Five Weeks into the Job Search — A Technical Struggle
Hello and welcome! If you have followed my blogs, you know that I graduated from Flatiron School a little over a month ago. Since then, I have been blogging about things I worked on while at Flatiron as well as technical concepts that I am learning and trying to solidify… all while conducting my search for my first developer role! Exciting exciting stuff.
Flatiron was an amazing experience where every resource was readily available to you at the drop of a hat. The teacher to student ratio was phenomenal and the culture of the program is unmatched. Spending anywhere from 60–80 hours a week in the office (I chose to come in on both Saturday’s and Sunday’s) was difficult, but I believe was well worth it.
Stepping into Flatiron, my eyes were opened to the world of programming and web development. Stepping out of Flatiron has been eye opening in another way. Leaving the comfortability of a curriculum and on-demand help behind to head into a world of uncertainty has not been an easy process.
My weeks so far have consisted of posting blogs, continuing to learn new concepts, attending Meetups, A LOT of networking and coding in between all of these things.
All of that is a lot in itself, but just when you think you are on top of your week a new job opportunity pops up. You have to set aside time for interviews and technical challenges requiring hours, if not days of research and time.
Now, I am not saying that I am perfect by any means (half of the reason I am writing this blog is because I am a bit overwhelmed and need to put my thoughts down), but I have left some things below that have helped me navigate the job search and keep my head from exploding.
TRY to Stick to a Schedule
With all of this new freedom, you may feel inclined to sleep in. People say that you should treat the job search like a full-time job. I would say yes to this, but also tack on learning and coding on top of that. So, in a technical search I would say it’s more. Something that I am getting ready to do is to purchase a Udemy course in a new technology that I am interested in. This will give me some more structure that I can always come back to. I am hoping that through courses like this I will continue to learn in the efficient way I did at Flatiron.
Get Organized
You should be writing everything down. Don’t be a mess about it though. Organize, organize, organize. There is an impossible amount of technical information to consume, but that is no excuse if you draw a blank on a question in an interview. I currently have notes sections for HTML/CSS Interview Prep, Front-End Interview Prep, JavaScript Interview Prep and more. Depending on what you are looking to do, I would recommend breaking out your notes in a similar fashion.
Ask Questions
Continuing to reach out to people is vital. Obviously, for networking purposes this is important, but that is not what I am referring to here. Out of Flatiron, there are tiny things that I have found myself stuck on for days and even weeks that, if I had just asked somebody, would have been a quick fix. If you do not have the community of Flatiron or another program to fall back on, attend Meetups or post on forums for answers to your questions. From my brief introduction, the tech community is incredibly inclusive and chances are somebody else has been in your shoes before.
Keep Coding
It may seem odd, but one of the biggest struggles I have had is continuing to code. With so much else going on, I feel that it continues to get pushed to the back of my schedule. This is something I am still working on, but setting out time to work on algorithm questions and learning new technologies are a must. There are a ton of great resources for both of these online, but CodeWars, LeetCode and Udemy have been some of my favorites for these.
Take Some Time for Yourself
Sometimes you just need to step away from the computer and relax. For me, that has been exercising. Whether it is getting into the gym or getting out on a hike with my Rottweiler/Pitbull, Edward, I am active daily. I will admit, that occasionally I am not completely unplugged as I often enjoy listening to a few podcasts that discuss current trends in tech and programming, but it is great to let your head stop spinning for a few hours. I also have been getting after some Fortnite to unwind on my longer days. Disclaimer: With all of the programming learning I have been doing, I have neglected learning how to build forts and do not have a solo’s win… shameful.
Conclusion
You are going to have good days, you are going to have bad days and you’re going to have days in between. This is definitely the case throughout the job search. Being able to take a step back and understand that each day brings you that much closer to your goal is a necessary and valuable mindset during the stressful job search. Hope this helps and best of luck!