For example, I have deep passions for travel and aviation, as well as enduring interests in embedded software and telephony. I've typically found that I perform much better in roles that engage at least one of my passions/interests. What are some good strategies for searching for jobs in certain "verticals", i.e. companies involved in specific fields?
1) Sign up for a free Crunchbase trial.
2) Search for companies that fit your criteria (Crunchbase can do precise / granular searches)
3) Add names of promising companies to a spreadsheet
4) After the list has a few dozen names, cancel Crunchbase account
5) Google the CEO or CTO of each company
6) Find their email address (try https://hunter.io/ or just Google the person in depth and you'll often find a public email)
7) Write cold email explaining: your specific skills and 1-2 sentences on why you're passionate about their industry.
8) End email with a specific ask: if you're hiring, would you have 15 minutes to chat next week?