Starting the Job Hunt
Hello all! This week I want to talk about the job hunt, graduating, coding, and freelance work.
1 I should mention that I graduated from my bootcamp a few weeks ago. The course was 12 weeks and it was simultaneously really long - and really short somehow.
I definitely miss it; I had a very good routine of getting up early, riding the subway downtown, studying, working hard, and going to bed exhausted. Now, the hard part...
2 Probably the most difficult task for any student is finding work*. Searching LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter for postings is easy; but it’s hard to find one that I’m technically qualified for! Many jobs seem to want “x years of experience”, or a Computer Science degree, or mastery of 20 or 30 languages.
*I lucked out my last job hired me out of school because that’s not happening.
My current target is to send at least 2 quality applications a day, 10 a week, which means a customized cover letter for every single application. With all this practice I’m getting better at writing them. 😋
3 Spending so much time applying to jobs, I don’t want to get rusty at coding so I’m trying to do at least 2 to 3 hours every day. It’s not as much as when I was studying, but I do what I can.
I’ve been working on my personal portfolio, and an independent project as well. The portfolio is basic HTML CSS, and the independent project is React.js, Python, Bootstrap, and connects to an external API. I’ll post links to both once they’re more complete.
4 I’ve been going full-tilt on networking through LinkedIn; I think I’ve added 100–150 people in the past few months. They say it’s not what you know but who you know, so hopefully, I connect to the right person!
The big ones I’ve attended were the Startup Open House at MaRS District, and the T.O. Tech Career Fair at Roy Thompson Hall. I met a bunch of hiring managers, CEOs, recruiters, and PR reps. They said that 4,000 people registered, and it felt like it!
Protip: Bring water, stay hydrated! Also energy bars. And leave backpack at home. Oh and extra resumes.
5 My sister suggested trying freelance webdev to gain some experience and add to my portfolio, so I posted ads on Craig’s List and Kijiji. And I’ve had many “unusual” offers. 😑
So far it’s a bit problematic. Without a lot of experience and fresh out of school, I don’t know how much to charge. And some people want a lot of work for just a fraction of the true cost. At this point in time, I’m not even sure if the time investment is worth gaining the experience.
Happy Coding!
