LaidOffSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #JobSearchTips #RecruitmentServices
Introduction: Making the Most of Your Stipend
So, you’ve been laid off, and you have $2000 in professional development funds ready to help you bounce back. Here’s how to spend that money effectively, especially as a software engineer (SWE) with 2-3 years of experience.
Prioritize a Professional Resume Makeover
Your resume is your first impression. Investing in a professional resume writing service can make a significant difference.
- Specialized Resume Writing Services: Look for services tailored to software engineers.
- Cost: Typically ranges from $200 to $500.
- Outcome: A polished, keyword-optimized resume.
Boost Your LinkedIn Presence
LinkedIn is crucial for job searches and networking.
- LinkedIn Premium: Although it might seem costly, the benefits (insights, InMails, profile visibility) can be essential.
- Profile Optimization Services: Professional services can enhance your profile to attract recruiters.
- Cost: Around $100 to $300.
Enroll in Skills Enhancement Courses
Upskill to stay competitive in the tech industry.
- Online Courses: Platforms like Coursera, Udacity, and Pluralsight offer courses in the latest technologies.
- Certifications: Obtaining certifications in sought-after skills can make your resume stand out.
- Cost: Generally between $100 and $1000, depending on the course.
Utilize Recruitment and Career Coaching
Career coaches can guide you through the job search process.
- One-on-One Coaching: Personalized sessions to refine your job search strategy.
- Workshops and Webinars: Participating in these can provide insights and networking opportunities.
- Cost: Coaching can range from $100 to $300 per hour or more.
Invest in Technical Interview Preparation
Cracking technical interviews is key to landing a great job.
- Mock Interviews: Services offer realistic interview practice.
- Technical Interview Courses: Focus on algorithms, data structures, and system design.
- Cost: Mock interviews can range from $100 to $200 per session, while courses might cost $50 to $200.
Network through Industry Events
Expanding your network opens up more opportunities.
- Conferences and Meetups: Attend tech conferences and local meetups.
- Virtual Networking Events: Many events are online and can be just as effective.
- Cost: Depending on the event, registration fees can range from free to $500.
Conclusion: Plan Your Spending Wisely
With a thoughtful approach, your $2000 stipend can significantly enhance your job search and professional growth.
Here’s a sample budget:
👨💻 Resume Service: $300
💼 LinkedIn Premium: $60/month – $240 for 4 months
📚 Courses/Certifications: $800
👥 Career Coaching: $300
📝 Interview Prep: $200
🌐 Networking Events: $160
Carefully planning will help you get the most out of every dollar and set you up for future success. Good luck! 🍀
pay for a class or educational platform for which you can get a refund. expense the course, refund with the company you bought it from, have extra 2000
Maybe see if there is outplacement services?
Nothing costs money to trying to find a job. Don’t pay recruiters; don’t pay resume writers, don’t pay for linked in premium. Put it towards food. Without food you can’t live, not alive you can’t find a job.
Create an account on fivvr and pay yourself 2k for a resume / social media marketing update lol
double check you dont have a repayment period after using a stipend. usually they have a 1 year period if you leave you have to repay whatever you spent.
Linkedin premium is a waste.
Cracking the coding interview. $2k in tutoring
Leetcode premium. Some certifications like AWS
A lot of people are saying that LinkedIn premium is a waste, but I disagree. I like their interview prep videos. They teach you how to answer interview questions, even the hard ones like “why are you looking for a new job” or “why do you want to work here”.
Book some cloud certs, you can always postpone the dates if you not prepared
linkedin is just a social media site, only dumb people would pay for it. I’d rather subscribe to cloudacademy and leetcode to pass the coding interview
Sign up for a bunch of cloud cert tests and the Udemy courses to study for them
Aws cert?
See if you can find a developers conference nearby. These conferences are often marketed as a learning experience, but their main purpose is networking. There is a good chance that you’ll get some leads towards a new job from a conference
An interview class when I did one a while back was 5k up front, 10% of your first year salary after you land a job, or 2.5k and 5%. They tend to be like 2 hours a day 5 days a week for 4 weeks or something, idk it was a while back.
It worked out very well for me. It would be the first thing I look into the next time I am on a serious job search. I’m sure a ton of people here will tell me I’m stupid and those companies suck or something but it was exactly what I needed. Maybe you already kick ass at interviewing in which case then ignore this.
put it all on red
This sub seems to be against it but paying an L7 to interview you can be very useful. Some friends tried it and found it worth the $150 for a session.
Outside of that I’d blow it on leetcode premium, a system design interview prep course and other mock interviews.
If you think your resume is an issue I’d consider resume service maybe with recruiters from companies you’re interested. I know this may not be the best use of money but if you have 2k to blow anyways you might as well spend it vs leaving it
Can you buy equipment? Tell them you need a home computer to practice/take interviews on? Otherwise I’d probably spend it on books/learning subscriptions.
Bribe someone to get you a job.
O’Reilly individual subscription for 1 year at $499. This gives you access to a ton of digital tech books. My college provided me with a subscription and it was good times.
Online course subscription like corcera or interview prep. Even hire a private coach to look at your resume and tailor it for jobs
Coursers Plus for the year. Data Camp, AWS, Scrum Alliance or PMI
Educative is great for system design interviews and learning in general. It’s 200 dollars for 2 years
Leetcode premium is great too
And also a chatgpt sub
I received 3 FAANG offers just using these three platforms
What classified as “professional development” to your company is there like a defined list?
Tech books and cloud certs is all I would realistically use that is true professional development. Other people have great suggestions as well. A tech conference would be the best if they actually pay for it basically free vacation.
I wish they’d just give you money, so you could pay down rent while you have no income.
This would help more than anything else.
Can the money be used to set up infrastructure to set up a personal project, stuff like hostname, aws etc?
First step: get leet code premium
Second step: buy a course and books (neetcode, system design, etc)
Third step: craft a resume and emphasize areas depending on the role your are applying. It’s up to you if you want to hire a professional service for the resume. They suck in my opinion.
LinkedIn Premium probably
pay a guy on upwork to apply to jobs on your behalf, great time saver
Buy a super fancy office chair for work from home.
Hey man sorry to hear about your situation.
Try out my resume and cover letter writer –
https://prores.ai
Professional career coach. You can buy a multi session pack for ~$1000 like from Ben Tobin
Use it on cheap conference tickets, hotel and flights to go to some place nice. Thailand maybe. Say you are using it for “networking” and “job search connections”. Go to the conf, spend the rest of the time on vacation.
A Boot Camp that promises to place you in a position could be charge-able.
Note that these are seen as highly ineffective. But it costs around $2000.