7 Step Strategy To Get Job When Starting or Switching Career
Are you a career starter or switcher to join the software industry?
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Are you a college and planning to get a job soon after finishing?
Are you looking to get a job as a software developer?
Do you want to make a career switch and you want to know exactly what you should learn to get a job immediately?
Here’s a guide that can help you identify the top skills and make sure you are employable right out of the gate.
1. Find local jobs
Find the job portal where most software engineering jobs are posted in your local area.
Look at the opportunities where there are requirements for juniors with 1-3 years of experience. Search for 2-5 years of experience if you are unable to find jobs with lesser experience.
If you want to work remotely, identify the target market and search for jobs in that area. You also need to look if jobs are offering remote opportunities.
Take a month or two researching to get as much data as possible.
Pro-tip: Create email alerts to get job notifications.
2. Identify skills group
Once armed with market insights, the next step is to identify the skills employers seek.
Job descriptions highlight the key skills and technologies companies are looking for.
Analyze multiple job postings to identify commonalities and prioritize skills that consistently appear.
If you are looking to become a Java developer, you need to know Java. But check what other keywords are there. Is there Springboot, JPA, or Cloud Computing? Are there any CI/CD tools being used?
This step lays the foundation for a focused and efficient learning path.
These also become the keywords that you can put in your resume.
3. Learning 80% skills
Instead of trying to learn all technologies, focus on the 80/20 rule.
Identify the 20% of skills that contribute to 80% of job requirements.
This targeted approach allows for a quicker and more effective skill acquisition.
In the Java developer example, you would look at learning Java, Springboot, Jenkins, GitHub, and working with databases. It might cover you for most of the jobs for you.
4. Create projects
Now is the time to create projects.
Create a project that ties all the skills into one project. The project can be simple.
What matters is that the project should show your competency in using those skills highlighted in your job research.
It doesn’t have to include everything from the start.
e.g. you can implement a simple Springboot application with Postgres DB. The cloud computing stuff can come later. The CI/CD part is also in the next or later iteration.
You follow the Agile approach of building it iteratively and cater to complex requirements as you go.
What this does is, you go deep in learning and also have a project always to share for interviews.
It also helps you focus on one part and go deep without spreading yourself thin,
5 Networking
Attend local meetups, tech conferences, and virtual events to connect with professionals in the industry.
It gives you an insight into what’s happening in the industry.
You can also ask questions about your approach and you might get some insights into it and also some face-time with recruiters in a casual setting.
6. Exercise your soft-skills
In the tech industry, it's not just about the code.
Soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving are equally vital.
Meetups are a great place to exercise your soft skills. It will help you talk technology and your projects to strangers.
What that does, is it will give you practice for talking about your project in an actual interview.
7. Real-world Application
Internships and freelance projects provide invaluable real-world experience.
Seek opportunities that align with your skill set and career goals.
Short projects can still teach you about challenges you'll encounter in a full-time job.
Conclusion
Securing a job in the tech industry requires a holistic approach.
You want to be smart with your approach.
Understanding the local job market is critical as you might get swayed away by the latest happenings in the industry.
What that will do is you will spend time learning something that nobody or only a few companies need.
Using this approach will simplify your journey to get a software developer job.
📣 Shoutouts of the week
6 skills required to be a senior software engineer by
A well-thought-out skills required for senior software engineer.
How Shopify Handles Flash Sales at 32 Million Requests per Minute by
- Great visuals and story-telling on scalingWhat Every Developer Should Know About GPU Computing by
- Great article on GPU computing.
hey, thanks for the shoutout.