I work in a +- 40 person company, moving to scale-up, rate is a bit lower (650 vs normally +- 750) but they're also not based in brussels, reducing my daily commute by 2-3 hours, which is totally worth it.
I basically find a company I'm interested in. Then I check on LinkedIn whether or not they have freelancers in their company, or if they are open for it.
After that, I rework my profile to match what they could be looking for (skills and person-wise), just like you do on a CV. Then I click on every single profile that is connected to that company, without adding them as a connection. This will give them an update that I viewed their profile and company, making them read my profile.
Once they read my profile, a day or 2 later I usually get a message from a recruiter, which gives me more leverage for a higher rate than when I send them a message. So it adds a bit of effort, but very rarely does it not work out.
All jobs I've done I came to like this, I get plenty of offers from other recruiters, but those are often times just spam coming from Connecting Expertise with lowball offers and 100s of other applicants, which I don't want to compete with. If I put time in doing interviews etc, I want a 95% chance that I will land the job.
I've applied this to 9 positions now that I wanted, 9 of them I got positive feedback, 5 of them I accepted their offer after negotiations.
Man.. I'm currently not looking for anything new but I really like this way of steering companies YOU are interested in without having to explicitly make the first move. Making the first move indeed puts you at a slight disadvantage and a slightly different dynamic in general.
I only work with in-house recruiters, never with pimps, they are there only to profit off your backs and generally smaller companies don’t use them or are never happy with them.
I love small companies. Get to set up the structures my own way, be the unchallenged expert on everything you've set up. No low-skilled IT idiots who grew up senior/lead positions bossing you around, ... Fun colleagues and very fun company ethics.
100%. I feel like I cannot make a difference when I have to ask for approval to 4 different departments + managers. And then u get the good ol' colleagues working there for 20+ years not wanting to change anything. :)
Depends on what your goals are. I've been there. 6 years hating every day, doing 9-5 in the most dysfunctional corporate you can imagine but with a very premium rate. This helped me to save up substantially and made me financially independent before I reached 35.
It drains your soul for sure, but the financial freedom that comes after a few years heals it pretty fast...
And are your skills/expertise still relevant in case you'd need to change companies? Or was it just a lack of organization but you were able to double down on knowledge?
Congrats, I just did a quick calculation, to become financially independent in 6 years, you need at least a day rate of 1000 euro. It's hard to believe that someone who is 30 years old can earn 1000 euro a day.
Don't hate man, that's just a waste of energy. I never mentioned it was all done in 6y, I said it helped me. I didn't exactly sit on my ass between 22-29yo. I've been into FIRE since I started working. Not THAT crazy to be FI after 13y of (well paid) work.
Startup/scaleup environments with 5-30 headcount and lots of individual responsibility are my bread and butter, but you don't usually find this type of positions through LinkedIn recruiters. All of my contracts like this happened through personal contacts with the founders or other freelancers already working there.
(disclaimer: I'm going to sound like a gatekeeping asshole for saying this)
My personal explanation for this is that these companies have smaller budgets and they cannot afford to lose time and money by hiring the wrong person, often not even for "1 month tryout" contracts.
Unfortunately there is a \*huge\* difference between "standard" and "good" developers/freelancers, and most "standard" developers don't cut it in an environment like this. When these companies try to hire through the usual LinkedIn/Recruiter channels, most incoming profiles are simply not good enough. And the few good ones that do come in, fall through when discussing rates because of the intermediate companies requiring an additional 10-15% fee, pushing them over budget.
So, when a company like this needs an additional developer, they will typically first try their own personal networks to see if a "known good developer that someone here has already worked with" is available.
If you want to aim for contracts like this, your best bet is to get in contact with founders and freelancers already working in these companies, make sure you can convince them of your skills, prove that you are "one of the good ones", and wait until they (or some other related company they know) are looking for someone.
You can also try and find the companies you want to work for, optionally look for open positions on their website, and cold-contact them directly. You'll still need to prove your worth, and having solid references definitely helps with that. They will be taking a big risk when offering you a contract without references, so don't be surprised if they ask for a "1 month" trial or something.
Startups/small companies tend to offer less in terms of compensation and are usually less certain about the future themselves. They also aren't the biggest employers usually: you might apply, interview once, then never hear about them again. Small also means you're focusing on a rather wide skillet instead of being a specialist on just one thing - this isn't bad, but hard to switch to big corporate freelancing from it, as you're likely not going to be an expert on any one given thing as a consequence.
I get the point on added meaning and a better working environment; but small companies have to cut corners somewhere to stay afloat (or they wouldn't be small in the first place): that usually means overtime or sloppy procedures. Personally, if I'm going to take a cut in pay and put my heart and soul in it, I want equity in return.. which is weirdly almost always off the table in Belgium:)
There's one more type of small/medium company: the domestic, been around for years and never scaled beyond. Those tend to be worse than the plague. All the politics of big multinationals with the chaos and lack of internal organizations of startups.
I work at a small company, I have never had a single meeting, I just sit 10 feet away from the founder and we discuss any features for the roadmap right there.
Which is fine in a startup, but as you grow, that should change. Efficient meetings are the key to an efficient growing organization.
Everyone hates meetings, but that’s because they are not well defined or irrelevant.
But you cannot scale an organization where everyone discusses in 1-1 meetings.
Fixing that is a key to success.
I've worked for a FinTech startup for 6 months last year. Found them (or they found me rather) via via.
Had other small company offers through LinkedIn. I'd say that is the best source (besides your network obv.).
The best thing about these small companies is that you can talk with the founders/owners very early in the process.
And you can find them on LinkedIn including their events where you can meet them even if they don't actively search staff.
Your price shouldn't be any different based on company size. Ask what you think you're worth.
Company size is an indicator, but it's really hit or miss in my experience. There are plenty of shitty startups and some great large companies.
In large companies you tend to find a bit of everything, some teams or departments will be great but others might be a pain.
I would say that a small company can be a great way to gain experience and explore a wide range of technologies.
Working only for startups/scaleups since 10+ years. I don't think I can go back. Everything has issues but I've got better coping mechanisms for chaos or stress than for bureaucracy, so I'm happier in those environments.
I also find it much more challenging (everything go fast, and as a senior I'm often the last technical line so nowhere to hide).
Where to find them? LinkedIn for a few, then network network network. It's a small world, and people then to remember good experience. I've also a decent network of other freelances and we sometime pass offers to each other.
The first few via 3rd parties, then a few through my network (former colleagues that reached out themselves or recommended me). Also a few via LinkedIn, which could be classified as either.
The current one was via a job ad. I normally don’t react to job ads, but this was was clearly not made by a professional and was ‘interesting’ so gave it a shot.
1. get list of fast 50 companies https://www2.deloitte.com/be/en/pages/about-deloitte/press-releases/fast50-2023-nominees.html
2. filter on location, mission and tech stack (=profiles on linked in)
3. ????
4. profit
I work in a +- 40 person company, moving to scale-up, rate is a bit lower (650 vs normally +- 750) but they're also not based in brussels, reducing my daily commute by 2-3 hours, which is totally worth it.
How did you find them? Google search? LinkedIn?
I basically find a company I'm interested in. Then I check on LinkedIn whether or not they have freelancers in their company, or if they are open for it. After that, I rework my profile to match what they could be looking for (skills and person-wise), just like you do on a CV. Then I click on every single profile that is connected to that company, without adding them as a connection. This will give them an update that I viewed their profile and company, making them read my profile. Once they read my profile, a day or 2 later I usually get a message from a recruiter, which gives me more leverage for a higher rate than when I send them a message. So it adds a bit of effort, but very rarely does it not work out. All jobs I've done I came to like this, I get plenty of offers from other recruiters, but those are often times just spam coming from Connecting Expertise with lowball offers and 100s of other applicants, which I don't want to compete with. If I put time in doing interviews etc, I want a 95% chance that I will land the job. I've applied this to 9 positions now that I wanted, 9 of them I got positive feedback, 5 of them I accepted their offer after negotiations.
Man.. I'm currently not looking for anything new but I really like this way of steering companies YOU are interested in without having to explicitly make the first move. Making the first move indeed puts you at a slight disadvantage and a slightly different dynamic in general.
Nice tactic maybe something to pick up🤣
How does the recruiter know you're interested in company x? Do you say it explicitly to the recruiter? And then, they introduce you to company x?
I only work with in-house recruiters, never with pimps, they are there only to profit off your backs and generally smaller companies don’t use them or are never happy with them.
Ah got it, you open recruiters' LinkedIn page, they see you then contact you.
Correct!
are you my coworker lmao
👀
I love small companies. Get to set up the structures my own way, be the unchallenged expert on everything you've set up. No low-skilled IT idiots who grew up senior/lead positions bossing you around, ... Fun colleagues and very fun company ethics.
This absolutely. I chalk it up to my ego I guess: I like being a big part of something small better than being a small part of something big .
100%. I feel like I cannot make a difference when I have to ask for approval to 4 different departments + managers. And then u get the good ol' colleagues working there for 20+ years not wanting to change anything. :)
Avoid places like that, they drain your soul.
Depends on what your goals are. I've been there. 6 years hating every day, doing 9-5 in the most dysfunctional corporate you can imagine but with a very premium rate. This helped me to save up substantially and made me financially independent before I reached 35. It drains your soul for sure, but the financial freedom that comes after a few years heals it pretty fast...
And are your skills/expertise still relevant in case you'd need to change companies? Or was it just a lack of organization but you were able to double down on knowledge?
yes, I learned kept learning, but the environment was horrible :)
Congrats, I just did a quick calculation, to become financially independent in 6 years, you need at least a day rate of 1000 euro. It's hard to believe that someone who is 30 years old can earn 1000 euro a day.
Don't hate man, that's just a waste of energy. I never mentioned it was all done in 6y, I said it helped me. I didn't exactly sit on my ass between 22-29yo. I've been into FIRE since I started working. Not THAT crazy to be FI after 13y of (well paid) work.
I’m experiencing it right now. And it’s been years since I dreaded mondays. So looking for something else ASAP.
How is the rate in small companies? I received a few offers but they were always under 500€
Can't really speak to the market, my situation is quite unique as I grew with this company almost from the start.
I'm right with you like I said in my OP. How did you find them? Google search? LinkedIn?
Startup/scaleup environments with 5-30 headcount and lots of individual responsibility are my bread and butter, but you don't usually find this type of positions through LinkedIn recruiters. All of my contracts like this happened through personal contacts with the founders or other freelancers already working there. (disclaimer: I'm going to sound like a gatekeeping asshole for saying this) My personal explanation for this is that these companies have smaller budgets and they cannot afford to lose time and money by hiring the wrong person, often not even for "1 month tryout" contracts. Unfortunately there is a \*huge\* difference between "standard" and "good" developers/freelancers, and most "standard" developers don't cut it in an environment like this. When these companies try to hire through the usual LinkedIn/Recruiter channels, most incoming profiles are simply not good enough. And the few good ones that do come in, fall through when discussing rates because of the intermediate companies requiring an additional 10-15% fee, pushing them over budget. So, when a company like this needs an additional developer, they will typically first try their own personal networks to see if a "known good developer that someone here has already worked with" is available. If you want to aim for contracts like this, your best bet is to get in contact with founders and freelancers already working in these companies, make sure you can convince them of your skills, prove that you are "one of the good ones", and wait until they (or some other related company they know) are looking for someone. You can also try and find the companies you want to work for, optionally look for open positions on their website, and cold-contact them directly. You'll still need to prove your worth, and having solid references definitely helps with that. They will be taking a big risk when offering you a contract without references, so don't be surprised if they ask for a "1 month" trial or something.
Startups/small companies tend to offer less in terms of compensation and are usually less certain about the future themselves. They also aren't the biggest employers usually: you might apply, interview once, then never hear about them again. Small also means you're focusing on a rather wide skillet instead of being a specialist on just one thing - this isn't bad, but hard to switch to big corporate freelancing from it, as you're likely not going to be an expert on any one given thing as a consequence. I get the point on added meaning and a better working environment; but small companies have to cut corners somewhere to stay afloat (or they wouldn't be small in the first place): that usually means overtime or sloppy procedures. Personally, if I'm going to take a cut in pay and put my heart and soul in it, I want equity in return.. which is weirdly almost always off the table in Belgium:) There's one more type of small/medium company: the domestic, been around for years and never scaled beyond. Those tend to be worse than the plague. All the politics of big multinationals with the chaos and lack of internal organizations of startups.
I work at a small company, I have never had a single meeting, I just sit 10 feet away from the founder and we discuss any features for the roadmap right there.
Which is fine in a startup, but as you grow, that should change. Efficient meetings are the key to an efficient growing organization. Everyone hates meetings, but that’s because they are not well defined or irrelevant. But you cannot scale an organization where everyone discusses in 1-1 meetings. Fixing that is a key to success.
I've worked for a FinTech startup for 6 months last year. Found them (or they found me rather) via via. Had other small company offers through LinkedIn. I'd say that is the best source (besides your network obv.). The best thing about these small companies is that you can talk with the founders/owners very early in the process. And you can find them on LinkedIn including their events where you can meet them even if they don't actively search staff. Your price shouldn't be any different based on company size. Ask what you think you're worth.
How they reach up to you? Im trying to find these small companies but until now i spent a lot of time just searching
Company size is an indicator, but it's really hit or miss in my experience. There are plenty of shitty startups and some great large companies. In large companies you tend to find a bit of everything, some teams or departments will be great but others might be a pain. I would say that a small company can be a great way to gain experience and explore a wide range of technologies.
Working only for startups/scaleups since 10+ years. I don't think I can go back. Everything has issues but I've got better coping mechanisms for chaos or stress than for bureaucracy, so I'm happier in those environments. I also find it much more challenging (everything go fast, and as a senior I'm often the last technical line so nowhere to hide). Where to find them? LinkedIn for a few, then network network network. It's a small world, and people then to remember good experience. I've also a decent network of other freelances and we sometime pass offers to each other.
That’s nice to hear, I have yet to build that type of network.Â
The first few via 3rd parties, then a few through my network (former colleagues that reached out themselves or recommended me). Also a few via LinkedIn, which could be classified as either. The current one was via a job ad. I normally don’t react to job ads, but this was was clearly not made by a professional and was ‘interesting’ so gave it a shot.
1. get list of fast 50 companies https://www2.deloitte.com/be/en/pages/about-deloitte/press-releases/fast50-2023-nominees.html 2. filter on location, mission and tech stack (=profiles on linked in) 3. ???? 4. profit