Tips For Landing Your First Tech Position

Lauren Ko, Supervisor, Software Development UnitNancy K. Reis, Communications SpecialistMark Phillips, Associate DeanDigital Libraries Division, UNT Libraries

Disclaimer

- Not certified hiring authority - Speaking from personal hiring experience

Introduction

- Applying for jobs - Considering your resume - Standing out with a cover letter - Preparing for the interview

Applying for Jobs

- Target jobs matching your interests

Applying for Jobs

Research position, products, department, employer

- Determines if you want to apply - Allows tailoring your resume and cover letter - Informs questions for the interview - Impresses hiring team

Applying for Jobs

Make it easy for hiring manager

- Read the instructions on the job posting - Avoid conflicting info on application and resume

Resume

- Adapt for the specific position - Contextualize your tech knowledge - Don't only list skills (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Python) - Describe projects using the skills relevant to the position

Resume

Resume

Make it easy for non-tech people

- Expect non-tech people on hiring team - Use tech words from job posting - Don't over describe projects - Link to code/online projects - Check for typos

Cover Letter

- Use business letter format - Acknowledge specific position/employer/products - Describe how you personally fit the position - Show your potential - Explain oddities (e.g. seeking a pay cut) - Check for typos and grammatical errors

Cover Letter: Bad

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am a recent computer science graduate with
coursework in algorithms, Java, and C++. Based
on my qualifications, I am a perfect fit for
your job.

Please contact me at 555-555-5555 to set up an
interview.

Sincerely,
Someone who doesn't care that much
                                                

Cover Letter: Better

Dear Ms. Hirey,

I found your Digital Libraries Programmer position listed on the UNT HR
website. I am excited to apply because I would like to be part of an
organization like UNT Libraries that makes resources available to a global
community with projects like the UNT Digital Collections.

I already possess several skills your job posting lists as desired. I recently
graduated with a degree in computer science where I specialized in building
web applications. This has given me experience working in a Linux environment
deploying PHP applications in Apache with a MySQL database backend. While I do
not have much experience working in Python, I have recently begun learning the
language and am using it to build a small web application to catalog my
personal music collection. The code is available at
http://github.com/imajobseeker189x/py-music-catalog.

I currently work as a customer service representative where I have gained
experience working as part of a team and serving customers' needs. Such
work has trained me to collaborate with others and to be considerate of user
needs. I believe that this experience, combined with my technical background,
makes me a strong candidate to serve your library's user community.

I am available to discuss the position at anytime that is convenient for you
at 555-555-5555. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Ima Jobseeker
                                                

Interview

Interview

Those default things

- Dress up more than hiring team - Show up on time (not late or too early) - Be respectful

Interview

You will be nervous

- Lots of tech and non-tech questions - It's okay to not know answers - Be honest if you don't know - Express an interest to find out - Show your potential and confidence

Interview

Expect to work problems

- Write pseudocode to show basic programming/logic understanding - Design a class for an object - Explain a code snippet

Interview

Interview

Expect to work problems

- If you struggle, talk problem out and explain how you would approach it - If hiring team helps you work problem out and learn, that's a good sign - If hiring team is mean about your effort, it's a bad fit

Interview

Ask Questions

- Interviews go both ways - Hiring team likes to be asked questions     What projects are you working on?     What do you use for version control?     What are the biggest challenges you see related to programming? - The answers indicate their values and direction - The answers let you know if you want the job

Summary

- Employers need to hire tech people - You don't need every desired skill - Show your intelligence and potential - Convince employers you want their jobs

Discuss