The Monday Byte

Welcome to the Monday Byte where I send you 5 things each week so you can improve your English and land a remote dev job.

📖 Word/Phrase - severance package

In the US, we have something called a severance package. This is usually a type of compensation package + benefits that a company gives you when they lay you off.

The goal is to help you support yourself financially during your job hunt. For example, my company gave me 6-weeks pay + insurance coverage thru the end of the month.

It doesn’t always happen, but if a company cares about you, they’ll usually offer this.

💬 Pronunciation - Critique of Colombian Programmer

These pronunciation critiques are a great way to see patterns of what sticks out to a native speaker. This one is on a friend who is a founder (and programmer).

It’s 10-mins long and he actually surprises me with his native-like patterns.

Want me to critique your English? Reply to this and let me know!

🗣️ Real World Conversation - How I Approach Job Hunting

As of last Thursday, I’m now jobless! Yes, I was laid off by my company. They gave me a generous severance package so I have some time to look.

The good news? I can job hunt publicly and share exactly how I’m doing it with you.

Here’s a 6-min video I think you’ll like.

🔗 Content - Job Hunting Tips to Land Your Dream Job 

Back in February, I wrote a really short post linking two Twitter threads with tips for job hunting. The goal? Help you land your dream job.

The first one gives tips from my own experience. The second is how to use ChatGPT to land a better job.

💪🏼 Exercise - Pitch Yourself in 2-mins

One of the companies I applied to came from this tweet. The application?

Record a 2-min Loom explaining how you’ll add tremendous value to the company. Here’s mine. Try it yourself!

Bonus: The first 3 people to send me their pitch, I’ll critique for next week’s newsletter!

Enjoy the week, we’ll talk again soon. And hey, remember, if you want a specific topic covered or need help, hit reply and let me know!

- Joe