How Do You Land Your First Job in Tech?

Are you a new coder looking to break into the tech industry?

It can feel discouraging and isolating when you're trying to find your first job in tech, especially when it seems like you don't have access to the community or the resources you need to succeed.

You’ve probably heard the refrain: keep learning, be persistent. And you have the list, some variation of this: build a strong portfolio, network, apply for internships, join online communities (like DEV and CodeNewbie!) to connect with other professionals in the industry.

But what else can you be doing? And are there other ways to approach this challenge?

Let’s ask our more experienced members what steps they suggest for landing you first job in the tech industry. Share some stories: how did you make it happen?

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Comments

[Irvin Gil]

For me i had my first job (currently in rn) as a software developer right up as i graduated college. So i was a fresh grad and my cousin, who is a software engineer, advertise to me the training and internship program that their company is having. So i applied, passed the assessment and the rest is history. Even when i attended the program i was still waiting for my graduation date and just had to travel back to attend the ceremony.

My advise is to have a profile for job related platforms (like linkedIn) if you want to get into some more stable tech and corporate companies. That is more than enough for you to get some people to have a look at you if you are a starter. It's impractical to build fancy web portfolios when you are just starting to get in to software development. And also because software dev isn't just web dev and building web related softwares. There are lots of jobs related to codding and building software. It's more practical to get into training/internship programs of companies rather than have to pay for bootcamps. Like really, all the resource is on the internet you just have to know which stuff to read and get your hands on.

Conclusion

• cultivate job platform profiles (example: linkedIn) instead of building your personal portfolio. chances are you don't know where to start.
• Get into programs that may involve employment (intership programs) instead of paid bootcamps. It's more awesome if the internship is paid regardless.

[Aidas Petryla]

I wrote up my journey here. It took me nearly a year and I sent hundreds of job applications. Also, shared some of my thoughts and tips there. :)

[Lucretius Biah]

Very inspiring story

[Jean-Michel 🕵🏻‍♂️ Fayard]

There are lots of often advice, some good, some not that great, some bad, some conflicting another advice.
So the question the candidate probably asks herself even if she doesn't say it explicitly is:

How do I know whether that advice work?
WHY does it work?

So what I've been trying to do in my essay below is to open people's eyes on how hiring actually work for everyone concerned, or rather how it should work.

Job Hunting: Just Submit Your CV and Hope for the Best?

Jean-Michel Fayard 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇧🇪🇸🇨🇴 ・ Apr 17 ・ 13 min read

#beginners #career #healthydebate #interview

[anes]

Small tip that helped me: If you have a nice collection of open source GitHub repos (no, not the 1000th react todo list), some interesting articles and a nice StackOverflow account you should definetly link those in your application.

Good luck!

[ReactJS Development Company]

These are the stages I have gone through to find a job:

• The industry research
• Internship
• Industry certification
• Network of same industry people
• Resume highlighting best skills
• Career consultant help
• Freelance work

and Finally, I got an offer from reputed Shopify development company.

[Joe Mainwaring]

My recommendations for those wanting to enter the field:

• Many bootcamps provide an accelerated way to get you properly prepped to interview for junior roles. You can break into the industry on your own, but the money investment on a bootcamp may save you a significant amount of time.
• A solid resume is essential to be a competitive candidate in the job market. If you have the skills but they're poorly reflected in your resume, you'll underperform seeking a job.
• Pro Bono opportunities are a great way to add more meat to a resume
• Soft Skills matter, so understand what that encompasses for the type of technology role you're after.

[Nicolas Fodor]

i found a client for my first software co.

[Murtaza Nathani]

Awesome, this sounds great 👍.. hope you nail the client

[Nicolas Fodor]

thanks i did, and it became the best seller dev tool for building high per apps, used by CERN when building the web server in a Next machine. We got them later, first we commercialized vertical apps for commercial realtors made with our own framework.

[Nicolas Fodor]

I want to add that i created the company thanks to that first deal that was for an obsolete system from an established vendor that i got exited right after it was ordered. First client allowed me to create the company so it could get the competitive edge with what we demoed.

[Jean-Michel 🕵🏻‍♂️ Fayard]

Recommended reading: @jacobherrington description of how he got hired

How I Got Hired at DEV (and Every Other Tech Job)

Jacob Herrington (he/him) ・ Nov 1 '19 ・ 13 min read

[Chris Jarvis]

Unfortunately that header is appropriate for many.

[NLxDoDge]

After my internship from school, got 0 hour contract at the same company making PHP websites.

[MiracleChibuike]

Thanks.. I'm learning web development as a start up but right now I'm familiar with HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript.
I have also built projects but isn't easy for me to find a Job..