Advice on Getting Your First Developer Job?

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  currentfad on 26/03/2016 - 02:49

  +2

  No don't omit your work experience from your resume…you can talk about skills/qualities you've developed from that job which can be applied in the position you're applying for. Secondly, yes internships are always great as an undergrad, as (big) companies look to rehire interns for their grad positions. In saying that, I know that a lot of startups are unpaid, in which case you need to ask yourself whether they're just exploiting you since you're free… Pretty sure there are some regulations regarding what makes an "unpaid" internship legal, but you can find that yourself.

  Study hard but don't just study 24/7. Keep a good balance with extra-curriculars may that be sports, societies etc. Marks themselves don't get you a job.

  Networking wise I don't have much to give since I don't know how it works in your field, but as a business student "networking" is not the golden ticket to a job. Networking (with company reps) is getting to know the company, their roles, what the culture is like etc…and if you have a good experience with the rep, then maybe you can ask for their contact details (usually Linkedin). Be confident (not arrogant).

  • 

    mysteryely on 26/03/2016 - 03:40

    Thanks for the reply and advice!
    I'll search through the net for information on unpaid internships.
    I also think I need to add some extracurricular to my life as all I do is socialise, uni and go to the gym.

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  psyren89 on 26/03/2016 - 03:19

  +1

  Background on me: finished a music degree, started CS, did a 6 month internship at IBM, now employed full time as a developer analyst.

  1: I'd say no - don't "work" for free, especially not for no-name startups (unless they're doing recognised charity work).
  Contributions to open source projects (particularly well known or widely used ones) are a good way to get some "real" experience and can net you brownie points with smaller companies that lean on such things. With larger companies, it really depends on whether the interviewer knows what you're talking about.

  2: Depends on what roles you apply for. Some companies may hire with the intention to train from the ground up, others will want someone they can point and a project and say "go".
  Since you mentioned web app development, I'd suggest learning Rails.

  3: Study - learn by doing. Do, do, do. Pull apart and change any tutorials/examples you come across to see what you can do with them. There's nothing worse than interviewing a potential developer who says they've got experience in X, then finding out they just followed a "Baby's First X Project" tutorial.

  Networking - "it's not who you know, it's who knows you".
  You might like to see if there are any functions on at your uni run by the Australian Computer Society or similar - that's how I got into the industry. It can't hurt to turn up and see if any company employees/reps there know of any job/internship openings. At the very least, you'll probably get free food out of it.

  4: If you are indeed brand new to the CS scene, you'll need to get your programming skills up to scratch - this will make you appear less costly/destructive to potential employers.
  You can mention your unrelated work experience on your resume, but keep it succinct. If you have no related work experience, you should fill out the space with some info on the CS projects you've done (if you haven't done any yet, this is going to be problematic) - that's what I did.

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    mysteryely on 26/03/2016 - 03:43

    Thanks these are really great ideas!
    I'll have a look on some open source projects and see how I can contribute (if I can with my junior skills haha).
    I've also got to take a look at rails. I'm thinking of going to a ruby on rails instalfest through meetup.com when the next one comes up. Do you think this is a good idea?

    These are all great ideas!
    cheers!

    • 

      psyren89 on 26/03/2016 - 17:33

      +1

      Open source projects can provide some easy, low-hanging fruit to work with. For example, you might look through the issues tracker and see that "this feature lacks documentation" or "this feature has a simple bug". Fixing it will demonstrate/get you source control, programming language, and project knowledge.
      As an aside, git is a skill you definitely want to be well versed in, particularly the "git flow" methodology.

      Going to Meetup events is a pretty good way to get involved. Just beware events run solely by beginners - the blind leading the blind is never a good situation to be in. If you can't ask good questions, aren't asked good questions, and don't receive good answers, don't bother going back.

      Lastly, you should also read Code Complete (2nd edition). You can probably find free copies of it online (though they shouldn't be there).

      • 

        mysteryely on 29/03/2016 - 19:13

        Thanks I'll keep that in mind. I'll have a look at codecomplete!
        I think I'll start with htmlcss and javascript for my programming language. Also going to learn some git on the advice of you.

        I'll have some look at some open source projects too. Thanks for the advice!

      • 

        psyren89 on 29/03/2016 - 21:32

        +1

        @mysteryely:
        If you're going to go into Rails, you'll want to also look up HAML, SASS, and Coffeescript.

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  RobMel on 26/03/2016 - 07:14

  +1

  Hi,
  Before you do any work paid or unpaid suggest study and do your own project.
  Start with existing source code you run on a server at home and modify it, think of what you want to achieve in terms of features/functions/look and feel, then work out how to do it.
  Consider which tools and languages you want to use and are in demand.

  When you start work best bet would be to do charity work, something local.
  Build up linkedin in profile, hook up with friends who study with you, family and family friends…
  Check out other profiles, keep it professional, eg to mention you might like computer games which helps you to improve your user experience skills is ok, to mention you light first person shooters games because you like to see blood maybe not a bright a idea.
  If you put a pic up, make sure you are presentable as a professional, clean, decent clothing..

  For the first job don't be too choosy, grab what you can nd stick with it for a while.

  When looking for the next jobs consider what are your goals (these will themselves evolve and change during career, that's Ok).
  In small boutique companies you will likely only learns a small segment of industry and techniques with limited career options, but it is a more family like environment.
  Large corporations will offer more variety, better career prospects and will demand more formal education. They will also likely be less personal.

  • 

    mysteryely on 29/03/2016 - 19:12

    Thanks this is great advice!!
    Sorry for the late response. Been caught up in some things the last couple of days so I haven't been able to check ozb. I think I'll start with htmlcss and javascript and maybe start by attending some meetups.
    Also need to make a linkedin profile..

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  scotty on 09/04/2016 - 10:04

  +1

  Ruby on Rails — that's so 2006 :) However great tool to learn if you are delving into existing projects. If you are picking something up for a brand new project, there are many other options. Great replies here already.

  1. Don't work for free even for an internship job or unknown startup. The cost of starting something is so low now you might as well work on your own project.

  2. If the question is just about the possibility, then the answer would be YES! However if it's about the probability, then it would be "low". When I was hiring in my previous job, we are willing to hire fresh grads with zero experience, does not even know the programming language we are using, but shows great potential in understanding, ability to pick up new technology quickly and a good team player. That's an ISV with deep R&D budget though.

  3. No need to study anything too deeply — you are not a specialist and should learn to pick up things quickly at job instead. However have a broad knowledge and a sense on how the industry is going. It's also about who knows you in networking so be good friends with top guns in your course so they might refer you when they get picked up by big firms :) What uni are you in? The big ones (UNSW, USyd, UTS) all run startup events so go there and meet people.

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    mysteryely on 17/04/2016 - 18:13

    Thanks for all this great advice! :)
    I'll keep that in mind while I'm looking for internships in June/July!

    I go to unsw so I'll be attending those events! Thanks scotty