How Did Promineo Tech Grad, Paul Tuura, Land 3 Job Offers?
Navigating a job search can be a difficult task. Resumes, cover letters, phone screens, interviews, technical assessments, questions you should ask, questions you should not ask, body language, annunciation, and differing opinions of just about everything in between can make anyone feel utterly overwhelmed. That's why advice from someone who took an in-depth analysis while recently paddling the same boat can be so helpful. Paul Tuura, a recent graduate of Promineo Tech's Back End Software Developer program, landed three job offers in less than two months after graduating. How did he do it? This post outlines some key points Paul identified, in his own words, throughout his job search.
When asked what advice he'd give to future students in the job search, Paul said -
"Regarding job boards, stick to Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn for 90% of your job searches (the junk mail will never stop otherwise). Sign up for daily or weekly job alerts from those three sites, and you will have completed most of the heavy lifting. In my experience, recruiters were not helpful - my best guess is they focus less on entry level because they get a smaller commission.
"Job posting doesn't quite have a perfect description? Apply anyways.
Have a nice picture of you smiling that people can easily find, such as LinkedIn.
Start going to meetups 3 months ago. You have higher odds of getting a job through your network... because online job postings are a numbers game. Your resume, LinkedIn, cover letter, etc are a formula. If you get the formula right, you should expect something like a 15-25% response rate, 3-6% interview rate, and 1-3% job offer rate. If you are doing it right, expect a healthy dose of rejections. If you know the rules of the game, how "good" you are is much less important.
"Job posting wants an unreasonable number of years of experience? Apply anyways - maybe once they meet you they will decide a junior dev is okay!
Find people on LinkedIn that were in your shoes 6-12 months ago and ask them a question - it could be anything. I had an experience where a simple question led to this person referring me directly to her boss and getting me an interview.
You aren't good enough? Apply anyways!
"Learning is maybe 30% of the career-change formula, the other 70% is networking and job hunting. You learn 10x more on the job than you can in any program. I used my projects to help me become a strong candidate when job hunting. At really any new job, give it 3-6 months where learning your job is your top priority. As time goes on, both your both confidence and competence should rise."
As always, a job search will present unique variables that makes each individual experience different. Something that works for one person may not work for another, and something that worked for another person may not be the right approach for the first individual. However, learning what worked and what didn't work from multiple people who have gone through it themselves, and then using the advice to find what works best for you, is key.
Thank you, Paul, for sharing your job search advice!
