How to get your first IT job: Is technical knowledge enough?
Coding will be learned by anyone who is persistent enough and who wants it. But code does not make a programmer.
In addition to coding, it is important to develop other skills that will introduce you to the IT world and secure your first job.
Let's start with the assumption that you want your first job to be a place where you can progress, where your team will be good, and the salary is ok for a beginner. If the projects are also interesting, it is a complete hit.
What skills will lead you to that job?
Together with the ConEEct Students organization, we have prepared a couple of skills development guidelines that will help you get your first job in IT.
ConEEct Students organizes professional conferences for students, employment fairs and cooperation with companies from the IT world, in order to empower students to get their first job in IT.
From their experience, these are some of the skills that all students need to master before entering the job market, and they don't have the opportunity to learn them in college.
Learn how to find the right opportunities for you
The IT scene in Serbia is large, diverse and constantly expanding. During your studies, chances are high that you will hear about a couple of companies that cooperated with your college and a few more that invested a little more in marketing and employer branding. This is not the case with all companies. About 2,000 IT companies are currently operating in the territory of Serbia. So the choice is great.
A couple of tips:
โ Look at company profiles where it is presented what they do, what technologies they use, what kind of projects they work on
โ Connect with fellow IT community members via Joberty Community, LinkedIn, reddit, Discord Server.
โ Participate in conferences where you can hear first-hand information, and experiences of employees, connect with colleagues from other fields
Learn how to present your abilities
Once you've decided in which area you want to further your education and find a job, it's time to take your first steps towards it.
So you have certain knowledge, but it is necessary to present it. You will best present your knowledge by uploading projects to a git service such as GitHub. If you know in which field you want to look for a job, choose a few projects that best represent your abilities.
A couple of tips:
โ The quality of the projects is more important, not the quantity
โ If you don't have a lot of projects behind you, look at which skills are most often required in job ads for the field you are interested in and fill git with projects from that field
โ Adapt the portfolio to the position you are applying for
Learn how to introduce yourself
When you join a new team, you bring not only your knowledge and abilities but also your organizational skills, character, excess or lack of optimism, and communicativeness. These are things that cannot be seen in your portfolio and in order to catch the attention of recruiters - especially as a beginner, who does not have many projects and experience behind him, you have to know how to get their attention. Therefore - learn how to write a good CV.
A couple of tips:
โ CV should not be longer than one page
โ Write clearly and directly, do not complicate
โ Adapt your CV to each new position you apply for
โ If you have, show extracurricular activities and trainings (shows that you have initiative)
Learn how to prepare for an interview
You already know that in most companies there are technical and HR interviews. Each company has a different approach to interviews, some will consist of several tasks, some can be just a simple test of your knowledge and the way you think. Although it seems like it's just a casual conversation, you need to prepare for every interview. Anxiety is inevitable, and if you prepare well, you can reduce it.
A couple of tips:
โ Research on Joberty what the interview is like at the company you are applying to
โ Prepare answers to questions about yourself
โ Prepare your questions for recruiters
โ Always take time to prepare for the technical part of the interview, even if you are very confident in your knowledge of the field
โ If you have someone, organize "mock" interviews where you will practice your answers
These are some basic things you need to master in order to successfully land your first job in the IT profession. You can learn them in various ways - through tutorials, videos, professional articles and courses.
One of the more interesting ways to learn more about these skills is through job fairs and conferences.
In the coming period, ConEEct Students will organize two events where you will be able to participate in workshops and education that deal with these skills, but also to meet representatives of IT companies and learn about the domains of their work and the projects they are working on.
ConEEct 2021
The third regional conference of students of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
๐ Date and venue: 29.10-1.11.2021. on Zlatibor
Students from Novi Sad, Belgrade, Niลก, ฤaฤak, Subotica, Banja Luka, East Sarajevo, Tuzla...
Two panel discussions will be held at the conference, in which people from Top Level Management positions, such as Head HRs from companies such as HTEC, Continental, Eryce and Elsys, will participate, and the moderator will be from the Joberty team.
They will give you answers to the questions that mostly bother beginners, such as:
โ How to get your first job?
โ How to prepare for an interview?
โ How to write a CV?
And you will have the opportunity to hear the experiences of people who have decided on completely different career paths. They will tell you what it looks like:
โ Work in one company for ten years and build your career there
โ Work at college and build an academic career
โ To venture into entrepreneurial waters and build a company that operates on a global level
โ Work as a freelancer and build your career through many different projects
In addition, practical workshops and education will be organized on professional topics, which will be held by employees from IT companies who apply their knowledge in these areas in practice every day.
Conferences of this type are a great way to learn how some companies work first-hand, as well as to gain practical knowledge that will help you find your first job. Of course, socializing and connecting with colleagues from the profession, and sharing experience is something that is a part of every conference - and perhaps the most important part.
ConEEct Networking Day
Communication and employment fair
๐ Date and venue: 19.10.2021. from 1 pm to 4 pm in the corridors of the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, Serbia
10+ IT companies will be present
At employment fairs, you can get to know a large number of companies, their business domains, as well as the types of projects they work on. You can communicate directly with company representatives and learn about the internship programs they offer.
In previous years, students used this route to get their first professional internships, which led them to their first paid positions in the profession.
Maybe this is a sign that you too should apply and land your first job with the help of the ConEEct Students event in October!
