Heads up! To view this whole video, sign in with your Treehouse account or enroll in your free 7-day trial. Sign In Enroll
Well done!
You have completed Treehouse Festival June 2021!
You have completed Treehouse Festival June 2021!
Preview
How to Land a Job After Treehouse with Shannon Morales
28:38 with TreehouseShannon Morales, founder of Tribaja, discusses the digital talent marketplace community she has cultivated for underrepresented tech and startup enthusiasts.
This video doesn't have any notes.
Related Discussions
Have questions about this video? Start a discussion with the community and Treehouse staff.
Sign upRelated Discussions
Have questions about this video? Start a discussion with the community and Treehouse staff.
Sign up
[MUSIC]
0:01
At this time, I would like to introduce
our first speaker of the day,
0:07
Shannon Morales.
0:12
Shannon is a passionate startup,
founder, operator,
0:14
innovation, enthusiast,
and diversity consultant.
0:18
She's also successfully
launched three businesses and
0:23
finds that the best ideas are generated
during times of ambiguity and chaos.
0:26
Shannon takes on impact driven missions.
0:31
And looks to create competitive advantages
through modern product features,
0:33
community partnerships, and
integration of emerging technologies.
0:38
Shannon is the founder of Tribaja,
an easy to use platform that connects
0:42
equitable employers to skilled
diverse talent and tech and startups.
0:47
And by implementing
a community first strategy,
0:51
Tribaja enables employers to find
the right fit in a shorter time.
0:54
So everyone, please welcome Shannon.
0:59
>> I am so excited to be here.
1:02
I think what Treehouse is
doing is is really amazing.
1:04
I absolutely,
obviously love the space of technology and
1:08
startups and the future of work.
1:12
Because the future is inclusive,
it is diverse.
1:15
And technology as well as the products
that companies create should be as well.
1:18
So I am here to talk about how
to land a job after Treehouse.
1:25
I have committed the past five
years of my life to helping
1:29
more professionals obtain
careers in the tech space, but
1:34
also find careers that are aligned with
who they are at the core of their being.
1:39
And so the first thing I wanna
1:48
talk about is who are you?
1:52
I wanna commend everyone for taking
this next step in your career journey
1:58
as a professional within the tech space.
2:03
If you're from a marginalized group
like Women in Tech, Black in Tech,
2:06
Latinx in Tech, then you're traditionally
under supported within the tech space.
2:11
So it's already hard enough
to make that transition and
2:17
to say, I'm going to go against the grain.
2:20
And to even try to be in
an industry like technology.
2:23
So what you need to think about is,
or if you have finished at Treehouse,
2:27
how are you gonna land that next
opportunity after graduation?
2:32
Who are you as a person?
2:37
What is your personal brand?
2:38
Where do you see yourself?
2:41
Are you confident in your abilities?
2:42
And does your resume showcase this?
2:45
A lot of professionals come to
me after boot camp and ask,
2:47
how do I transition into tech?
2:51
And I always give them advice about,
what are your transferable skills?
2:53
If you worked in an industry before,
how are you going, what's your story?
2:58
And how are you gonna relate the skills
that you obtained in your past
3:03
experiences to what you're trying
to do now within technology?.
3:08
I think very often we
sell ourselves short.
3:12
We leave out certain things in our resume.
3:15
We try to be modest.
3:19
This is not the time to be modest.
3:22
When you're creating
a resume it's all about,
3:24
highlight those accomplishments, saying
if you created some type of community.
3:27
If you've been a leader
within a nonprofit industry.
3:32
If you write blogs in your spare time and
it's focused on technology.
3:37
Also, what are those accomplishments and
3:42
the impacts that you made
in past work experiences?
3:44
Those are things that you shouldn't leave
out, especially if they're numbers driven.
3:47
So adding those metrics in
there you increase sales by x%.
3:52
If you increase performance,
3:56
if you decrease time of
being able to do something.
3:58
Are all of those things
highlighted in your resume and
4:02
making sure that they stand out?
4:05
Also, what's really key is,
are you continuing your education and
4:07
your learning as you're looking for
a job opportunity?
4:13
Very often when you
graduate from boot camps
4:17
during this process of now
you're looking for jobs,
4:21
but sometimes you get
a little sidetracked.
4:26
And you forget that,
a couple months may go by and
4:31
you start to see these gaps in employment.
4:34
So people are asking on how
do we fill in those gaps?
4:37
And so my best advice is
take on passion projects.
4:40
So create something that you're
super passionate about that
4:44
is going to showcase your skills,
your newfound skills in technology.
4:47
And show that you can, hey,
I can create this platform from scratch.
4:51
I created a dashboard with
my new programming skills.
4:55
And being able to add
those to your portfolio,
5:00
it's really gonna be key in helping
you stand out from the crowd.
5:04
Prepare a plan.
5:15
I know sometimes we go at it and
5:17
we need to find a career
opportunity really quickly.
5:20
So we just start our job search
without any clear vision and
5:24
clear plan, and
how we're gonna execute that.
5:28
But it's important because
this is gonna be where you
5:32
spend the majority of your time.
5:36
Company's full time work
is about 40 hours a week.
5:39
So you're spending more time at
work than you are with your family.
5:41
Than you are at home.
5:45
Than you are probably even with yourself.
5:47
So preparing a plan that's
gonna help you execute
5:49
on your job search is extremely important.
5:54
Some of the things that
I'd like to think about.
5:58
Or I'd like to help people think about
when they're thinking about their next
6:01
career opportunity,
6:05
is what type of impact do you wanna
make in your next career opportunity?
6:07
And that helps you to find which
companies you wanna work for.
6:11
So, for instance,
6:16
startups are a completely different
space than an enterprise or corporation.
6:18
When you're working for a startup,
you have to wear multiple hats.
6:24
You have to be able to deal
with ambiguity and challenges.
6:27
At Tribaja we work with a lot of tech
startups because we love that you
6:31
kind of get to get your hands dirty and
6:35
be able to apply your skills in different
types of departments really quickly.
6:37
But not everybody thrives in
those type of situations.
6:42
So being able to kinda
understand who you are,
6:45
will determine if you wanna
be at a tech startup.
6:48
Or do you wanna be at a company or
enterprise that's more established?
6:51
So they can offer you more guidance and
a sense of all the processes in place.
6:56
These are standard operating procedures,
and not kinda just throw
7:01
you in the fire and see if you are in
the ocean to see if you can sink or swim.
7:06
Having an idea in terms of minimum or
7:12
salary range of what you're
willing to accept and not accept.
7:16
I think because having a job,
it is so tied to your emotions.
7:24
Sometimes we accept the first
offer because we're so excited and
7:30
happy that we got a new opportunity.
7:33
That is a big mistake.
7:36
A lot of women do not
negotiate their salary,
7:37
they take the first offer, and
you're leaving money on the table.
7:40
Always negotiate.
7:46
I say, my rule of thumb is at
least 20% higher than what you
7:47
think you might potentially
be able to get.
7:52
Also always research the fair
market value for that role and
7:57
see where you fall within
those years of experience.
8:02
So like I said, if you're going for
an entry level job,
8:07
let's say it's between 75 and 85.
8:10
Let's say they offer you 80.
8:12
Ask for 90, and you may potentially
meet up in the middle, around 85.
8:15
And so that's how you kind
of negotiate your salary,
8:19
just a little quick run through that.
8:23
And are you looking for an opportunity
that offers you more flexibility?
8:26
I love tech because of the fact that
you can work in tech and be remote.
8:30
So this is really great time for moms who
are transitioning into the tech space.
8:38
For parents in general,
transitioning to the tech space.
8:43
Technology offers a lot of flexibility,
8:47
which allows you to be able to
create the life that you wanna live.
8:50
And this in turn will
lead to more success.
8:55
If you have a clear vision of
the things that you will accept and
8:59
you won't accept within your
next career opportunity.
9:04
Then you're kind of mitigating the risk
of falling into a situation where you're
9:08
in a corporation, or a company,
9:13
or a tech startup,
that you're not extremely happy with.
9:15
Because you allowed
yourself to accept things
9:19
that you weren't going to be
happy with in the long run.
9:22
Right now there's, over 3 million
jobs are posted in tech a year.
9:26
And probably even more than that
since I looked up this number.
9:32
And I believe 1.6 million
jobs will go unfilled because
9:36
of the lack of tech talent
that is able to graduate and
9:42
be able to build these
opportunities within tech.
9:47
So right now is an awfully good
time to be where you're at.
9:52
So definitely take advantage and
create that plan.
9:56
Yes, and this is where I come in.
10:03
Cuz I'm all about community.
10:05
I'm all about ecosystem building.
10:07
So find your tribe.
10:10
Yes, you might be a first gen.
10:12
You might be the first
person in your close
10:14
tight-knit circle that is in technology.
10:18
So you do need a tribe of supporters.
10:22
A tribe of people surrounding you.
10:25
Who are gonna help you.
10:28
Who are gonna guide you.
10:29
Who are gonna be your main chillier
saying, yes you can do it.
10:30
Yes, imposter syndrome does not live here.
10:34
Yes, you can find an equitable
workplace that you're happy with.
10:37
Yes you can do all these things and
still have a family.
10:40
So I believe finding your tribe or
community of people that are like minded,
10:45
that are on similar career path,
is extremely helpful.
10:49
I did not have one when I
was going through my career.
10:53
And I really struggled
because I'm a single mom.
10:56
First-generation college grad.
11:01
I don't have any siblings or
brothers or sisters.
11:04
If I asked my mom what UX, UI design is,
11:07
my mom probably could go
speaking a different language.
11:10
So having a support system
to hold you accountable,
11:14
to be able to run ideas off of.
11:20
I also wanted, and this might be
a little bit of a subtract, but
11:23
I do wanna talk about just really quickly.
11:27
Let's normalize being
able to share salary.
11:30
Because that's something within,
especially within the Black and
11:35
Latinx community that we don't do enough.
11:38
Because we feel like that's
something that's private.
11:40
But the more that we share being
transparent about our salary,
11:44
the more we can say, okay,
I know my friend is making x, y, and z.
11:49
And she has around the same
amount of years as I do.
11:54
Let me make sure that I don't accept
anything lower than the salary range.
11:57
So let's normalize that.
12:00
It's okay to ask your friends, hey,
what are you making in your job?
12:02
Nowadays I ask my friends, and
it may catch them off guard.
12:06
So what I do is I share mine first.
12:10
Because I wanna make sure that my
friends are all out winning and
12:12
negotiating those salaries.
12:17
And if I hear my friends say that,
she has a master's degree and
12:19
she's making under 65,000 a year.
12:22
That's a big no, no for me.
12:25
So, definitely, yes, salary.
12:28
But the community aspect of
everything is really important.
12:31
Because if you don't have those
people around you, surrounding you,
12:34
telling you, what's acceptable and
what's not acceptable,
12:39
then you kinda just go with
the flow kind of thing.
12:43
And you really honestly don't
know what you don't know.
12:46
So having a tribe, like I said,
is extremely important.
12:50
So at Trabaho we built the ecosystem of
diverse tech and startup enthusiasts that
12:56
hold each other accountable, and are going
through these career journeys together.
13:01
Whether they're just starting out,
whether they're experienced,
13:06
they are able to kind of be in
a situation where they feel open and
13:10
comfortable with sharing
their experiences.
13:14
And honestly that's the goal.
13:17
There is awfully a lot of
information out there right now.
13:29
Because of the Georgia
flow situation last year,
13:36
diversity and tech has become a hot topic.
13:40
But I wanna say that I've been working
on the future work in this space for
13:44
over five years now.
13:49
And it's refreshing to be able to
find employers that are committed and
13:51
that understand the value
that professionals
13:57
bring who have different
cultural backgrounds.
14:02
That have different experiences, that
come from different circumstances, and
14:06
things like that.
14:11
But you kinda wanna
filter through the noise.
14:13
And just because there's so
much out there right now.
14:16
So thinking about how can
you filter through that.
14:18
And it's fine job boards and directories.
14:21
Central hubs and locations,
where you can find information that is
14:24
specifically geared towards you and
geared towards where you wanna be.
14:28
So if you're looking for startups, there's
central repositories, and hubs, and
14:33
job boards,
specifically focused on startups and tech.
14:38
If you're looking for
social impact driven missions,
14:42
if you're looking for
clean tech and sustainability.
14:47
All those different industries have
their own platforms, job boards, and
14:51
directories that you can find.
14:56
And so I definitely urge you to either,
whether it's a job board,
14:58
join their newsletter.
15:03
If it's a community,
join their slack channel.
15:04
If it's a directory, whatever
those resources are, find them and
15:09
make sure to kind of constantly stay
in touch with that organization and
15:14
always look for updates.
15:20
I know if you join a lot of slack
channels, they can get overwhelming.
15:22
So definitely try to
find a mission focus and
15:27
what exactly you want after you graduate.
15:30
And obviously, this is gonna streamline
your job search tremendously.
15:34
And this is gonna really
help you hone in in zero and
15:38
on the top types of opportunities that
are going to be important for you.
15:43
It's like I'm going extremely fast.
15:49
So if I am just let me know,
try to slow me down.
15:51
Well, I'd like to talk
about equitable workplaces.
16:04
At Trabaho we do have a job board,
16:07
as well as an equitable
workplace directory.
16:11
And so
what that means is that we only work with
16:17
companies that are mission aligned.
16:21
And that are also committed to diversity,
equity inclusion, or
16:25
long term strategic reasons and goals.
16:29
So not someone or
not a company that posted one time about
16:33
the fact that they're gonna
hire a people of color.
16:37
For a month or two months, companies that
have actually put practices in place
16:42
to be able to build foundation
towards what they're doing.
16:49
And so, the way that I like to think
about it is, before they start to hire,
16:54
have they already created a space where
professionals feel like they belong and
16:59
they feel safe?
17:05
And so we look for
companies that offer psychological safety.
17:07
The way I think about psychological
safety, cuz I'm not sure if this is
17:12
a new term, but it is definitely something
that I knew that I have been using.
17:15
It's, if you walk into work and
17:20
you feel as if you can
truly be who you are.
17:23
If I can walk into the place and
be Shanna Mirallas.
17:28
And I may not wear my hoop
earrings all the time or
17:32
anything like that in a corporate
setting or in a work setting.
17:36
But if I can, hey, this is who I am.
17:41
Yes, I'm mom.
17:45
Yes, I do these things on the weekends and
just feel super safe.
17:46
And then also feel safe about
adding in your own ideas.
17:50
I think that's really important in terms
of being able to advance in your career.
17:55
Do you feel safe sharing
your ideas with your team?
18:00
Or do you feel like they're
gonna be literally for
18:03
making any type of suggestions for the
processes that they already have in place?
18:06
So making sure that you're
finding companies that are all
18:12
about their employees,
their career progression.
18:16
Are they offering you at least a decent
18:20
package in terms of PTO and
things like that?
18:25
All are extremely important
to your mental health.
18:30
And why, it's all about value alignment.
18:36
It's the company that you work for,
are your values aligned?
18:39
I'm running out of time.
18:45
So I'm gonna speed up just a little bit.
18:45
Here's a couple of success stories.
18:50
We connected Nalli to
a startup called the Crew.
18:51
We helped at least build her startup team.
18:56
And yeah, these are just
a few of our success stories.
18:59
But I did wanna open it up to
questions potentially in the chat.
19:03
Just what is the biggest challenge
in your job search today?
19:10
I mean, I would really love to kind
of be able to answer at least one or
19:14
two questions.
19:19
And if not, here is my website.
19:21
You can go to www.trabaho.com.
19:24
You can create an absolute free platform.
19:27
Free, sorry, free profile, where equitable
workplaces can actually find you.
19:31
And I find this to be extremely
helpful for our community and
19:38
our tribe who are looking for work.
19:42
We have quite a few workplaces in
our directory that you can actually
19:45
go in right now and just filter
through some of the jobs that we have.
19:50
Some are for entry level.
19:55
We do have entry level software
engineer roles available.
19:57
We also do diversity tech events,
20:01
which are virtual hiring events
with our employer partnerships.
20:03
We have one coming up
with Comcast in the fall.
20:07
And we have just a few other tech
startups that we work with as well.
20:10
And let me see.
20:18
I stopped sharing the rest
of sharing already.
20:29
Okay, So if there aren't
20:35
any questions, I mean,
I am here as a resource to you.
20:40
I mean,
this is literally my life's journey,
20:45
my life's goal is to help professionals
find fulfillment in their careers.
20:50
Right now my focus is in technology
because I feel that there's such
20:57
a massive opportunity to be able to
help people increase their salaries,
21:02
increase their way of living, and
just have a more fulfilling life.
21:06
And if technology is that way
to be able to get there then,
21:11
And yes, then I absolutely
look forward to helping you.
21:18
A couple of resources that
Tribaja has that I urge you
21:23
to definitely take a look at
is we hold open office hours.
21:28
So if you have questions about
your resume, what it looks like,
21:34
if it's clearly aligned with the job
opportunities that you're searching for,
21:39
then setting up those free
office hours with us.
21:45
If you have questions about the jobs
that we have coming up, and
21:49
if we have anything that clearly matches
with you, then that's another resource.
21:54
We always share a lot of tech
as upscaling programs, so
22:00
if you're constantly looking for
ways to refresh your tech skills,
22:05
we're constantly posting
on our Slack channel.
22:11
We're at over 2,500 members right now and
22:15
our goal is to double the size
by the end of this year.
22:18
And [LAUGH] I'm trying to
think of any other resources.
22:22
Yeah, and join our Slack channel,
come on, be a part of the tribe.
22:29
I'm here to support you guys,
I think Treehouse is amazing.
22:32
And yeah, honestly, I'm here to help.
22:36
You can also connect with me.
22:39
Where's the Q&A?
22:44
[LAUGH] So there, I see that there's
22:46
a few questions and
I do wanna answer them.
22:50
[COUGH] How do you
negotiate your salary when
23:02
an employer states that
there is no room for growth?
23:06
So sometimes there, honestly,
if a company gives you a salary range and
23:11
it's not within the range
that you're looking for,
23:16
then it may not be the best role for you.
23:20
There's companies that have
a very straightforward budget.
23:23
And they may say, hey,
my salary range is between 50k and 60k.
23:27
And you clearly want 65 and up,
23:32
then honestly that's a good hint that
that's not the right opportunity for you.
23:34
There's probably, but
I guess a caveat to that,
23:41
if there's no way to
negotiate a base salary, but
23:45
you might be happy if
you get maybe a bonus.
23:50
So think about negotiating other
things besides just the salary,
23:54
maybe like more PTO, flexible work.
23:58
Maybe negotiating on contract instead
of a full time opportunity in
24:02
case you wanna do some
other work on the side.
24:06
So there's some other things that you can
think about besides just negotiation of
24:10
a salary.
24:14
I'm not sure how to get it done,
let's see.
24:24
I'm trying to figure out if this is for
me.
24:28
Despite all the positive encouragement,
I have never worked so hard for so
24:32
little pay, any advice to get it done?
24:36
I'm not quite sure about that question.
24:40
After finishing a certification, I fail to
get a job in tech after trying six months.
24:44
I just kind of bridge after a cert
course and find a two level job.
24:49
Honestly, my advice about not being able
to find a job in a certain amount of time,
24:55
six months is definitely a long
amount of time to be out of work.
25:01
So my advice is to kind of think about
where you might be falling short and
25:06
not in a sense of who you are and
skills, but
25:13
maybe in how are you relaying your
abilities to be able to do something?
25:16
Are you able to get feedback from
some of the employers that you're
25:23
interviewing with?
25:27
And if you're not interviewing, then maybe
it could be something in your resume.
25:28
So you have to kinda take a step back and
25:31
see where in that hiring process
are you not able to progress forward.
25:34
But if you're not able to get enough
interviews, then normally it's the resume.
25:39
If you're getting enough interviews,
but not closing the deal,
25:43
then it's normally how you're
relaying your transferable skills and
25:47
also your confidence
during those interviews.
25:51
So if you want to set up 15 minutes
with me during office hours,
25:54
I'm more than happy to kind of
go over anything that you have.
25:58
Where can I learn?
26:01
Okay, I think that is it from questions.
26:04
Should you quit a full time job with
benefits for a contract with a more
26:09
reputable company that has potential
of turning into a full time job offer?
26:14
So I think that's dependent
upon your circumstances, right?
26:19
If you're in a situation
where you're comfortable,
26:24
kind of given that security of full time,
and I would think if you're
26:28
very early in your career, and
you can kind of afford the risk, right?
26:34
Because there is a big potential risk
with going for a contract role that isn't
26:39
giving you a full time opportunity,
that's kind of taking a risk and a chance.
26:44
So if you feel comfortable
enough taking that risk, and
26:50
you feel like you would be happy
at the larger company, then yes.
26:53
But I do want to make sure that
you know that contracts are not,
26:57
it's not a guarantee.
27:02
And so leaving something secure to go for
something a little bit more risky,
27:05
I would just kind of maybe
write down the risks.
27:10
Kind of measure [LAUGH]
what you're giving up for
27:14
something that you're getting
with the contract role.
27:17
And if this one is higher than that one,
27:20
then go towards the one
that has more benefits for
27:24
you overall in a sense where
you see yourself in the future.
27:28
If it's like a Facebook or Google, and
you're like yes, I'm all gung-ho and
27:34
I wanna leave this full-time job so
I could work at Facebook and Google for
27:37
the name and the reputation, then that's
something that you should think about.
27:41
But also know that if that contract
doesn't turn into full time employment,
27:45
that you might find
yourself without a job too.
27:49
So that's how I would think about it.
27:52
Any other questions?
27:59
I think I'm out of time.
28:07
Thank you so much, everyone.
28:10
I hope this was helpful.
28:14
Honestly, please let me know if I
can be of help or a resource to you.
28:16
You can find me on LinkedIn
at Shannon Morales.
28:21
You can find for Tribaja at tribaja.com.
28:24
And also, we're on LinkedIn, social media,
every place where the talent resides.
28:27
I hope you have an amazing rest
of your Treehouse festival.
28:35
You need to sign up for Treehouse in order to download course files.
Sign upYou need to sign up for Treehouse in order to set up Workspace
Sign up