What's a good way to get my foot in the door at a big name company like Facebook?

I have found networking events to be the most effective way to meet influential people who may be able to help you in your career. I have found job fairs to be a waste of time. My suggestion is to find out events that Facebook is hosting. Try to find out who from Facebook will be attending. Do some research on those attendees. If you get a chance to meet them at the event, do no talk about yourself. Talk about Facebook and the specific Facebook employee you're talking to. Let them know that you follow Facebook. Be genuine and personable. Wait until they ask you about yourself. Remember to bring a business card. (One with a photo would be a really nice touch so they can remember your name and face.) If they give you their business card, send a simple "it was nice to meet you at" email. Don't immediately ask to connect on LinkedIn. I personally hate that. If you made a positive impression, chances are they won't mind engaging with you. Cultivate the relationship. That's how they get to know you and keep you top of mind for opportunities.

Before getting into the tips and tricks, I would suggest stepping back to get clear on your narrative. This may sound a bit fluffy but the "how" is often a function of the "who" and "why".

What I mean by that is you've got to make clear who you want to work for, why you want to work for them and what you have to offer. Given that Google receives over 3 million applications for around 7,000 jobs, taking an unfocused, scattergun approach won't get you far.

Looking at what you've said, you've obviously got some very useful skills, but those skills could equally be applicable to working for an auto dealer, a pharmacy or a funeral parlor (Ok, I'm stretching it a bit but hopefully you get where I'm coming from). In other words, you've got to be able to frame the skills in the context of the firm and role you're looking for.

There are many talented people out there with the right skills, but you've got to be able to answer "Why us?" (What is it about the firm's culture, standing, products do you like?), "Why you?" (You've clearly got the skills but what makes you different to the ten skilled others that have emailed me today? How will you fit into our culture?) and "Why this role?" (Why don't you want to use these skills in a funeral parlor...?)

I always tell clients that once you've properly got your story right, then you can start looking at strategies. Because you are clear on the company culture, you'll get a better sense of what communication channel is appropriate. Because you are clear on the role, you'll get a better sense of what type of individual to speak to. Look at existing roles on job boards to get a better understanding of what they are looking for. Also check out Glassdoor for how people talk about the company.

You have to be strategic about this and I always focus on creating a plan. Keep in mind that companies would far rather not pay for recruiting and you are far more likely to get a foot in the door through a personal introduction. So you can think about alumni associations / LinkedIn groups / Facebook groups / friends of friends / Chambers of Commerce etc etc etc. There are plenty of ways to connect and the warmer the lead the better - connecting blindly via LinkedIn / email doesn't go well... And once you've connected then you can do an informational interview etc - i.e. purely use the meetup to get information on the organisation and not to ask for a job. This would include getting a feel for where your skills would fit into the company.

Finally (or maybe this should be firstly), you must, must, must get your resume / LinkedIn profile sorted. You have to be primed for that first time you reach out to people. Your resume has to be optimized in a way that reflects your target audience, not where you are now.

So that means aligning keywords, job titles etc etc. But all of that is another story...

In essence, you've got to be strategic rather than piecemeal about it. It may not be a quick outcome but at least it will be focused.

Hope this helps.

Reverse stalking.

Locate the company principles + determine what events they attend - Meetups + Conferences.

Then book yourself as a speaker + craft your talk to target topics which will turn them on.

This technique can be a long game or short game.

I've connected with some principles first time I spoke.

Other times, I've spoken for several years, till I made a connection.

I call this Reverse Stalking, because you put yourself in front of your target clients + they come to you.

Another similar trick is to ask your target clients to speak at your events or interview them.