Focus on learning what it takes to contribute to a team or community of people from different backgrounds. Being a good developer means being able to translate ideas into functionality and being to communicate the challenges with that process to someone with no technical knowledge.
Follow up on your applications! I know a lot of people are hesitant because they don't want to be a bother, want to give due process, etc... but communication is key.
I don't suggest repeatedly sending an email 2-3 days later, but if you haven't heard anything back after a week and you're genuinely interested, let them know you're still looking forward to their response in a quick 2-3 sentence message.
One place I applied for completely lost my information. I followed up, sent a new copy of my CV, and received an interview.
Yeah, I totally agree. The candidate who follows up is going to get more attention and there is no downside even if they end up going with someone else.
Human errors happen and your tip is good to double check on the recruiting team.
But beware of places where they "loose candidates". Why are they loosing them? Is that an example of how the company will deal with you as an employee? Is that how they value fellow engineers?
You have to be willing to adapt. I remember my first position was a JavaScript position at a point where I was not even sure I knew JavaScript. I was able to land the job by having the willingness to learn and the determination to become better. The position quickly changed to fit my skills and accommodate my strengths will still allowing my to grow. Many years later these are things I still look with new opportunities; the change to grow as a developer and provide value by leveraging my strengths.
Interview: You're in it for the long run. You're super excited to learn and code how they want you to do it. You're a self-starter. You want to be involved in the culture and be friendly with everyone. Make sure you have answers to questions like "Describe a conflict and how you resolved it", and "What would you do if you couldn't meet a deadline?"
Once you have the job, you'll likely be completely lost for a while until you have a grasp of their codebase. Model your new code on existing code. Learn to progress despite shallow understanding. Work on something else if you're stuck - don't stagnate.
Just have something to show! I don't have a relevant degree so I have had to convince potential employers in other ways that I have the skill set, and not having substantial code of my own to show them has been a real difficulty (in places this cost me opportunities).
Better yet, have experience. Internships teach you a lot.
Relocate to the town/city/area of maximum opportunity.
Do not restrict yourself to a particular domain, try to be a generalist initially. Specialise later, with sufficient experience.
Always write a forwarding letter with your resume, which explains your intentions clearly.
Always follow-up after applying. Weekly follow-up is ideal.
During the period when you are searching for a job, keep practicing your programming, problem solving and communication skills. Most interviews are won with a combination of these three.
Aim at the complete spectrum of opportunities. Do not restrict yourself to a set of "hot/in-demand" companies. Landing a job in first go in such companies for inexperienced candidates is tough.
Yep, even if the job description doesn't call for junior, if you come off as committed, hard working and easy to get along with, you'll be strongly considered.
Make projects! As long as you can show that you've got skill, and you can show that it relates to what the company is looking for, then you might just be of value. The projects don't have to have legitimate value or purpose, they just have to help you develop your skills.
For my first programming job, I hadn't gone to college or gotten any certificates yet: I just had a whole bunch of projects that showed my (future) employer that I knew what I was doing. When they brought me in for an interview, they asked me to explain one of my projects. The same thing kept happening for the other jobs that I got, despite my having some work experience on my resume.
Meet ups and user groups. I've gotten more positions in the past 25 years through people I knew than applications I sent in.
Learn aggressively. Present something at a meetup; in my experience they're always looking for presentations, even if it's just a 5-minute lightning talk. Show that you're eager and able to learn.
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Read code, write code.
Contribute to high profile, free software projects.
Fix bugs.
Find a problem and design a program that fixes it.
Focus on learning what it takes to contribute to a team or community of people from different backgrounds. Being a good developer means being able to translate ideas into functionality and being to communicate the challenges with that process to someone with no technical knowledge.
Follow up on your applications! I know a lot of people are hesitant because they don't want to be a bother, want to give due process, etc... but communication is key.
I don't suggest repeatedly sending an email 2-3 days later, but if you haven't heard anything back after a week and you're genuinely interested, let them know you're still looking forward to their response in a quick 2-3 sentence message.
One place I applied for completely lost my information. I followed up, sent a new copy of my CV, and received an interview.
Yeah, I totally agree. The candidate who follows up is going to get more attention and there is no downside even if they end up going with someone else.
Human errors happen and your tip is good to double check on the recruiting team.
But beware of places where they "loose candidates". Why are they loosing them? Is that an example of how the company will deal with you as an employee? Is that how they value fellow engineers?
You have to be willing to adapt. I remember my first position was a JavaScript position at a point where I was not even sure I knew JavaScript. I was able to land the job by having the willingness to learn and the determination to become better. The position quickly changed to fit my skills and accommodate my strengths will still allowing my to grow. Many years later these are things I still look with new opportunities; the change to grow as a developer and provide value by leveraging my strengths.
Interview: You're in it for the long run. You're super excited to learn and code how they want you to do it. You're a self-starter. You want to be involved in the culture and be friendly with everyone. Make sure you have answers to questions like "Describe a conflict and how you resolved it", and "What would you do if you couldn't meet a deadline?"
Once you have the job, you'll likely be completely lost for a while until you have a grasp of their codebase. Model your new code on existing code. Learn to progress despite shallow understanding. Work on something else if you're stuck - don't stagnate.
Just have something to show! I don't have a relevant degree so I have had to convince potential employers in other ways that I have the skill set, and not having substantial code of my own to show them has been a real difficulty (in places this cost me opportunities).
Better yet, have experience. Internships teach you a lot.
There's no "too big" or "will not care" place. There are far more companies willing to accept a willing inexperienced programmer than one thinks.
Yep, even if the job description doesn't call for junior, if you come off as committed, hard working and easy to get along with, you'll be strongly considered.
Make projects! As long as you can show that you've got skill, and you can show that it relates to what the company is looking for, then you might just be of value. The projects don't have to have legitimate value or purpose, they just have to help you develop your skills.
For my first programming job, I hadn't gone to college or gotten any certificates yet: I just had a whole bunch of projects that showed my (future) employer that I knew what I was doing. When they brought me in for an interview, they asked me to explain one of my projects. The same thing kept happening for the other jobs that I got, despite my having some work experience on my resume.
Absolutely. Projects have the bonus of being the best way to learn.
Meet ups and user groups. I've gotten more positions in the past 25 years through people I knew than applications I sent in.
Learn aggressively. Present something at a meetup; in my experience they're always looking for presentations, even if it's just a 5-minute lightning talk. Show that you're eager and able to learn.