In the last few years, we have been hearing increasingly often that the technical talent from Latin America has been captivating technological companies all around the globe; with article after article praising the efforts of countries like Costa Rica, Brazil and Argentina that prioritise technical education over more traditional studies. As a Technical Recruiter specialised in the LatAm job market myself, I can attest to that, as I have had the opportunity to work amongst extraordinarily bright and highly skilled software engineers. Latin America houses an excellent pool of technical talent that is yet to be entirely exploited by Silicon Valley. One of the main reasons for this could be that engineers haven’t completely polished their job-seeking strategy to catch the opportunities that the job market has put out for them.
There are many steps that can lead you to success in applying for a foreign company, but, in my experience, the most important one is to possess an English level higher than B2 (based on the scoring system of the Cambridge Advanced Exams for Speakers of Other Languages). This is the basic starting point as most projects available in the market are going to be managed by US-based, multicultural companies. All engineers joining these teams would need to have the ability to communicate fluently and fully in English with their peers in order to ensure effective communication while working towards their technical goals.
The very second step to getting your dream job is to study the opening and the company you are applying for. It is essential that you be aware of what you are applying to and what you think the company is looking for. This simple review will help you establish the starting point for the application. You should focus your efforts on highlighting those qualities about yourself, understanding that you are now going to start “marketing yourself” as precisely what the target audience, the recruiters, are looking for. Become familiar with the company’s stack and technical requirements as they will become crucial moving forward.
It may not come as a surprise for the average LatAm applicant that the following step towards a successful international job search is to always have your resume fully updated and in English; however, this has more than the apparent purpose of facilitating the information on the hiring manager’s (likely) native tongue. Your resume not only works as a means to showcase your suitability for a role, but it is also the first impression of your language and communication skills. When you put together your resume, you should always dedicate a significant portion of your time to polish it to perfection. Always remember to add all the technologies and technical expertise you have that are relevant to the target role as this will increase your eligibility. Bear in mind that your resume should match your qualifications, you don’t want to overstuff your resume just because you want that job! Try to keep it concise and complete.
Even without the added difficulty of applying for a job in a foreign country, job-seeking can be a complex endeavour. Nowadays, it not only requires the applicants to have a tailor-made resume in, at the very least, two languages, but it also requires building a robust network on platforms like LinkedIn where all the magic happens. Having an updated LinkedIn profile is a fundamental step to starting the search. A survey from 2016, showed that 87% of recruiters claim to use LinkedIn in their everyday sourcing efforts; and I, personally, expect this number to have gone up since the boom of remote working. So, be sure to have your business social media just as primed as your resume. If you’re looking to go the extra mile, we suggest you do the same with GitHub and StackOverflow which are some of the other trusted sourcing tools in a technical recruiter’s Mokeskin pouch.
If the previous steps go well, you will land an interview. This step’s advice is twofold: there is a content aspect and a special aspect. On the one hand, this is your opportunity to figure out if the company is right for you. And, of course, the company will also analyse your skillset to see if you are the right candidate for them. You can adapt all of the aforementioned tips for this as well: Learn the job description by heart and prepare to elaborate on aspects about yourself that highlight your suitability for the job. Last but not least, always be yourself…the best version of yourself though. On the other hand, if you are applying for a remote job, chances are, the interview will be remote too, which means you are going to face a few challenges that you would not face in an in-person interview: unreliable internet connection and environmental interruptions. Make sure to take the interview in a quiet location to ensure good sound quality. In addition, check that you have a strong internet connection for the day so you will not have to ask for a rain check that can cripple your possibilities of a second round.
These are the basic five aspects to successfully getting started in a process for Silicon Valley. Obviously, job hunting is an art, and for art, there is no formula. This is not to say that this is the only way to get the job you have been waiting for, but it can get you on the right path toward your dream job if you’re a LatAm Software Engineer looking for a new challenge in the US market.
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