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Getting a Tech Job with No Experience

morgana on February 15, 2019

I see so many folks out there trying to make their way into tech. They are often frustrated because they keep seeing โ€œEntry-level with 2 years of e...
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David Neuman

Great points! Reminds me of an article I read recently on AngelList:

angel.co/blog/why-you-should-apply...

Will keep many of these tips in mind as I begin my development journey. Thanks for this!

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morgana

Good article! I agree with it 100%. Good luck on the journey!

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Mikael Klages

Yeah, personal projects are great for ypur resume, especially if they're in the language you're going to work in, or use relevant frameworks.

Learning to write clean and readable code can also help a lot if you show them your code. Ugly code can cause a lot of problems, and simply knowing how to follow a style-guide can do wonders.

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morgana

I love style guides! Those alone can make a big difference. Also a lot of that initial code will probably be ugly and that's okay. The more one codes and learns, the better it'll get.

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Jesse Gabriel

On a related note, I have a friend who is a tech recruiter and one of the things that he mentioned (which I attribute to helping me get a job) is to ALWAYS put as many tech jargon related to the commpany's job requirement. A lot of resume goes to an automated filing system before it even reaches to the recruiter or hiring manager. These machines sort out resume by searching those keywords. Of course, not ALL companies have an automated system like this, but a lot of big companies do.

Some people dislike the use of tech jargon in their resume, but the important thing is to get your foot in the door and get that interview.

P.S. If you put those tech jargon in your resume, at least have some basic understanding of what those are.

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morgana

I hate this but it's true. When I find a spot I want to apply to, I'll look over my resume and see if I can line it up better with the job descriptions.

I was actually thinking about talking resumes in this post but I think that'll be my next one.

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Ian Mostar • Edited

Greate advice.
I remember my first design & tech job.
I created 3 hypothetical websites HTML/CSS, basic jQuery, each 5 pages purely static. I created Gallery, Services/Menu page and Contact Form (it was not even dynamic).

That landed me a Wordpress theme developer and the rest followed.

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Jason C. McDonald

Bravo for you! Yes, there are plenty of companies willing to hire an honest, hard-working greenhorn. Bonus for us: you don't bring an ego to the table.

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lepinekong

"Me: This will be a waste of time." indeed you've been lucky they've been so patient I'm not sure I'd had done the same with you :D

I confirm, for some basic development jobs, companies prefer cheap and young, in some countries like France, below 26 years old, government even gives subvention. Problem is then that there is more and more ageism problem including in big companies so that contrary to popular belief more than 7 years experiences can even become an handicap sometimes.

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Stephen Smith

Good article. I am finishing up school (yay! 1 month left). Looking for a job but thank goodness I have a job right now. Gotta pay the bills or at least try. Thanks for the encouraging read.

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morgana

Good luck!