A story and reflection written by our Flocker Graduate from the Class of April 2019 as he flies the nest and settles into his new role and life.
Before Flockjay, I was frustrated and growing tired of working different kinds of jobs with no real skills needed or career growth in sight. Sure, I learned a lot about how to communicate and problem-solve while working tech support and bartending and hosting events, but I wasn’t learning hard skills that would give me financial mobility and stability. Then, it just so happened that I came across Flockjay.
While intrigued, I was afraid of the time commitment and skeptical if the things I’d learn would be as relevant as the marketing claimed. I was also unsure of how successful the job placement would be, seeing as how Flockjay was so new and, at the time, hadn’t graduated a class yet. I knew that it was a really promising company from an article I read in Tech Crunch, so I gave it a chance and dug a little deeper, coming across Shaan’s posts on HackerNews. As Shaan chronicled more about the story of Flockjay, I saw that it really had a mission to teach people skills that would give them the boost they needed to get upward mobility. So I took the leap and applied. Long story short, I got in.
Immediately, I experienced what makes Flockjay different from other bootcamps and academies. Flockjay nurtured the community and put empowering Flockers’ growth professionally (and personally) first, no matter what. Being able to make friends in a positive and encouraging environment was really helpful to my learning. More importantly, knowing I wasn’t alone in this intense journey since I saw my fellow Flockers live every night in class gave me the support and community I needed to actually learn and not just self-study from pre-recorded lectures. Having the opportunity to be positive and encouraging for others was also a great learning experience for me that taught me more about myself as an empathetic person — bonus win!
More bonuses: all the interview prep and the practice email reps and working through telling our stories were really impactful in my professional growth. Beyond being taught by industry leaders with an innovative curriculum developed specifically by Flockjay, the personal attention given to my personal brand really helped push me above other candidates for my interviews.
Flockjay encouraged (some might say overtly pushed) me to invest a lot of my time to work and practice my interview questions. The attention given again and the resources provided were incredibly impactful and something I wish was industry standard to anyone looking for a job. I was never nervous going into an interview, and I was rarely stumped.
I’m often asked: when did I know Flockjay was the right choice for me? When I was interviewing with Flockjay Hiring Partners, I realized that this was my opportunity to be a part of that Startup Romance Story where I could be on the ground floor of a tiny company and be instrumental in its meteoric rise. I realized after that that that’s not what I wanted, but having the opportunity really made it feel like this was, and is, real.
Today, I am an Account Development Representative for Red Bay Coffee. I’m most excited about creating and crafting processes to grow and expand this business while selling a product that I believe in (and consume myself). This wasn’t something I could have got into without Flockjay’s help and I don’t see the journey as a Flocker ending here. I see Flockjay giving me opportunities to showcase the skills I learned from class and from my new position, and opportunities to make friends all around the world.
I want to contribute to the Flockjay community the way the community has contributed to my growth and success. So, I’m happy to answer any questions current or potential future students might have, practice interview questions with them (to get into Flockjay and to get a job post-Flockjay), edit Flocker resumes, and work through personal statements and stories because I know now that my personal brand is as important as the skills I have thanks to Flockjay.
Yido is now happily nested at Red Bay Coffee as an Account Development Representative in the San Francisco Bay Area. We couldn’t be prouder to share his story and successes!
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At Flockjay, we are proud of how far our students have come, and we know this is just the beginning. If you want to launch your own career in tech, submit an application. (app.flockjay.com)
