Tim Simms on LinkedIn: I struggled with whether to post this, but here it goes. My heart is… (2024)

Just making it official that I have started a new position as Director of Engineering at GameChanger! 🚀Knee-deep in onboarding, but I'm looking forward to sharing out some exciting roles for anyone looking to join a mission-oriented, customer-obsessed, and innovation-rich org! Stay tuned for that...#grateful #firstdaygiddies #strappingin

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Let's be honest: Although there are certainly lots of paperwork, orientations, and meetings involving people of whom you just hope you can remember the names, day one is all about answering that one question burning in our minds the whole day..You know the question!"Did I make a massive mistake?!" 😁I'm happy to have connected with a few of my new teammates over the past several days, so I know I'm in the right place (also affirmed by my job scoring matrix, which I'll start sharing out this week), and can't wait to get going!Here's to firsts! And on this first day at GameChanger, I'm grateful for how awesome everyone has been and will be in welcoming me! Y'all're the best!#firstday #biganswer #whatdoiputinforw4

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Happy Mother's Day! I'm reminded that many of my wonderful female colleagues are also amazing moms, who do a great job of handling their business both in the workplace and at home!To all those moms in my network, we celebrate you!

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"Please have fun with the Cover Letter section of the application! It does not need to follow 'traditional' cover letter guidelines..."I thought I'd share one of the most unexpected experiences of my job search. It came by way of this note at the bottom of the job description.I thought, I don't have anything to lose, and I was genuinely curious as to whether ChatGPT could increase my chances of getting a recruiter phone screen!Admittedly, I didn't know much about ezCater at the time, so I did a quick skim of their site, and dropped some thoughts about that and the JD into a prompt, asking my AI partner-in-crime to come up with something "fun, that doesn't follow the 'traditional' cover letter guidelines..."After a couple of back-and-forth, here's what I ultimately went with (yes, I submitted THIS as my cover letter!):=========In a world of corporate food solutions, where excellence meets delight,Lies ezCater, a beacon of innovation, shining bright.With purpose-built platforms and flexible food arrays,They centralize, track, and fulfill, in unparalleled ways.Invested by icons, Insight, SoftBank, and more,ezCater's vision expands, reaching every shore.As a leader on the Product Engineering team,I see boundless potential, like a flowing stream.To set the course for years ahead, what a thrilling task,Crafting customer-facing products, up to every ask.Thought partners with directors, pressure-testing ideas bold,Bringing creativity to conversations, never growing old.Leading cross-functional projects, where teams unite,To scale, to innovate, to deliver with might.Guiding engineering leadership, nurturing talent bright,Fostering growth, igniting innovation's light.With a full-stack prowess, and SaaS finesse,I bring technical expertise, a desire to progress.Adaptable, goal-oriented, with curiosity grand,I'm ready to join ezCater's pioneering band.But beyond the code and the digital sphere,Lies my passion for building teams, far and near.IC coaching, mentoring, culture building in stride,Empowering individuals, fueling passion's tide.In product discovery principles, I find my muse,Uncovering insights, where innovation infuses.A love for the process, the journey, the quest,To create, to improve, to be our very best.So here I stand, with a sharp mind and a soft heart,Eager to contribute, to play my part.In building meaningful software, with people so fine,At ezCater, where the possibilities shine.=========2 days later, the recruiter contacted me for an interview. 💥ChatGPT. Nailed. It.It took me less than 10m to do, and frankly, I had no idea whether it would work, but I thought: if companies are using AI to write JDs and sift through resumes, then I should use AI to write my cover letter..Makes you wonder, how long before we just cut out the "middle-man" and have my AI talk to their AI.. 🤣🤔🤖#coverletters #aiftw #weekendfun

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Take a moment to brighten someone's day today! It might not change the world, but it sure might change their world.We're all going through stuff, and you never know the power that bringing a smile can bring.Happy Friday!#makeemsmile #spreadjoy #positiveenergy

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I needed some time to recover.That's why I opted to start a week later in my new role. The job search process is brutal. Anyone who's been in it knows just how hard it is.We put a lot of emotional energy into each and every touch point; it's hard not to, when so much is riding on the outcome.And the exhaustion is real. The self-doubt and questioning that seep in, from rejection letters relentlessly beating you down, is real. The uncertainty of how much longer you'll be in the tunnel before catching a glimmer of hope and a sparkle of light way in the distance, is real.So before diving straight into the new adventure, I needed to recharge, so I can bring my best self to those with whom I'll meet and interact.I've been using the time to:🔋 spend some time with old friends🔋 working on getting my side project to a good stopping point (more to come!)🔋 helping friends who find themselves in this job market, however I can🔋 exercising, to get into new routines with physical activity🔋decluttering my office of all the Post-It notes, random sheets of paper with scribbled notes, and empty fruit snacks pouchesI'm thankful to my new crew, especially those who have reached out, for your grace and patience, as I prepare myself for getting to work!And thanks to my amazing network, including all of you! Your kind words and words of affirmation have really helped in my healing process! Much ❤️ to all of you!#mentalhealth #recharge #grateful #almostready

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Tapping into some vulnerability in sharing my path to GC! Please go easy on me!2/28Saw the GC JD3/6Applied for position (cover letter attached). Note: the reason I waited a week was because I was in the process of updating my resume.3/7Reached out to one of the GC recruiters on LI-- 2 weeks pass, with no response--[I figured I was rejected, and kept it moving.]3/21Saw another relevant position JD, even more specific to my digital video experience! I applied for the role (cover letter attached), spending a lot more energy to make it personable and get noticed.3/22Found another recruiter on LI and reached out. Asked about a discrepancy between what was on LI vs. on the GC Careers page.3/25Received a really kind and helpful response on LI from the recruiter (Leah Dillon) guiding me towards the info I was looking for. Thanks again Leah!4/3Got a rejection. "Unfortunately, the position was recently filled so we will not be moving forward with other candidates at this time." 🙁4/15In the middle of finishing up my tax preparation (🤦🏽♂️), I got an email from the first recruiter, expressing excitement to move forward with the interview process for the first role. 😁🎉Note: this was 40 days from when I submitted my application; I had assumed I wasn't any longer being considered.4/17Met with the recruiter. Wonderful meeting Claire Johnson! Claire's an absolute pro. Terrific communicator, helping me set expectations, answering questions honestly and personably, and helping me laugh and smile. Thank you Claire!4/19Met with the hiring manager. Wonderful conversation. Natural. Informative. Casted a vision for the role and from the perspective of what we'd be trying to accomplish overall. Super excited to work under Ami Kumar!4/23Interview 3. I won't go into detail, but had great convo with Chris Ghanbarzadeh!4/24Interview 4/5. Again, won't go into detail, but had two interviews with Brian, Viet, and Abe4/30Received offerNote: though it was 40 days from application to first response, it took less than than 2 weeks from first conversation to receiving an offer!This wasn't my norm. It wasn't atypical that companies required upwards of 8-10 interviews, spanning 4-6 weeks. This gave me a great perception of GC's efficient process, clarity, and focus on the right things.SOOOO many takeaways, that I don't know where to start! Maybe here: I did think my second cover letter was better than my first.. but in the end, it wasn't the second that got me through the door. 🤔👉 Lesson: One can be doing all the right things, and it still not lead to the intended results, because there are usually lots of factors at play that we don't get to control. Best we can do is keep trying at the things we CAN control, and hope for the best in the things we can't. 💥How about tomorrow, we dive into the spreadsheet I used to track opportunities? Would that be helpful to anyone?#pathtohire #interviewprocess #jobseeking

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People have asked about my path to landing a role at GameChanger. I wanted to spend a few posts this week talking about that and other job hunting experiences (including a role that was rescinded while I was scheduled for late round interviews...🤦🏽♂️)!So today, GameChanger.I started my process by seeing a JD on LinkedIn for the role I was interested in. What stood out to me about the JD was how it led with a mission.The opening paragraph read:"We believe in the life-changing impact youth sports have on and off the field because they encourage leadership, teamwork, responsibility, and confidence—important life lessons that have the power to propel our youth toward meaningful futures. We recognize that without coaches, parents, and volunteers, organized youth sports could not exist. By building the first and best place to experience the youth sports moments important to our community, we are helping families elevate the next generation through youth sports."1. I also believed in the first sentence: the impact of youth sports. ✅2. Cleverly, the second sentence helped me see (a) the problem: a threat to the impact; (b) the people needing support (connecting the dots to who they serve); and (c) why they serve them. Being an athletics advocate, I agreed with this. ✅3. Then, the hook: how will we solve this risk to the impact of youth sports? Building a place to experience important moments. And connecting that how back to the original impact: helping families elevate the next generation. I inmediately saw the impact I would have, if I were a part of this company! ✅That could be a lesson itself in effective storytelling, and how through emotion to reach the people aligned with your mission.The rest of the JD was quite good, sharing the role's responsibilities & qualifications, among other things. My process, after reading the opening paragraph was to always skip down directly to the qualifications. It's there that I could self-assess not only whether I could succeed in the role, but also:❓ did I want to be doing the things they required? ❓ and most importantly, did my background and experiences speak to those qualifications?👉 If you're a job seeker, you might KNOW you could fill a position and absolutely crush it! But the sad truth is, it's difficult to convince a hiring team (and an ATS) of this, if the experience in your resume doesn't scream it.Tomorrow, I'll share my GC timeline, and it did not at all go as expected! I'll explain all that and more!!#jobseeker #jobdescriptions #moretotell

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Here we go! I'm thrilled to announce that I've accepted an offer to join GameChanger as Director of Engineering. I'm grateful to my amazing network who helped me reach this point!If you've got a kid in youth sports, you already know that GameChanger sets the standard for youth sports team management, helping coaches connect with data and with families, and families to experience the excitement of live gameday action!As a sports coach, parent, and sports kid growing up, I know firsthand the impact youth sports has on kids, families, and communities, which is why I'm overjoyed to become a part of the GC vision and help drive the mission forward!Beyond that:🎯 GC's obsession with customer centricity, serving millions of families connected to over half a million teams, aligns with my own values🚀 GC is at the forefront of great technological advances in digital video, computer vision, and democratized data, all areas of tech passion for me🤩 GC's growing team is building a culture of diversity and inclusion that values creative thinking and innovation; that's my jamThanks so much to Ami Kumar, Claire Johnson, Chris Ghanbarzadeh, Brian Skibinski, Viet Nguyen, Abhinav Suraiya, and the other supporting GameChangers for your belief in me! I'm over the moon to get to work with y'all and can't wait to join you in Changing the Game!Let's goooooooo!!#nextchapter #grateful #strappingin #bigthingsahead

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