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Five Tips For Aspiring Tech People Right Out of College

May 14, 2018 No Comments

Featured article by Jeremy Sutter, Independent Technology Author

Entering the tech workforce right out of college can be daunting. As you’ll soon find out, most tech companies aren’t so eager to hire fresh college graduates who have no experience under their belt. And sure, you might find one or two job offers that are tech-related, but it’ll most likely end up a dead-end day job that has you doing the same menial tasks day in, day out. If you truly want to soar into the tech scene and find the right opportunities that will take shape you into a tech professional, here are five tips to follow:

Do Side Projects

Tech companies aren’t just looking for academic achievers. They want people who are passionate and driven. And the perfect way to showcase these two qualities is by doing side projects. Having several side projects up online can show headhunters that you are active in your space. Whether it’s building robots with Arduino boards or writing elegantly designed websites, side projects are a powerful way to get the attention of employers. For software projects, push your code on version control platforms, like Github. Make it your goal to push at least one commit to Github per day.

Network With Company Employees

One of the beautiful things about the tech industry is the transparency. You can learn all there is to learn about a company just by spending a few hours of research online. Check the About Us page of companies and look for the email or LinkedIn page of its employees and then arrange a meetup. This can yield good intel about the company’s culture as well as any job opportunities that have yet to be advertisd on online job boards. Networking with company employees is also a great way to test or gauge yourself about where you stand, tech-wise. Do you understand the technologies and terms that the person uses?

Consider Internships

Internships don’t have to end after college. You can still secure summer internship roles, which could eventually lead to a full-time job. Internship programs have a lot of benefits, such as the opportunity to educate you more about the tech industry, the ability to apply the knowledge and skills learned in a classroom, and of course there is the invaluable work experience that will look really good on your resume.

Attend Meetups

Tech meetups are very common these days. It’s a great place to learn about new tools and technologies as presented by people who are either the developers themselves or were part of the team who did. Attending meetups, however, doesn’t just grant you more knowledge about technologies; it also puts you closer to people who might have leads on a possible tech job at their company. Moreover, it’s a fun environment where you can find like-minded people, not to mention the free spreads that these events come with. Use sites, like Meetup.com to find upcoming local meetups and talks.

Consider Agencies

Agencies get a bad rep. They cut a percentage as fee from your monthly income or salary. Sometimes, they also direct you to subpar companies. Nevertheless, there are still many good agencies out there that can help you find a tech job. This is especially useful if you are fresh out of college and don’t know where to start. See if your college also offers outplacement services. Outplacement pricing, whether offered by your college or an agency, will vary widely based on several factors, but the range is between $500 to as much as $3,000 for premium packages.

Final Thoughts

The tech industry is a booming one, with billions of dollars spent by companies to find, hire, and train software engineers, UX developers, and IT experts each year. But with the lucrative opportunities comes the cutthroat competition present in the space Use the five tips above to give yourself a competitive edge against other job candidates.

 

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