admission. There are also geographically specific groups, sometimes sponsored by VCs. My favorite is the Friends of Lenny’s Newsletter—you get access when you subscribe to Lenny Rachitsky’s paid substack: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/community. It has about 15,000 members, primarily in product management, growth, and founder roles and mostly at startups. You can also search for geographic and alumni communities—for example, I belong to Xooglers, and there are tons of Boston-based tech communities.

3) Cohort-based communities.

I didn’t fully understand the value of these until I started facilitating monthly conversations for several cohorts via Supra. The way it works is that you’re matched up with 7-8 other people with roughly your level of experience and at similar (but non-competitive) companies that meet regularly for structured, supportive conversations. In the case of Supra, for example, the conversations are monthly and facilitated by a professional (that’s me!). The competitor I know best is Sidebar, and while Supra is restricted to mid-senior product leaders, Sidebar accepts a broader range of professionals. If you’re a product leader, you can sign up for Supra here: https://joinsupra.com.

4) Job Search Councils.

In his book Never Search Alone, Phyl Terry recommends that job seekers join “job search councils,” a group of 3-5 peers at a similar career stage but with diverse backgrounds. The goal is to provide accountability, emotional support, a broader perspective, and an expanded network. For more information about these councils or to read the book (highly recommended!), visit https://www.phyl.org/.

You might have some questions about these communities, and I’m here to help:

Where do I find these communities?

I’ll provide a list at the end of this article!

Which communities should I join?

At a minimum, join Rands Leadership Slack and find an appropriate community of practice. Most people will benefit from finding (or creating!) a job search council. If you’re willing to put in the work, a community of practice can be transformative, and a cohort-based community makes sense but can be expensive.

How do I get the most out of a community?

The biggest mistake I see people make when joining a new community is lurking too long. It’s worthwhile to watch and listen a bit to understand better the norms and unspoken rules of any new community. But don’t spend too long just lurking: you’ll want to start lurking. Join channels where you have something to say, answer questions as they come up, and, as much as possible, speak from your own experience. But surprisingly, one of the best ways to participate in a community is to ask questions. People will appreciate the vulnerability and opportunity to contribute.

How often should I participate?

Think of this like a (small) job: set aside 15-30 minutes daily to post and respond.

What if I have more questions?

Reach out! You can email me at joshua.herzig.marx@gmail.com, schedule a time with me at https://zcal.co/jhm, or DM me in whatever community we share!