How did I find my first job in IT? Stupid and hungry
I am a developer and team lead. I have been in IT for 13 years. Worked in different types of companies. From small outsourcers and food companies with 20 people to international companies. I even managed to freelance. When I was looking for my first job in IT, I didn’t know that relatively large salaries were available there. I found my first job as a programmer when I was a 4th year student in Mechanics and Mathematics. Then we had to knock on the doorsteps of companies in person. Back then, no one had heard of online interviews. At 21, I successfully solved C++ and C# programming problems for my classmates: first for money, then for echpochmak. However, the only artifact that was in any way related to commercial development and which I could present at the interview was a small project for the regional department of the traffic police.
In the previous article, I talked about how to increase the chances of an employer responding to a novice specialist’s resume. In this article I will share my experience of finding my first job in IT. I think this experience will be especially useful for people who do not feel ready for a technical interview.
Feeblemindedness and Courage
Were the conditions at your first job ideal for accelerated growth? Probably not. Now I understand that an internship in a large IT company would bring me more benefits. But then I didn’t even know that there were such people. Looking back, I can say that the key factor that helped me find a job back then was high self-esteem or, even more precisely, the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Dialogue between the programmers at the interview and me:
– How would you rate your knowledge of .NET from 1 to 5?
– At 4.
To my surprise, the people sitting there laughed and replied that even Vasya Senor does not say that he knows 4 out of 5. It was a little offensive. Now I wouldn’t ask such questions, because I don’t see the point in them. Well, perhaps to check your self-esteem.
I note that I did not have the goal of finding a job for 100K June. The market was different then, and my goal was to find a job in IT, and not to find a high-paying job in IT. This is an important criterion for a successful job search. Thus, success for me was the fact of employment with a salary > 0.
First successes
After four interviews, I was hired. However, I only worked for that company for one day. On the first day, they told me what I would have to do – scanning websites, and showed me the code base. Everything would have been fine, but after lunch we were called to some emergency computer assistance task for the accounting department. I didn’t want to work as a “computer specialist,” so the next day I notified the employer and did not come to work without having time to register.
Immediately after that company, I had an interview with the head of a small outsourcing company, where I worked part-time until finishing my master’s degree. He dampened my emergency, but took me to work. My first long-term assignment was writing unit tests. I worked in that company for another 3 years and still remember with warmth how lucky I was to find such a team.
It sounds paradoxical. That peak of stupidity helped me find a job. What extremely annoys experienced professionals (including me) about amateurs increases their chances of success. I talked to many specialists already being an experienced developer and came to the conclusion that my experience is not unique and many entered IT at the peak of stupidity. This is a rather unpopular opinion, but unfortunately, I often see people hesitant to go for an interview because they are “not ready.” And if this makes sense for people with experience, then for those who are looking for their first job, such delay can lead to a valley of despair, where they will lose motivation for further search altogether.
The only thing I would warn against is getting stuck at the peak of stupidity. As soon as I got a job, I took on any task that was given to me. Fortunately, my first tasks were writing numerous unit tests. Over time, as I absorbed new knowledge, I certainly slipped into the valley of despair. To one degree or another, this step is necessary for further growth.
To summarize, here are 2 conditions that helped me find my first job in IT:
IN Telegram group Social Security We share our experiences and help each other pass social security in IT – join us.
More useful resources for juniors looking for work are in my profile.
