# The In Between > A free community for technology professionals between roles, with 9 courses on the job search and two free browser-based tools. Membership costs nothing. ## About The In Between is a community for experienced technology professionals navigating the space between one chapter of work and the next. It exists to help people regain connection, momentum, and agency during a transition instead of going through it alone. The public website (https://theinbetween.tech/) explains what the community is and lists everything inside it. The community itself lives in a private Skool group, where the courses, conversation, and support happen. - [The community on Skool](https://www.skool.com/the-in-between-2218) - [Join, free](https://www.skool.com/the-in-between-2218/about) - Founded by: Bill Eisenhauer, a software engineer and engineering leader with nearly four decades in the industry, who created it while navigating a transition of his own. ## Membership Membership is free. Members who are able may optionally contribute $5 per month. Both options receive exactly the same access, including every course. ## Who it is for Technology professionals between roles, including software engineering, product, design, data, cybersecurity, IT, technical leadership, and adjacent technology roles. "Between roles" is deliberately broader than "laid off". It includes people whose roles were eliminated, contractors between contracts, career changers, people returning from a pause (health, caregiving, or otherwise), people exploring independent or consulting work, and people still employed who are quietly deciding what comes next. ## Courses 9 courses, 108 lessons, 30 downloadable guides, checklists, and worksheets. All included with free membership. ### The Search Strategy Foundation The recommended starting point. You work out how a search is sequenced, how to read a posting for what the employer actually needs, what standards you want to hold yourself to, and which of your beliefs about timing are worth testing before you act on them. It covers the groundwork the other courses assume is already in place. - [The Search Strategy Foundation](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/search-strategy-foundation/) - Level: Beginner (core sequence, course 1) - 4 sections, 9 lessons, 3 downloads - Reading time: about 25 minutes (4940 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Job search strategy, Search sequencing, Job posting analysis, Search metrics - You learn to: Sequence a search so each step feeds the next; Read a posting for the problem behind the requirements; Write your standards down before you need them; Track qualified conversations instead of applications sent; Test a timing belief against evidence rather than mood ### Get Found, Get Chosen The résumé an evaluator scans in seconds and the LinkedIn profile a recruiter searches before that, treated as two surfaces of the same record. You audit both, rebuild them field by field, and set a cadence for re-checking them each search cycle. Most of the other courses assume a working document and profile, so this is where that gets built. - [Get Found, Get Chosen](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/get-found-get-chosen/) - Level: Intermediate (core sequence, course 2) - 11 sections, 31 lessons, 16 downloads - Reading time: about 68 minutes (13506 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Résumé writing, LinkedIn profiles, Recruiter search, Applicant screening, Professional positioning - You learn to: Audit your résumé and profile against how they are actually read; Write bullets that carry checkable evidence; Build a headline and title that match how recruiters search; Fill each LinkedIn field for both machine matching and human reading; Set a re-check cadence so the work stays current ### The Hidden Job Market Postings are one channel, and at senior levels not the busiest one. This course covers direct outreach, recruiter and headhunter engagement, reactivating a referral network that has gone quiet, and researching a target company before you spend real time on it. Each channel is covered in the order that makes it work. - [The Hidden Job Market](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/hidden-job-market/) - Level: Intermediate (core sequence, course 3) - 6 sections, 14 lessons, 1 download - Reading time: about 39 minutes (7798 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Direct outreach, Recruiter relationships, Referrals, Target company research - You learn to: Aim outreach at the person who owns the problem; Qualify a recruiter list instead of contacting everyone on it; Reconnect with dormant contacts without leading with the ask; Run a value-first call that can produce a referral; Check a company before you commit time to it ### Interview and Screening Mastery The arc from building a set of stories you can retrieve under pressure, through the recruiter screening call, to the questions that are hardest to answer well. It includes explaining a layoff or a departure without over-justifying it, and handling references and your own diligence on the employer. - [Interview and Screening Mastery](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/interview-screening-mastery/) - Level: Intermediate (core sequence, course 4) - 6 sections, 14 lessons, 2 downloads - Reading time: about 36 minutes (7205 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Interview preparation, Behavioral stories, Recruiter screening calls, Explaining a layoff, References - You learn to: Build a story inventory you can retrieve under pressure; Lead with the conclusion so an answer lands; Back a claim with something an evaluator can check; Explain a departure or a layoff without over-justifying; Close a screening call and keep the relationship open ### Negotiate Your Offer Five lessons on the negotiation itself. You work through what to disclose and when, how to build leverage you can actually use, how to set up an internal advocate so they can act on your behalf, how to match evaluation effort to how reversible the decision is, and how to hold a position when the pressure to close arrives. - [Negotiate Your Offer](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/negotiate-your-offer/) - Level: Intermediate (core sequence, course 5) - 7 sections, 7 lessons, 4 downloads - Reading time: about 18 minutes (3601 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Salary negotiation, Offer evaluation, Compensation, Leverage - You learn to: Decide what to disclose about compensation and when; Build leverage that does not depend on a competing offer; Give a hiring manager what they need to advocate internally; Match evaluation rigor to how reversible the decision is; Hold a position under pressure to close ### The Executive Search Playbook At VP level and above, hiring runs through retained search firms and relationships more than open applications, and the mechanics are different enough to be worth their own course. This covers how retained search actually works, what goes into the report you never see, the decisions that carry the most weight, and the final round. It is meant to run alongside the other courses rather than replace them. - [The Executive Search Playbook](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/executive-search-playbook/) - Level: Advanced (senior and executive track) - 6 sections, 10 lessons, 1 download - Reading time: about 29 minutes (5771 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Executive job search, Retained search, Senior leadership hiring, First 90 days - You learn to: Classify which hiring channel governs your target role; Write for the search consultant's report you never see; Verify what you are told before you decide; Plan a first 90 days deliberately rather than reactively; Handle the final round and the close ### Map Your Network A short, hands-on course built around a single downloadable tool. You request your own LinkedIn data export, open it in a self-contained dashboard that runs offline on your own machine, and read what it shows about network growth, company and role distribution, dormant contacts worth reaching out to, and endorsement gaps. The last lesson turns that into an outreach list. - [Map Your Network](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/map-your-network/) - Level: Beginner (optional, take any time) - 4 sections, 4 lessons, 1 download - Reading time: about 7 minutes (1383 words) - Topics: Network mapping, LinkedIn data export, Referral outreach, Contact prioritization - You learn to: Request and open your own LinkedIn data export; Read your network by company, role, and recency; Identify dormant contacts worth reconnecting with; Export a prioritized list and turn it into outreach ### Staying Steady A situational course for processing a layoff or carrying the weight of a long search. It works the same way as the rest of the material: name the specific mechanism, then apply a specific fix, rather than offering general reassurance. It covers deciding what a layoff actually means, checking self-blame against the record, rebuilding daily structure, and handling rejection and the waiting in between. - [Staying Steady](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/staying-steady/) - Level: Beginner (optional, take any time) - 5 sections, 10 lessons, 1 download - Reading time: about 23 minutes (4591 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: Layoff recovery, Job search resilience, Handling rejection, Daily structure, Financial buffer - You learn to: Separate what a layoff means from what it feels like; Check self-blame against the actual record; Rebuild the daily structure that work used to provide; Catch a panic reaction before it drives a decision; Replace daily emotional check-ins with a fixed review cadence ### AI Without the Penalty AI is a good fit for mechanical work and a poor fit for the narrative an evaluator reads. This course covers where that line sits: when to use AI to extract and organize versus when to write it yourself, the patterns that make text read as machine-written, how to build a prompt instead of borrowing one, how to check advice before acting on it, and what screening tools do and do not actually see. - [AI Without the Penalty](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/ai-without-the-penalty/) - Level: Beginner (optional, take any time) - 6 sections, 9 lessons, 1 download - Reading time: about 19 minutes (3833 words), plus a day-by-day sprint guide if you want a schedule - Topics: AI in the job search, Prompt construction, Résumé authorship, Screening tools, Evaluating advice - You learn to: Decide when to extract with AI and when to write it yourself; Spot the patterns that make a draft read as machine-written; Build a prompt from your own material instead of borrowing one; Score advice before you act on it; Route effort toward the tasks AI cannot do for you ## Free tools Both are single self-contained HTML files that make no network requests of any kind. They can be used on the site or downloaded and run offline. No signup, and no membership required. ### AI Tell Scanner Paste a draft and see which generic writing patterns a reader will notice. It flags nine specific tells and shows you where two or more land in the same sentence, which is what actually reads as machine-written. - [AI Tell Scanner](https://theinbetween.tech/tools/ai-tell-scanner/) - [Download it](https://theinbetween.tech/assets/tools/ai-tell-scanner.html) (22 KB) - Privacy: no network requests, no server, nothing stored between sessions. ### LinkedIn Network Dashboard Point it at your own LinkedIn data export and it turns 20 years of connections into something you can actually act on: who has gone quiet, which companies you already have a foothold in, and who to contact first. - [LinkedIn Network Dashboard](https://theinbetween.tech/tools/linkedin-network-dashboard/) - [Download it](https://theinbetween.tech/assets/tools/linkedin-network-dashboard.html) (50 KB) - Privacy: no network requests, no server, nothing stored between sessions. ## Common questions **How much does The In Between cost?** Membership is free. Members who are able may optionally contribute $5 per month. Both options receive the same access, including every course. **Who is The In Between for?** Technology professionals between roles: software engineering, product, design, data, cybersecurity, IT, technical leadership, and adjacent technology roles. That includes people who were laid off, contractors between contracts, career changers, people returning from a pause, and people exploring independent work. **Do I have to be laid off to join?** No. Between roles is deliberately broad. If you are figuring out what comes next in your technology career, you belong here. **What is actually inside the community?** Nine courses covering search strategy, résumé and LinkedIn, outreach and referrals, interviewing, offer negotiation, executive search, network mapping, resilience, and using AI without sounding like it. Together they run to 108 lessons and 30 downloadable guides, checklists, and worksheets, and about four and a half hours of reading in total. Alongside the courses there are conversations with people going through the same thing. **Where does the community actually happen?** Conversation, courses, and support happen inside a private Skool community. This website is the public front porch that explains what is there before you join. **Do I have to pay for the tools?** No. The tools are free to anyone, whether or not you join. They are single files that run entirely in your browser and send nothing anywhere. ## Contact - Email: [bill@theinbetween.tech](mailto:bill@theinbetween.tech) - [Website](https://theinbetween.tech/) - Location: Austin, TX ## Key pages - [Home](https://theinbetween.tech/): what the community is and who it is for - [All courses](https://theinbetween.tech/courses/): the full catalogue with syllabuses - [Free tools](https://theinbetween.tech/tools/): two browser-based tools, no signup - [Why it exists](https://theinbetween.tech/#why): who organizes it and why - [Who it is for](https://theinbetween.tech/#who): roles and situations covered - [Privacy](https://theinbetween.tech/privacy/): what is stored and when - [llms-full.txt](https://theinbetween.tech/llms-full.txt): every course, outcome, and FAQ in one file