Entry Level Tech

There is the idea that software engineering has a high level of entry requirements because the subject matter is difficult, and it is even more difficult to accurately judge talent. The general process of many employers from small businesses to large Fortune 500 corporations usually involves a series of interviews, some code assessment (or take home assignment), and on-site conversations or panels with prospective team members in attempt to field strong candidates that are knowledgeable. The closing rounds of an interview process usually involves the panel conversations and an internal discussion that takes into consideration the candidates ability to adapt to their work and culture. It is these final rounds where decisions for offers are made and can lead to a lot of frustration and uncertainty when there is no feedback.

What Do I Need to Know?

As part of the job search process it has been helpful to document contacts and applications for listings. A large part of breaking into software engineering is deciding what language to learn, what stack to build projects with, and a common refrain is “Should I learn ${language}?”.

A helpful exercise that was given to me was to jot down on a spreadsheet common technologies/soft skills, accreditation, that listings for your desired role are requiring - then simply note the number of occurrences of each item for each listing for jobs in your local area. This helps to identify not only what technologies and frameworks local employers would frequently hire for, but also to help prioritize skills by order of importance (frequency of appearance) to help boost visibility on your resumes or projects. For example, by identifying Front End roles it is easy to come across common frameworks like React/Angular/Vue along with the core HTML/CSS/JS foundation - other roles liked to have Figma experience as well as working with designers to demonstrate industry knowledge.

Build Best Practices

As you progress through the job hunt process whether it is the first time or umpteenth time, it is important to develop good habits (care for physical/mental health, balancing priorities, time management) that can help you to accommodate the hours needed to actively apply and interview. The schedule on my calendar was blocked off for 1-2 hour periods every other day where I could work on one aspect of the process - perhaps I find it’s easier to focus on personal projects once I’ve gotten some smaller tasks out of the way, or that I prefer to reach out/respond to contacts in the beginning of the week, but the calendar method helps to visualize and keep track of the work committed. Additionally I would also keep track of important contacts, emails and other notes of each interview/round. I often will rely on these notes as sometimes the interviews are very overwhelming and it is hard to remember exact questions/code challenges - reviewing the notes helps to build confidence in your skill and opportunities to review/refactor!