Hey so I've had a lot of help in life and this is one step I've mastered with my friends. I can tell you how to do it, but not everyone has the motivation to follow this. If you don't, I'm sorry but this won't work for you.
THE MINDSET
Landing your first job comes from several steps:
- You need a good resume
- You need a lot of applications
- You need to get a lot of interviews
- You need to be good at interviews
(Note that 4 is after 3 because your first bunch of interviews will be about practice, not getting the job. It's free practice!)
THE RESUME
The resume is not a one step process. It's something that you should redesign and iterate on as time goes by. I personally wrote my resume in LaTeX since it stands out more than the black on white ones. If you to do this, create an account on Overleaf.com and ping me your username, I'll share you a copy of mine that you can just fill out with your info.
THE APPLICATIONS
This is the most crucial step, and the one people screw up. This is the step that you must listen to what I have to say, and you will get a job.
- REGISTER to Indeed.com
- FILL OUT your profile
- Search "Software Engineer"
- ONLY CLICK THE ONES THAT SAY QUICK APPLY
You should be able to apply to a posting in LESS THAN 30 seconds. If you are taking more than 30 seconds, you are doing it wrong.
Why?
- It's up to the company to decide if you're qualified, not you. So don't read the job posting
- With ZERO experience, it will take 60-90 applications per interview. At 110 applications an hour, that's just over 1 interview an hour. You don't have time to read the posting.
- If you're actually good at computers (you're on c/Linux afterall), this efficiency level shouldn't be a problem for you
Once you master this step, you've almost got your foot in the door and are ready to start your life. If you can't do this step, I can't help you.
Note: If you don't see "Quick Apply" on anything, get a free VPN and change your location to North America. It's not there for some countries.
THE INTERVIEWS
The interviews are about 2 things:
- Can this guy communicate?
- Can this guy code?
THE ORDER OF IMPORTANCE IS AS LISTED. When I ask someone to write an algorithm to find all the prime numbers less than some N and they start making typos in the editor while not talking, I'm not hiring them. If someone writes a brute force O(n^2) solution but talks me through it as they go, they still have a chance.
Let me be clear: If you cannot communicate, I will not hire you even if you have the most optimal solutions.
So how do you communicate?
- When solving a problem, legit just explain your thought process. The interviewer will know where you are and give you hints too when you do this ;)
- When answering a behavioural question, tell a story
- i.e "Tell me about a time you had a successful project, but still weren't satisfied with the results" you should explain everything from what made you want to start/contribute on the project, to the crux of the problem, and to what you did to make it better in the end
- Check out this guide on the STAR method if you have a hard time with this (trust me - it works!)
THE OFFERS
When negotiating the offer, note a few things:
- The salary range for the title in that area
- If they ask how much you want, give a RANGE - The lowest being the 60k or the bare minimum you'll accept (whichever is higher, if you think you're worth less than 60k you're just wrong), and the highest being 90-100k for your first position
- Don't feel pressured to accept your offer right away - you get raises by switching jobs, not doing well; start this early, get multiple offers, and pick the best one
I'm past the point in my life of getting that "first job", but I've been there. You have to understand something: People don't like being uncomfortable, but your comfort zone won't get you a job. Do it. You can do it.