Hello everyone, this is Sachin Devdhar. I graduated from Humber College in August, 2022 and will soon be starting my first job in the Canadian Tech market with Bank Of Montreal (BMO) as a Fullstack Software Developer.
A small disclaimer before we jump right into it: This is my personal experience with job hunting as a 'new grad' or 'entry level' software developer, but most of these steps might be applicable to all levels of experience. It's going to be a long read so please bear with me.
Job hunt is obviously a tedious and extensive process but I like to divide it into 4 major steps:
- Networking is one of the strongest tools in your bag. I started networking with industry professionals, recruiters, and senior developers from the company that I desired to work with.
- Join as many groups and threads on LinkedIn and surround yourself with people having similar experiences and mindsets.
- Maintain a consistent online presence (Eg: Github) and keep your LinkedIn profile up to date.
- Keep working on some side projects that portray your skillset.
- Keep your basics clear. As a new grad, companies are definitely looking for a good developer but what they are looking for more, is someone who shows enthusiasm and willingness to learn new things, a good team player, and someone who communicates fearlessly.
- 'Early bird gets the worm’. Start applying to 'New Grad' roles at least 3-4 months prior to your graduation. I started my applications somewhere around the first week of May 2022 as I was graduating in August 2022.
- Build a good resume with a simple format that the ATS can scan. Write descriptions for your projects in a way that highlights important features like your contribution, its efficiency, accuracy, or basically why is it better than something that is already there.
- Keep applying daily because consistency is the key. Also, stick to one resume for at least 2-3 weeks before changing it every now and then. The algorithm takes time to push your profile to recruiters.
- Simultaneously, keep practicing basic hacker rank like questions to brush up your coding skills. If you are targeting FAANG or similar companies, leetcode medium is a must.
- Don’t stick to a specific language or tech stack. As a new grad, the companies expect you to be open to a variety of opportunities.
- My Experience: I heard back from the team somewhere around the last week of May 2022, asking me to submit a video assessment on their portal which consisted of a few basic questions like: Introduce yourself, why are you an ideal candidate for this role/company, and what are your long-term/short-term goals.
- Well, you are already halfway there from getting your dream job!
- Before your interview, thoroughly read through the JD and do your due diligence by doing an ample amount of research.
- This will help you ask questions at the end, which doesn’t seem so important, but actually makes you stand out compared to other candidates.
- Remember, hiring managers don’t expect you to answer all the questions correctly. So be confident about your approach and communication is the key. If you are able to explain how you arrived to your answer, even if it's not completely correct, you definitely get props for attempting.
- My experience: I heard back from the HR team by the end of the first week of June 2022, and interviewed for a Fullstack position mainly focusing on Java. My interview mainly revolved around topics like abstraction and interface in Java, REST/SOAP API’s, my GitHub projects, capstone project, and a few behavioral questions.
- I really like this idea of appreciating the interviewer and the recruiter by sending a ‘thank you email’.
- Most of the time people feel there is no need for this as it doesn’t really make a difference. But, I see it as a way to thank them for interviewing me and closing off with why I believe myself to be an ideal candidate.
- If there is a positive response from the HR team, you might have an HR round wherein they explain to you the compensation package.
- To prepare for that, use tools like glassdoor, indeed, levels.fyi and always know your worth.
- My Experience: I anxiously waited after my interview to hear back and luckily, a couple of days later, that is the second week of June 2022, the team extended me an offer with a start date of September 2022 as a Fullstack Software Developer (Java).
To sum up, I know job hunting is a challenging process, but it doesn’t have to be if you are well prepared in advance. Best of luck to everyone who is looking for jobs, believe in yourself and January 2023 grads, brace yourselves!! The new hiring cycle begins in mid-September 2022 for positions starting in Jan/Feb 2023. If there is still anything else I can help you with, feel free to drop me a text at www.linkedin.com/in/sachindevdhar