This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
There are more African Americans in service industries than tech
‘s nothing wrong with not working remotely or working in service industries that take up hours of your life if you desire that kind of lifestyle, but if you’ve ever wondered how to gracefully cross over into another sector such as tech, here’s your roadmap.
Introduction
Do you believe getting a job in tech is hard?
If so, you’re not alone. Many people have this same erroneous belief.
But the door is wide open, and it stays open.
I’ve met many people along my career that didn’t come from tech backgrounds who are now in flourishing and successful and tech careers.
How did they get there?
Some of them were in the right place at the right time.
Some of them worked their way into the space.
Some of them acquired new skills.
Some of them transferred and reframed their skills.
Here’s the thing about tech:
You don’t need all the right skills, the perfect background, a college degree, multiple certifications, or years of experience.
Instead, what you need is to familiarize yourself with the industry you’re wanting to join and learn how your current experience can be reframed to help you acquire the job you’re seeking.
This book is going to give you quick tips to help you in your job search and get you to the offer stage.
The job search doesn’t need to take more than 90 days if you’re committed to the process.
What’s Your Skillset?
Before you get started with the job process, you must first recognize what your skillset is.
Review all of your experience on your resume and identify patterns.
Do you have a lot of experience in operations, management, administration, technical work, customer service, sales, marketing, social media, human resources, creating products, community, communication, analytics, development, coding, design, business development, work, fundraising, travel, etc.
Everyone has unique skills, talents, and gifts.
What are yours?
The closer you can align your skillset with your new career, the easier it can be to grow in your career while enjoying it.
If you struggle identifying where your skillsets are, ask close friends and family what you’re good at or a trusted and unbiased advisor or mentor.
Titles and Sectors
After you identify your skillsets, it’s time to confirm which titles align with your background and also the sectors you’re most interested in.
Example Sectors:
1. Mental health
2. Health Tech
3. Ed Tech
4. Fin Tech
5. Security
6. Non-Profits
7. Aeronautics
8. Government
9. Consulting
10. Law
11. Medical
12. Art
13. Gaming
14. Media
15. Music
Companies rely on technology to operate their businesses. Hence, there is a tech job in every space you can imagine.
Titles can be deceiving. Instead of focusing solely on a specific title, review job descriptions to identify if you can accomplish the job. If the job description makes sense and aligns with your background apply.
Titles can help guide you into learning about similar titles.
For example, a project manager can also be called any of the following:
1. Program manager
2. Program coordinator
3. Business analyst
4. Program director
5. Project coordinator
All of these titles could look and feel different at each company.
Review job descriptions to learn if the opportunity makes the most sense for you.
The Resume
The resume and your LinkedIn profile is the one of the first impressions recruiters and hiring managers view before talking to you on the phone or in a virtual or on-site interview.
1. Use job descriptions as your guide to structure your resume.
2. Ensure you resume has the keywords and verbiage found in the job description.
3. Use a modern or easy to ready resume layout. Here’s how I approach the resume design: Recruiters can get board with reviewing hundreds of even thousands of resumes. Make yours stand out with a clean and unique design, on top of an easy-to-read format.
Experience
All of the experience is transferable. I’ve helped many people who worked in retail, operations, fast food, travel, and the restaurant industry get jobs in tech because all of their skills were transferrable.
If you think about it, what do people in the retail and food industry all have? They usually have sales, customer service, communication, and operations skills – all of which are transferrable.
A quick note on the LinkedIn profile:
If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, be sure to set one up. Not only is the LinkedIn profile a kind of pre-requisite to get a job these days, but it’s also a primary place to find job opportunities.
The Application Process
Here’s my approach to job applications 50% of the time: Apply aggressively.
When you’re trying to break into a new industry apply strategically and aggressively.
Every job application you submit is a lead.
Usually, you can expect to hear back from 1–10% of the job applications you submit, which is why I recommend completing a minimum of 100 jobs per week, so you can increase your chances of interviewing weekly (the more you interview, the more opportunities you get to practice your communication and presenting your ideas in an effective manner to get the jobs – you’re basically a salesperson).
Questions
How many jobs should I apply for?
I recommend applying to no less than 100 jobs per week. There were times during some of my job application journey I would apply to 100–300 jobs per day; this is unnecessary, but it also works.
Do I need a cover letter for every job application?
You do not need a cover letter for every application you submit, but it can help. If anything, submit a cover letter to the companies you’re most interested in. At the very least submit a thank you note with every application you submit.
Should I track my job applications?
Absolutely. Whenever I am in the job process, I track the date I applied, the title, the link to the job description, the company, and the interviews I complete.
Never forget or not know about a job when a company reaches out to you again with this approach; it increases your preparedness, which only accelerates your confidence.
How should I handle rejection?
Get comfortable with rejection. Every rejection you receive is leading you closer to your job offer.
There will be times the rejection hurts – especially when it seems like you and the hiring team are on the same page but trust the process and continue applying.
When you’re not hearing back from companies, continue applying. When you’re not getting offers on the table, continue applying.
Be consistent and learn how to be relatively emotionless about the process.
Confidence Wins
The job applicant who gets the job is not always the most skilled, but the one who induces the most confidence they’ll be able to execute the job effectively.
How does one increase their confidence?
1. Interview frequently.
2. Acquire new skills
3. Study the job description (be able to speak to every line)
4. Network
5. Study the industry
6. Review similar jobs
7. Understand the tools required for the job (e.g., JIRA, Asana, Trello, GitHub, SQL, Figma, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Tableau, etc.)
I’m rarely nervous for an interview; it doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO of a company or the hiring manager. I view everyone the same, which has helped me perform better in interviews.
Never be intimidated by someone’s status or title it’s merely that – a title.
Interviewing
The best way to interview is to also interview the interviewer.
People frequently skip this part; they think the interview is about selling themselves to the hiring team, but have you ever considered if a company is a good fit for you?
Usually, I find out everything I need to know about a company, team, and culture in the interview process because I ask a shit load of questions.
Engage the interviewer. Don’t just let them lead the conversation; instead, ask questions that flow with the questions they ask to help you learn more about them, the role, the team, the culture, etc.
Practice interviewing by recording yourself on video and audio. You might also find it helpful to write out potential answers to interview questions and rehearsing your answers.
Use other people to interview you for practice and ask them for critical feedback, so you can improve your interviewing skills.
Every interview provides you additional practice sessions. You might bomb some interviews, and this is okay. You will get better the more you implement good interviewing techniques.
Spend at least 15 minutes practicing and studying interviewing. You will notice differences as you continue through the interview process.
The thing that was most helpful for my interviewing skills was volume and studying communication techniques.
Networking
Those networks create the opportunities to get jobs faster.
Many times, an executive or leader or non-leader will join a new company and bring over all their friends; people love working with people they know.
It’s not always what you know, but who you know. One time a friend called with a job opportunity; I got the job a week later, with one interview.
How do you network? You can cold network (sending emails to people you don’t know) or go to events (virtual or in-person).
I’m surprised at how many people will reach back out though they don’t know you, but most people fear rejection, which is why they don’t reach out to people.
Don’t reach out to people to get a job from them. Reach out to learn about their career and how they arrived where they are. Reach out to obtain inside company culture scoops or to learn more about a role or the hiring team for a role.
And always consider what can you offer them in return. Reciprocity goes a long way in relationships.
it’s not about tit-for-tat; it’s about mutual benefit.
Offer Negotiation
A lot of companies will ask you in the initial interview stages what is your ideal target salary.
Instead of giving your cards right away, flip the question and ask them what their target salary is to make them reveal their cards.
Usually, they will fold and give you a straight answer (some companies are now required by law to reveal the salary rates for roles).
You can agree or disagree if the target rate is within your range, but you still don’t have to give them a direct number.
First off, never give a number. Give a range; it leaves more room for negotiation.
Moreover, always give a range that starts at your goal rate. If you want to earn $125,000, ask for a range of $125,000 – $135,000. That way you are more likely to get what you want if they offer the bottom number.
Aim to leave negotiation for the offer stage, instead of talking numbers in the initial interviews. It gives you more leverage and allows you to potentially move forward in the interview process more easily.
Never accept the first offer. Always counteroffer – even if the offer is solid. Companies usually leave a little room and expect you to negotiate.
Knowledge Up-Leveling
Never stop learning. In the beginning of my career I focused on acquiring as many certifications as possible.
Now that I’m in the middle of my career, I still continue learning industry knowledge, but I focus even more on relationship building, communication, and leadership development.
Which phase of your career are you in? Maybe you want to be an executive sooner than later? If so, amp up your leadership and industry knowledge – on top of certifications and networking.
If you desire to develop more industry knowledge, focus on bootcamps and certifications.
If you desire to develop better management skills, then do just that.
The key is to never stop learning. People who stop learning stagnate in their careers and decrease the opportunity to get promoted.
The Recipe
This book may or may not make the job process sound easy.
And guess what?
It is.
At the beginning of my career, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was simply learning what I’m teaching you in this book on the fly.
Though this book is short, simple, and sweet, it’s the recipe for career success.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.