Have a goal in mind

Look at your past experience, skills, and interests to tailor your job search to find something you might be a fit for. If you’re using sites like Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs or Monster.com to search for jobs – you can search for your specific interests and skills to narrow your search.

I did this during my job search to help avoid having to always filter through jobs I had absolutely no interest in doing.

Use your network

You can use your network to aid in your job search as well. Someone you know may be working in a company or industry that you’re interested in and they might have valuable insight.

Family members, friends, co-workers, etc. Reach out to them and see if you can pick their brains.

LinkedIn is also a great way to grow your network and connect with people. You can also look into professional networking groups & events in your area.

Start applying ASAP!

I set email alerts on various sites so that I could be notified of new job postings that fit my career interests. You should try to apply to positions as early as possible. When a job description pops up that you’re interested in – don’t hesitate!

Depending on your location, you’ll be competing with hundreds of people for positions so you’ll want to send in your application as soon as possible to increase your chances of getting seen.

Tailor your resume

Please, for the love of all things wonderful, do not use the SAME resume for every position you apply to. Hiring managers can definitely tell when a resume is generic and not specific to the position.

Here’s a tip: Open the job description and tailor your resume to match the skills and strengths they’re looking for. Try to use some of the keywords they use as well.

I did this during my job search after I quit my job last year and I received an interview from each company I applied to!

Also, rename your resumes in a way that says what company it was meant for (Dannie_CoolCompany_Resume.doc). This will help later on if you find a company with a similar job description because you can make minor changes to tailor it for the next application instead of completely recreating the wheel. Just make sure that you save that doc file as a pdf with a simple name like (First Last_Resume.pdf), don’t include the company name when uploading to their site.

Track your application

I love spreadsheets, so I created one that has tracked every job I’ve applied to over the years. I suggest you do the same for a few reasons:

• You can keep track of the companies/positions you’ve already applied to so you don’t forget later on.
• Whenever you complete an interview you can update where you are in the process and record the feedback you received.
• If you’re rejected, you can document that and keep it moving.

Use temp/staffing agencies

After applying to jobs off and on for YEARS, I decided to reach out to employment agencies. It was the best career decision I’ve ever made. I went from working intermittently at odd jobs and as a substitute teacher to getting interviews with some of the biggest companies in the Bay Area. I did have to widen my job interests (and embellish some of my past experiences 🤷🏽‍♀️) but at least I had the opportunity to interview and ultimately land my first full-time, salaried job.

The great thing about employment agencies is that they have access to jobs that would never be released publicly. Many agencies also offer free training and resources to help you with your job search. The best part is that these folks are working for you and (although you should keep searching on your own too).

Since agencies vary by region, I can’t really suggest the “best” one to contact but I have worked with Office Team, Robert Half and Kelly Services. Just do your own research for your area and make sure to check the reviews before you decide on what company to reach out to.

Use multiple online job sites

Indeed, LinkedIn, EdJoin, HigherEdJobs, USAJOBS, Craigslist (use at your own risk but this is how I found my temp agencies). For my recent job search, after quitting my job, I used FlexJobs.com to find a 100% remote position that I can keep as DJ’s military career changes.

Make sure you read my post about finding flexible/remote jobs and my post about how I maximized my FlexJobs subscription.

Always negotiate!

Whether you’re negotiating a starting salary or asking for a promotion, knowing your worth on the job market can make ALL the difference in what you get paid each year.

I know it’s hard to ask for more money, especially when it took so much to even get the job – BUT you have to! Make sure to consider ALL of the benefits! For example, my job gives me new computer equipment, $500 to decorate, $100 a month for going out, $50 a month for working out, stock options and more. I had to take all of this into consideration when analyzing my offer against what the market states as the norm.

How to accurately assess your market value:

• Match your job responsibilities and not just your job title.
• Assess employer factors like location, company size, and industry.
• Evaluate your relevant skills, education, professional experience and past performance.
• Use sites like Salary.com, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Payscale to get started.
• If you can, discuss compensation trends with friends and coworkers as well.

***

That’s all folks. Try to be patient during your job search and make sure to take breaks away from job sites and resume writing. If after a few months you see that you aren’t being contacted for the roles you are applying to, take a step back, reassess your strategy and start over fresh.

I never knew my experience as a SUPER part-time substitute teacher and actor would lead me to corporate training, but taking a step back helped me think outside of the box a land a great new job.

Good luck with your search!

$tay Wealthy Friends!

You can sign up for FlexJobs for FREE and browse the job titles and locations, but you’ll have to pay the subscription fee in order to see the specific companies and apply to open positions.

Some people get scared off by the price but since most people I know will waste $10 – $20 on crap, using that money instead to search for screened professional jobs is a much better investment!

Here are some tips I think will help you have a great experience using FlexJobs to find your next career:

Have a goal in mind

Look at your past experience, skills, and interests to tailor your job search to find something you might be a fit for. FlexJobs actually helps you start your search because they give you a list of broad categories to browse (i.e. Education & Training, IT, etc).

Set email alerts

I set up email alerts for the job categories and titles I was interested in. This way, I would get notified daily of the new positions that were posted.

This was important because timing is critical in most cases. Being able to be an early applicant can significantly increase the chances that your application is seen and that you’re considered for a position.

Utilize their resources

FlexJobs has a lot of other resources on their site that you can take advantage of as well:

• Free webinars & online career fairs
• Free skills testing
• Informative blog posts & articles
• Exclusive deals on services/products from 60+ companies like Dell, Audible, SkillCrush, Grammarly, etc

Start applying ASAP!

I mentioned email alerts earlier and that’s because you should try to apply to positions as early as possible. When a job description pops up that you’re interested in – don’t hesitate!

You’re competing with people all around the world for these positions so you’ll want to send in your application as soon as possible to increase your chances of getting seen.

Tailor your resume

Please, for the love of all things wonderful, do not use the SAME resume for every position you apply to. Hiring managers can definitely tell when a resume is generic and not specific to the position.

Here’s a tip: Open the job description and tailor your resume to match the skills and strengths they’re looking for. Try to use some of the keywords they use as well.

I did this for the companies I applied to on FlexJobs and I received an interview from each one of them!

Also, rename your resumes in a way that says what company it was meant for (Dannie_CoolCompany_Resume.doc). This will help later on if you find a company with a similar job description because you can make minor changes to tailor it for the next application instead of completely recreating the wheel. Just make sure that you save that doc file as a pdf with a simple name like (First Last_Resume.pdf), don’t include the company name when uploading to their site.

Track your progress

I love spreadsheets, so I created one that has tracked every job I’ve applied to over the years. I suggest you do the same for a few reasons:

• You can keep track of the companies/positions you’ve already applied to so you don’t forget later on.
• Whenever you complete an interview you can update where you are in the process and record the feedback you received.
• If you’re rejected, you can document that and keep it moving.

***

I really hope these tips help you make the best of FlexJobs. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can get 30% off when you use our referral link and enter the coupon code: FLEXLIFE!

I wish you the best on your job search!

$tay Wealthy Friends!

Hopefully, these tips will also help save your sanity at the same darn time!

Peak Meal Times

Dashing during peak meal times will increase your chances of getting more orders and thus earning more money.

• Doordash peak meal times: Lunch (11 AM – 2 PM) and Dinner (5 PM – 9 PM).
• Uber peak meal times: Lunch (11 AM – 2 PM) and Dinner (5 PM – 9 PM)
• Postmates: Lunch (10:30AM – 1:30PM) and Dinner (5:30PM – 8:30PM)

From my experience with all of the above companies, Postmates’ posted peak times are the most accurate.

I’ve also noticed the following:

• Mondays: Lunch & dinner suck
• Tuesdays: Dinner is usually good
• Wednesdays: Lunch & dinner are good
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday: Lunch & dinner are great
• Sunday: Late lunch is good

Pay Boosts

During busy times, all 3 companies will overpay incentives in addition to regular pay. This can range from an extra $1 – $5+ per delivery in some areas.

This usually occurs during holidays, sporting events and weekends so keep a lookout for app alerts, texts and emails so that you don’t miss the opportunity to make some extra cash.

FYI: Please read all pay boost information. The extra incentives may be tied to a certain number of deliveries, acceptance rates, etc so you’ll need to make sure you’re doing everything required to get the boost!

Hot Spots

Hot spots are supposed to be areas that increase your chances of receiving orders. If the spot is out of my imaginary delivery zone, I don’t even bother wasting my gas to go there.

If you’re just starting out, you’ll learn what areas are the busiest and during what times, so don’t worry too much about always being in a hot spot on the map because guess what? They change often, especially with Doordash. -_-

Distance

When I first started delivering food, I would accept every order without considering the distance. This was foolish! As your own boss, you have to be mindful of the pay and distance you’re traveling for an order.

I now use the $1 per mile rule. If the distance is 8 miles away, my guaranteed pay better be at least $8+.

Avoid Slow Restaurants

OMG!!!! We should start a database with all of the chronically slow restaurants in each region. For me, McDonald’s (UberEats), Applebees, Cheesecake Factory (weekend nights), and BJ’s are on my FU list.

Chipotle and local restaurants (especially ethnic food places) are typically super fast.

Here are my referral links! You can use them to sign up for free and become eligible for any pay bonuses available in your area: DoorDash (my favorite choice), UberEats, Postmates

Don’t Let Restaurant Issues Impact Your Pay

If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “We didn’t receive the order”, “Our tablet is broken”, or “We just put the order in”, I’d have enough money to retire and buy Apple.

Listen, this is mostly directed to Dashers but if you get to the restaurant and have to wait longer than 5 – 10 minutes.

CANCEL THE ORDER!!!!

You get paid per delivery so you should act accordingly. If you want to get paid minimum wage by being “patient” or “nice”, go for it, but I’m too old to waste an hour of my time for $7…

If You Want A Specific Hourly Rate, Stick To It

Since I prefer to make at least $20 an hour, I aim for 2+ deliveries an hour with corresponding pay. It’s easier with Doordash than Uber Eats and Postmates to gauge your expected pay because Doordash actually displays your expected pay before you accept an order. Over time, you’ll see what you average per order size, distance, and restaurant.

This leads me to me to my next and favorite piece of advice…

Decline Decline Decline!

If the order will take me out of my preferred zone, I decline.

If it is any of my FU restaurants, I decline.

When the delivery time is 30+ minutes away, I decline.

If the customer’s house is in a shady area, I decline.

You get the point. I decline orders based on the boundaries I’ve set for myself. With experience, you’ll set your own boundaries, maximize your pay and preserve your sanity as a result.

Don’t Hold Your Breath For Tips

If you base your pay on what you expect to get in tips you’ll be very disappointed. Doordash only allows customers to tip during the ordering process and most people don’t.

UberEats and Postmates allow tipping after delivery, but in my area, the orders are so small that people rarely tip (unless it is a man and I’m looking really cute lol).

These Tips May Not Lead To An Increase In Pay Directly, But They WILL Make Your Delivery Experience More Enjoyable:

Take Notes!

This will help you make better decisions when accepting or declining orders. I used the note pad in my phone to keep a running list of things I wanted to remember.

Update Your Customers

If you are running behind or an order item needs to be replaced, let the customer know. They will appreciate you for keeping them in the loop and that may result in a tip.

Be Safe

You are most likely not delivering food as a means to survive so please be safe. Do not risk your life trying to deliver someone’s greasy food.

It is not worth it.

Be Stern

Stand up for yourself at all times and do what is best for you.

Remember that you are an independent contractor & not an employee. Always protect your time and your sanity.

Track Your Mileage

I’ve said this in previous posts but I really do recommend tracking your mileage using Everlance to save money when tax time comes around.

I hope this post helped you. If you would like to use my referral links for any of the companies I mentioned, they are listed below!

Use my referral links to sign up for free and become eligible for any pay bonuses available in your area: DoorDash (my favorite choice), UberEats, Postmates

Happy Delivering & $tay Wealthy!

— Dannie

Yes, I know, computer programming is a strange thing to jump into head first but I really like being challenged.

Over time I realized that I could actually turn coding into a profitable career and I wanted to share the resources I’ve used along the way.

These days, the barrier to entry for a career in tech is getting lower and lower. On a regular basis, folks are out here learning to code on their own and then securing jobs at major tech companies.

Depending on your location, junior web developers can start out earning anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000 per year!

How am I learning to code?

There are probably hundreds of ways to learn to code these days, so I’m sure you’re wondering how I’m learning right now.

Fancy coding boot camp?

Expensive college courses?

Nope.

I’m taking the self-taught route and I’ve only spent $20 so far…

freeCodeCamp

FreeCodeCamp is a 100% free website that provides a complete self-paced web development curriculum. I’d suggest you start here to see if coding is something you’re interested in.

There are:

• 1,408 coding challenges in front-end and backend development
• 30 projects

6 certificates you can complete:

• Responsive Web Design
• Algorithms and Data Structures
• Front End Libraries
• Data Visualization
• APIs and Microservices
• Information Security and Quality Assurance

Udemy

Udemy is a website that has over 80,000 courses in a wide range of topics taught by expert instructors.

I purchased 2 courses from Udemy. The courses are called: “The Complete Web Developer Bootcamp” and “The Modern Python 3 Bootcamp” both by Colt Steele.

Each of these courses normally cost $199.99…

But, you know me, so I got both of these courses when they were on SALE for $9.99!

Although freeCodeCamp is fun, you never leave the platform and you basically repeat whatever they tell you to do in order to pass the challenges. I’ve found that this isn’t really the best way for ME to learn so Udemy was a much better option. Also, you’re able to earn a certificate at the end of each course as proof of completion.

Colt’s boot camps have a nice balance of content and practice, plus he is a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic instructor.

Udemy has periodic sales for all of their courses on a regular basis. There’s actually a pretty big sale going on right now!

Check out their site and see which courses you can get at a discount.

SoloLearn

SoloLearn is a free mobile and web platform that offers coding lessons in 24 programming topics. There are also coding challenges, a community of coders for peer support, and new content uploaded daily. They have over 25 million learners, 1537 lessons and 11,000+ quizzes.

When I’m not on the computer, I use SoloLearn to cement the information I’ve learned from Udemy. Practice is necessary when it comes to learning a programming language. It’s fun, in depth and free!!!!

Additional resources

Encode

This is another good app but has curriculum limited to the web (HTML/CSS), Javascript and Python. Check it out for extra practice.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Coursera and edX have online courses in a wide range of subjects from the world’s best universities and educators.

There’s also Codeacademy and Treehouse but I have not taken classes at either one. If you have, please share in the comments.

***

I wish you luck with your journey as you start learning to code. Coding has brought a lot of joy to my life so I hope that it does the same for you. The opportunities for growth and success are limitless as well so I truly wish you the best!

$tay Wealthy Friends!