I am interested in working as a software engineer at Gitlab, what do you feel is a good path to land a job at the company? I plan to start contributing meaningful changes to gitlab itself and have a couple of side projects to show. What else can I do to land a job and how do I get noticed since it's mostly outbound hiring going forward. Note : I don't use linkedin and don't plan to. Given my unique circumstances, any advice would be nice. Thanks.Edit : Another question : since I am currently in my first job, whom do I give as references? I can't give my current manager as a reference for obvious reasons. Weird question : I contribute to OSS projects (and plan to contribute to gitlab), do you think I can give the OSS maintainers as references?
sytse|5 years ago
Thanks for planning to contribute to GitLab. When your submission passed review consider messaging the reviewer and mention you're interested in working here. We do still accept references from team members.
There is no need for a LinkedIn profile.
If you're currently in your first job a reference can be a peer you trust there, a former teacher, or a manager from a side-job or hobby. OSS maintainers work work as well.
chantalrollison|5 years ago
Another way to stand out would be to make a nice cover letter if you have the time/resources. I can still recall several awesome cover letters I've read and know that it does make a difference!
I'd be happy to have a video call with you if you'd like to talk more about this topic. I was a Junior Backend Engineer with a non-traditional background, so I've gone through a similar experience!