A job search takes months. Why come out the other side with nothing to show for it? Allocate a few hours a week, partner with someone else who's also between things, and ship something small. Keep it in a box so it doesn't overshadow the main goal: getting the job.
Put me in the queueI'm Jeremy Nay. I'm a senior engineering leader (most recently Director of Data Engineering at Expedia Group, leading a global org) and I'm in the middle of my own search.
I started Job Search Side Hustle because waiting for the next role is hard. Having extra time to develop side projects I've always wanted to work on, and to have something to show for the time in between roles seems like a great idea. But a side project with one other person is a different thing entirely. It fosters creative collaboration, has a deadline, a witness, and a reason to ship.
That's all this is. Bringing people together to create, support each other, and build cool things.
I read every application. I make the matches by hand. If there's a fit, you'll hear from me personally. If you'd like to read more about who I am, check out my LinkedIn and reach out.
Searching for a job is lonely, slow, invisible, and gives you almost no feedback.
It's also a huge opportunity. You have time on your hands. The highest-leverage thing you can do between roles is build something small with someone complementary. A prototype, a case study, a tool, a written teardown. Pursue a certification. Something that exists at the end of six weeks. Something you can post about or that makes the job easier to get. Something that gives you a win, a story, and maybe even a new skill or two.
When you're between roles, you actually have the freedom to build something that isn't directly related to your job. You have the space to experiment, take risks, and follow your curiosity or build that thing you've always wanted to build. And a consistent few hours a week over time can compound into real value.
I don't believe that the idea is what matters. When you get the right people in a room with a real deadline, they'll find something worth building. That's what we're building here.
We don't run a course, a community, or a platform. We hand-match pairs. That's it.
You're a senior IC or leader between roles. You have 3-5 hours a week you'd rather spend building than doomscrolling. You want a teammate for six weeks, not a co-founder for six years. You'd rather ship one small real thing than talk about a big imaginary one.
You want free labor. You're recruiting. You want a community to lurk in. You need this to pay you. You're looking for someone to build your idea for you.
This is a side hustle while I run my own search. The search comes first. That means this stays small on purpose - so it stays useful instead of becoming the thing I do instead of getting a job.
No platform. No fees. No Slack. Not even any cookies.
I'm trickling hours into it as I find them. You'll see the site change and improve over time. What you see right now is what there is. Even the counter at the top is updated by hand - triggered by me sitting down to read the inbox. I'll get to everyone, but it might take a minute.
If this ever outgrows the box, we'll figure that out then. Until then, small is the feature.
If this sounds right for you, tell me a bit about where you are. I read everything that comes in.