I did the damn things.
If you’re reading this article you’re either somewhat interested in hearing another person’s story about how they got a job, or you yourself are trying to find a job in the tech industry and think reading this may help. Well, this is an obligatory “I got a job” article. So if you’re sick of reading them (trust me, I understand) this probably won’t be any different than any other one you’ve read. If you’re like me however, and continue to read them thinking each one will spill more and more secrets on how to get a job…. well this probably won’t be any different than any other one you’ve read. Ha, let’s continue…
Earlier this year I posted an article that looked back on 2017 as I entered my path towards changing my career — no it was more — my life. As a tl;dr, I came from a health sciences background and thought one day I would be a white-coat-wearing dentist helping prevent oral cancer and fixing all the people’s teeth. Instead however, I found myself falling in love with computer programming and knew that my passions aligned well with the constantly growing tech industry. In January of 2017, like most other newbies that have no idea where to start, I scoured the internet in search of resources, guides, and articles, such as the one I’m currently writing, to garner enough courage and inspiration to make the career change. Initially I began with codeacademy and found it to be a quick and easy way to jump straight into it. I then gravitated towards freecodecamp after hearing so many people rave about it. Here and there I tried a few other free resources and read some books as well, but it wasn’t until I joined chingu and started to shell out some money on udemy courses that my learning really took off. Let me dive into both of those really quick:
- Udemy
- Most courses were either free or $10 .
- I actually learned a LOT from the courses I got, and would recommend them if you’re able to financially.
- Look at the reviews and ask around to find out which ones best suit you; I was learning web development and React at the time so I found that courses taught by Colt Steele, Andrew Mead, Stephen Grider, and David Katz to be tremendously helpful for me.
- Chingu (Shoutout to Chance Taken for creating this)
- Completely free (you can donate if you’d like!).
- Incredible community of driven, active, helpful, and inspiring developers (both experienced and those just learning).
- ~6–8 week Voyage cohorts where you get setup with a team of 3–5 developers to build something AWESOME and learn while doing so.
- The benefits and rewards stem entirely out of self-driven motivation and effort. If you are willing to put in the time to learn and build, you’ll find an incredible ecosystem of individuals just like you.
If you’re lucky enough, you’ll collect awesome friendships along the way (both IRL and virtually since Chingu is a worldwide program).
The Learning Process
It took me ~18 months to get my first tech job after deciding to change careers. This may be longer than a lot of people would expect, or shorter, depending on your situation. Everybody’s path is unique. For me, in started in January of 2017 to about May of 2017 which was my “testing the waters” phase. I got my feet wet by trying out multiple platforms (mentioned above) and learning the basics. From then until about September I got pretty serious about programming and started investing all my time into learning to code (this included learning about code, building things, reading articles, listening to podcasts, etc.). In September I joined my first Chingu Voyage Cohort and went into hyper-drive in terms of my learning because of the fantastic community I was exposed to. At this point, I was pushing myself to about 70–80 hours a week doing code-related things. I understand many people have jobs, families, etc. and don’t have the luxury of that kind of time commitment, but I did and so I made sure not to waste it.
Key Takeaways:
- Ease yourself into it.
- Learn to code by building a lot. Don’t just read.
- Join a community of learning developers like Chingu to keep you motivated, offer feedback, get help, and simply to talk to people with about what you’re working on.
- Contribute to open source!
- If you’re trying to change careers and have no tech background, it’s going to be a grind.
The Application Process
Aside from spending all my time learning to code, I knew I would have to start spending time preparing to get a job. At some point I began going to local code meet-ups and trying to network more in-person as a way to put a name to a face. I also attended alumni networking events (if you’re in a city with these opportunities I highly recommend attending) to meet new people and hear about the great work they are doing. In the mornings I would try doing algorithm exercises and practice white board problems. But the biggest advice that I ignored was to start applying early. Honestly I didn’t have a reason to wait. I just kept pushing it off because I was scared I wasn’t ready. Or because I was intimidated by the interview process. In actuality, there’s no true measure of when one is ready to apply. You just have to do it. When I began my application process, I created a spreadsheet to keep track of all the jobs/companies I was interested in, what role they were looking for, when I found the job, when I applied, when/if I followed up, when/if I received a response, when/if I interviewed, and when/if I either got rejected or accepted for the job. There’s a really cool web application called huntr that I used at the beginning, but their free tier only saved ~40 jobs and unfortunately for me, I was applying to more than that, so I opted for a classic google spread sheet. I highly recommend doing something to keep track of your process because for me, it helped me visualize how long it’s been since I applied for jobs and if I should follow up or not, etc. In the end I applied to 100+ jobs, mostly front-end developer roles, but also full-stack developer, software developer/engineer, entry-, junior-, and associate-level developers and some UI/UX developer roles.
*DISCLAIMER*
The application process is grueling. It’s a process. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes practice. It takes a lot of perseverance knowing that you’re not going to get every job you apply for, and you’re going to inevitably face multiple rejections (or maybe you’re a coding god and won’t ever get rejected… in that case, share your secrets to the world). But you just have to do it. I spent way too many hours combing through linkedin, glassdoor, indeed, etc. for job openings, as well as twitter, networking from local meetups, and even just visiting websites of companies near me to see if they had openings for tech jobs. Someone in the Chingu community posted on slack an article of the best times to apply for a job (whoever you are, I don’t remember unfortunately, but thank you!). It said between the hours of 7 A.M and 10 A.M. were the most optimal, and the very next day until I got my first job, I woke up before 7 A.M. every day to apply for jobs until 10 A.M.
Key Takeaways:
- Don’t put it off. Just start applying. The experience you get from applying is valuable.
- Recruiters did me no good. Job postings through indeed, linkedin, glassdoor, etc. were fine for finding the roles, but a more personal approach is better in my opinion (I would directly email the hiring manager or CTO/lead developer if possible).
- Spend some time to curate an incredible (and UNIQUE) cover letter. Every interview I went on was because I made well-tailored cover letter for that job specifically.
- Don’t put all your eggs into one basket. You’ll more than likely face rejection, but you need to persist and keep applying.
The Interview Process
After interviewing at multiple locations for multiple roles, I will say that it is indeed as daunting as you think going in, but not nearly as bad while you’re in it. The exception to that statement however, is that I never had to do a white board problem. Why not? Beats me. I actually prepped pretty aggressively for white board problems too. But IF you do have to do a white board problem, just remember to relax and stay focused.
I faced the typical round of interviews: (1) an email thanking me for my interest and setting up a phone call, (2) a phone screen to make sure I’m a human, (3) an in-person interview to make sure I’m a human they would want to be friends with, and (4) take-home assessments. Instead of white board problems I found the take-home assessments to be most relevant to the work they expected me to do and actually enjoyed doing them. Everybody’s interview process will be different but if you spend the proper amount of time preparing, you’ll do just fine and find yourself with a new job soon enough.
Key Takeaways:
- Don’t be nervous. But if you are, try not to show it.
- Be confident. Prove that you deserve the role.
- Remember that the interview is a two way street. You’re also interviewing the company to see if they’re a good fit for you.
- Always follow up. ALWAYS.
If you’re made it this far, then you’re either still looking for the secrets to getting a job or you just want to find out more about mine. Well as I mentioned before, there are no secrets. Just hard work, determination, and perseverance. Damn that sounded so cliché.
The New New
I accepted my role as a Software Developer for a small startup called GoTab, Inc. I waited several weeks before posting this because I wanted to make sure I was actually qualified for the job and not just fired immediately as a fraud, but it’s safe to say I’m still an employee and I was actually fortunate enough to push to master on day 1. While I was initially hoping to land a role as a front-end developer, I actually got hired on to traverse the full-stack. I often find myself doing lots of work on the front-end and back-end work, as well as working with databases. I love my new job, and it has great perks, but the best part is being able to learn from my peers and contribute directly to a software application that’s being used in the real world.
To all of you either just starting out or preparing to apply, I wish you the best of luck on your journey, and hope you found this article helpful along the way. The journey was definitely not easy, but well worth it. After all, I’m just trying to create all the things and drink all the coffee.
Until next time — Happy Coding!
