I'm thinking about my next software development job. I think I might find a developer in a similar job in a company, cold-email them, and ask a few questions about what it's really like to work there. (I'll include a link to my personal site so that they understand I'm worth responding to.)<p>I'll be more comfortable talking to them rather applying for a job directly which makes me seem needy.<p>They'll probably be more honest and open than a hiring manager. And if it goes well, they may pass on my resume.<p>I'm surprised that I haven't heard this done more often. Have you tried this? Does it work for you? Or does it seem rude?
When I was a minion at a medium sized software company, if you had emailed me at my work address I would have either not replied or would have done so very cautiously.<p>If we had met through friends or at a meetup, I'd have been happy to talk to you much more openly about my job and the workplace.<p>The best developers I know have contacts all over town. They occasionally go along to meetups and user-groups on things they are interested in - not in a cynical way, they just enjoy chatting to like-minded folk and learning.<p>I would suggest you start doing the same, with the warnings about appearing desperate as mentioned in jonnathanson's comment. You don't have to sacrifice your personal/family life, just go along to a meetup on some technology/language/topic of interest once or twice a month, be friendly and personable, swap details with any like-minded people and stay in touch with them on occasion.
You can do this, but you'd be <i>much</i> better off finding a common connection, perhaps through LinkedIn. No company is perfect, but someone who knows you only through a cold email would be a fool to trust you with criticism of his employer.<p>I'm not sure why you think that your personal site proves that you're "worth responding to." The problem with your post is that it's all about you - you're not thinking of what's in it for the recipient of your email, or what risks it poses for them.
I did this, with great success, when I was applying to math graduate schools.<p>I was in an unusual situation -- had been out of school for five years, and so did not have any useful contacts. So I browsed the personal home pages of graduate students at programs I was interested in, e-mailed several of them out of the blue, and asked them about what they liked about their programs.<p>For the most part, they were wonderfully supportive. I got several very substantive and encouraging replies, and learned some useful information about programs I was interested in. I'm very glad I did it.<p>The situation was somewhat different from OP's --- I didn't want anything from them (and indeed there was nothing they could have done for me) other than to reply to my messages. In particular, I didn't entertain the thought of sending them a resume to pass on (it wouldn't have helped).<p>So different situation, but for me it worked.
When I applied, I used Glassdoor/Facebook/LinkedIn to search through my current social/professional network and to find people one layer removed from me who worked at my now current company. I then asked my contacts how well they knew the employees at my current company. One was able to put me in touch via email. I contacted the employee via email, said I need 15 minutes to chat with him and that it needed to be fast because I was going in for an interview that afternoon. He never got back to me but wound up being one of my interviewers. Obviously, I got the job.<p>Short version, showing interest helps. Showing you are connected helps.
We developers keep hearing that we need to do "networking." In general, I don't even know what that means -- but here is an excellent example of what you <i>should</i> do.
This is commonly called an "informational interview".<p>I don't get how applying for a job makes you seem needy, though. If there's actually a job opening and you are qualified for it, then why not apply? I think of informational interviews as being a way to network into jobs that don't exist (or before they are posted)
I would try something slightly different. Use a 'Trojan Horse' topic or subject. Email saying you are trying to use the company's product or service in a current project.<p>Ask them questions about the product or service. If they are enthusiastic and helpful, that will be an indicator that the company is a good place to work. If they don't respond, or forward you to marketing or sales, that tells you something else about the company.<p>After the initial contact, you might then ask questions about the company in general. Something like: we like the product, but are unsure if the company will be around in a year, etc. At that point the developer might just give you the standard company line, or might be more forth coming.
I do this quite aggressively about local companies but i know them and have mutual respect through meetups. Once you have a relationship you get lots of inside info that they would NEVER say to a stranger.
I recently did my first job search (about to graduate). I emailed one company cold and this resulted in a useful informational interview. I tried it a few other places and got no reply.<p>Note: I was not emailing a specific developer, but instead the main company contact info. Like you, I asked to talk to determine fit.<p>I got much better results when I already knew someone at the company.
I recently had a interested party connect with me via LinkedIn specifically because I has <i>just left</i> the company and he wanted to know why. Our professions didn't overlap too much but he was very interested in what I was doing now and what I had to say about the company. Struck me as a very smart tactic.
Yeap. Being on the employed side of things now, I've had acquaintances reach out to me with questions about the company/work/culture and ask me to pass their resume along. It's only a few minutes of my time and people are quite appreciative of it, so I'm always happy to help out.
I haven't done exactly this but I have "cold" contacted people who I had some sort of connection with - same college, common friends, etc.<p>I usually mention this in my e-mail saying something like "I'm contacting you because we both did X so I thought it might be alright to bother you."
Yes, I've learned a lot and made some good industry contacts this way. You have to do it gently though -- people are jealous of there time unless they understand you are a colleague worthy of respect.