Take a minute, reflect, and decide which single goal you’re optimizing for during this process: pay, location, lack of competition, or ease of interview. Write out what decisions you’ll make in your job search that reflect that priority. Keep it short and clear (2–3 bullet points).

This is where it starts — your professional story, distilled into a few powerful lines. Your summary isn’t about listing tools. I’s about communicating your value, perspective, and unique lens on the work you do. In your comment below, include: - Your specialty — what you do best - Your top affinity — who you connect with naturally (ex. educators, nonprofits, open-source, etc.) - Your previous industry or current vertical (if applicable) — where you’ve built or what you’ve transitioned from Example: Backend developer who thrives in early-stage environments and messy codebases. I’ve worked mostly in FinTech, focusing on API reliability and transaction safety. Former financial analyst — I bring a systems mindset to engineering.

Which of the confidence pillars feels strongest for you right now? Which one do you want to strengthen next — and what’s one concrete action you can take this week to do it?

What nonprofit platform could you realistically volunteer for this month, and what specific role or outcome would you aim to highlight on your résumé afterward? What kind of project would most strengthen your credibility right now?

Share which opportunities you applied to and why you chose them. Remember: As things progress — interview invites, team placements, project milestones — add updates as comments under your original post so others can follow your progress and learn from your process.