After Nearly 2 Years, I'm Job Hopping - A Snippet of my Journey and Farewell to the Company That Launched My Software Career

TL;DR: Long post ahead. I feel the need to write this blog about my current career status and the recent decision I made. I'll be job hopping and moving on to a new role at another company. I want to document this event in my life, as this will be the first time I’m doing it, and I want to put these feelings and memories into writing before they fade from my memory.

Taking my shots on other opportunities

About six to seven months ago, I began actively exploring other potential ways to earn money aside from having a full-time job. As the breadwinner among four siblings, I realized that eventually, the amount I am currently earning would not be enough to support my siblings' education.

I decided to explore freelancing. I thought that maybe I had what it takes to do freelance work since, as a full-stack developer, I am quite knowledgeable about building web apps and solutions from planning to implementation. So, I watched YouTube videos and read articles on freelancing and how to get clients online as a freelancer. I also allocated some time to research how I could get a job and earn on popular freelancing platforms.

I spent a lot of time figuring out how to get a client on Upwork, but the closest I got to having a potential client was when someone accepted me to deploy an open-source chatbot builder app on a virtual machine instance. Unfortunately, it didn't go well, as the client did not get back to me after I asked to set up domains for the app. Along with this, I also spent some of my time on other freelancing platforms, setting up my profile and then bidding for job/work postings day after day. I kept repeating this until I eventually gave up hope of landing a gig on freelance work platforms and decided to do something productive with my time. I enrolled in a UI/UX course on Coursera since most of the work posted on freelancing platforms is usually front-end and design-oriented.

While working full-time as a developer, I also began setting up my profile on corporate career platforms such as LinkedIn and JobStreet. It was a really tough phase because I wanted to ensure that I didn't compromise my performance at work with the other efforts that I was doing on the side. Therefore, I had to make some trade-offs with my personal time outside of work. This led me to forgo mainstream entertainment and stop watching movies. The only personal time I had was when I needed to clean, go shop for food, and have conversations to catch up with my partner.

However, I did not regret the time spent making my career profile presentable. I kept thinking that maybe I am ready for mid-level developer workloads since I sometimes handled tasks at my full-time job that were a bit advanced for my current level. So, I started saving mid-level job postings and applying to company career pages from time to time. I changed my social media habits, spending more time on LinkedIn and JobStreet rather than scrolling through Facebook, TikTok, and other entertainment platforms. Additionally, I began to implement some tracking strategies on my personal email to facilitate this effort.

I made it my routine to allocate time every weekend to apply for mid-level developer jobs. Some companies required applicants to take exams, and I took some on TestGorilla as part of the application process, but I ended up failing them. I also received email replies about my applications being rejected since I was applying for mid-level roles that required 3-5 years of experience as a software developer. One time, I was invited to create a functional MVP to demonstrate my front-end skills as part of the hiring assessment. Despite submitting and deploying a working prototype, the hiring team did not get back to me with the results of the assessment. The more I applied, the more rejection emails I received and this went on for weeks.

I began to feel depressed again due to the negative outcomes. I decided to stop making efforts to apply for other corporate jobs. I even tried to apply for part-time front-end developer roles, but I was still rejected because they wanted someone with more experience. I felt desperate during this time and went as far as learning the basics of the NextJS framework just to fit in with the job market for React front-end developers. Eventually, I stopped caring and accepted that my current job was the only way I could earn a living.

As I stopped making efforts to look for other career opportunities, I used my free time to focus on the UI/UX course I was enrolled in on Coursera. Making progress on the course somewhat comforted me; even though my job-hunting efforts were unsuccessful, I was still making progress and learning.

Around that same time, my college batchmates had a conference call on Messenger, and I joined in. One of my batchmates shared hiring information and mentioned that he knew of a company looking for a Java engineer with a high salary. After some time thinking about it, I decided to take my shot and apply for jobs again.

Working and applying for a job in parallel

I immediately worked on applying with the information I received from that call. Reviewing the job posting on the company's career page, it was clear they were looking for mid-level developers with 3-5 years of experience. Nevertheless, I tried to stay optimistic since the tech stack on the description was something I was very familiar with from my current job. I also reached out to someone that my batch mate knew at the company to ask about the vacant role and see if they could refer me. It was quite a desperate move, as I applied through the careers page and also reached out to someone from the company to slip in my resume.

Two days later, I received an email from the recruiter inviting me to a 30-minute Zoom call, which served as the initial interview. Luckily, the recruiter's timezone was GMT+2, which meant their working hours were after working hours here in the Philippines. I scheduled the interview at a convenient time and began to prepare for the call. In preparation for the interview, I also did some research on the most frequently asked job interview questions and answered them in my own words. I would recite the answers repeatedly until I was familiar with all of them.

On the day of the interview, the key questions the recruiter asked were, "Would you be okay with a full back end-related workload?" and "Do you see yourself working on back end development long term?". This hit me because I have always found myself more interested in front-end development and often engaged in side projects focused on front end. Even with my previous learning efforts, they were more aligned with front-end web development. I said "yes" to the recruiter's questions, thinking that back end work might not be so bad. I believed that with hard work and perseverance, I could learn to love back end development.

After the interview, I received an email with instructions for their technical assessment, which was part of the hiring process. Although the instructions were familiar, I can't say I did a good job on understanding what was asked. Even though I am very familiar with Spring Boot, some concepts that were asked on the assessment were new to me. Nonetheless, I proceeded to create a working application, a sort of MVP, to demonstrate the functionality described in the assessment. I used my holiday time (Philippine independence day) to work on the technical assessment for this. And somehow i am pretty happy that there was a holiday since the recruiter kept on emailing me to follow up on my assessment solution. I submitted my solution at the end of that day before i got to sleep and got my response the night of the following day.

I was really glad when i received the email from the recruiter. I am advancing to the interview with their principal engineer to discuss more about my solution regarding the technical assessment. What i appreciate about their response is that they really give bullet points on their feed backs both positive and negative. It just shows that they really care about their hiring candidates. A few days later, joined the Zoom call with one of their principal software engineers. This was on a weekday, during which I work from 8 AM to 5 PM. I had my interview at 7 PM, and I encountered some difficulties on the Zoom call. It turns out you need to press the "OK" button to consent to the call being recorded before you can unmute. The interviewer and I had no idea about this, so I resorted to using the chat to ask if we could use Google Meet instead of Zoom. Luckily, he was very nice and said that using Google Meet was fine.

I had a really good talk with the interviewer. Since we are both technical guys, we really did relate and connected on the topics we discussed. However, despite the good conversation and feedback loop, I still feared that I might not get the role because it was clear from our talk that I somehow lacked the knowledge and understanding they expected from a mid-level developer.

A few days later, I received an email regarding their decision and was very glad that they wanted to proceed with me and have a final interview. I was very happy to have reached this point, but at the same time, I was very anxious that my experience might jeopardize my chances of getting the role. My partner even gave me a pep talk, reassuring me that I still had a good chance since I received positive feedback despite my lack of work experience. She reminded me to celebrate the small wins I had achieved so far. What she said really helped me calm down and continue pressing on. And so, I kept my cool and continued to prepare for the final interview.

The nice thing about their recruitment process is that they provide a comprehensive overview of the topics to be discussed during each interview, giving you a chance to prepare, which I find very valuable.

During the final interview, I hopped on a zoom call with the head of operations of their Cebu office. The interview focused on cultural fit, my knowledge of the company, and what I find ideal in a work environment. Many follow-up questions were asked since I had difficulty relating to some terms. As a technical person, I sometimes struggle to understand social terms. Additionally, some questions were not developer-centered; they focused on customer and employee experience, which felt irrelevant since I have no experience in a direct customer-facing role. I was also caught looking at my notes during the interview, which I learned from my post-interview feedback. It was looking quite grim for me, and I just braced myself for the worst since my interview was on Friday. This meant I had to wait until the next week for the results, which did not help with my anxiety. On Monday, I received the good news that they are going to offer me the role of Java back end engineer.

Taking the leap

I was really glad when I received the good news via email. I immediately updated my partner, and she was very happy that I finally got a positive outcome after months of effort. The questions that lingered in my mind at then were, "Now what?" and "Do I take the job or not?"

As the recruitment process was progressing, I took some time to talk to my parents about my efforts. From our talks, they advised me that I should reconsider my current situation and ask the question: "Am I ready for the changes that will result from my decision?". Secondly, they assured me that I have their full support for any decision I make regarding my career. My father said that although the main reason we seek employment is to earn a living, we should always look out for ourselves and do our research before making decisions to weigh both the pros and cons, whether big or small. He added that if I chose to proceed with moving to another company, it would also open up new doors to personal growth, which is a good thing.

When I applied for the role, I paid it no big deal and just thought of it as try-and-try basis but of course with attention to the salary compensation. But as i progressed through the hiring process, there were times when I doubted my actions, as the company I was currently with also had a good culture, work environment, and a great team. Job hopping to a new company meant starting from scratch in terms of building product knowledge, understanding organizational structure, adapting to work culture, and becoming familiar with the code base, tech stack, and team dynamics. In terms of benefits and perks, I had no significant comparison since paid time off (leaves) could be easily negotiated with my current managers. I actually found some comfort in my current situation and where I was at the moment. However, the difference in salary was a significant factor.

So, I said yes and accepted the offer for the role. I proceeded to draft my resignation letter the day after receiving the offer email and decided to submit my resignation on Friday of that week. The following week, I scheduled meetings with my manager, department head, and ultimately my team lead to inform them of my decision and discuss it in more detail. I emphasized my need for a higher salary, as I am the family breadwinner and actively support my siblings' educational needs. I also expressed my gratitude for the opportunities, mentorship, and growth I had experienced during my time in the company.

Fortunately, my current supervisors were very supportive of my decision and understood the reasons behind it. I had shared my concerns about potential mistreatment or bullying due to my decision, and they reassured me that there was nothing to concerned about such things. As I write this article today, I can say that my current company has not shown any mistreatment despite my decision to leave the organization. My supervisors added that if someone is leaving to pursue something that benefits them, we should be happy and show our support.

The week after my discussions with my supervisors, my team lead and I agreed to announce my decision on Monday during our stand-up meeting. I shared the reasons for my decision with the team and informed everyone that I would be rendering my 30-day notice in accordance with the company's policy for resigning employees. Since then, I focused more of my time on code reviews, testing, and writing documentation, and I also proactively offered help to other team members.

In my last month at the company, we had our annual company summer party, which included face-to-face events scheduled for the software department throughout the week. I had the opportunity to engage and talk to some co-workers at the office during the week-long activities and catch up with everyone. Ultimately, I got to meet and work with the members of my team during this time. There were some jokes about me leaving the company, but I greatly enjoyed my time with them. I felt sad because our batch from the graduate program (internship) in 2022 was not complete during the face-to-face activities. There were three of us, but one of our batchmates couldn't join the activities for the rest of the week due to the loss of his great-grandmother. Hopefully, we will have another opportunity to catch up and exchange stories sometime in the future.

One of my co-workers, Brenan, asked me if I had finally said my goodbyes to the people I worked with or knew, either in the office or remotely. I said that I try to do it as much as I can. He said that I should do it, saying goodbye to people I have been acquainted with, because I'll be doing it for myself, not for them. He explained that by doing so, I would actually be doing myself a favor that will help me move on. Interestingly, after taking his advice, I would have to agree with him. I found that it helps calm me and it sets my mind at ease to have said my farewells even to those I don't directly work with.

At this point in time, I still meet people who ask why I would resign and go to another company. I would just straight up answer, "I got hired for a role with a higher salary." Saying this didn’t feel right at first, but over time, it became easier to say it directly. I also learned that most people understand and are very supportive. Some wished me luck, some said we would see each other around, and others encouraged me to do my best at my next job. For them, they might not see me around the office or see my profile on the work channel. And for me, I think I’m just starting another journey. I reminded myself to live in the present and focus on my current challenges. Sure, there are a lot of uncertainties, but I'm optimistic that I can navigate through them, as I have since I started being independent.

Things that i learned as i move on

As i finish this roller coaster narrative of a story, i would like to share some key things that i learned over the past six to seven months:

• Maybe you don't need more time, only the courage to make trade offs. At first, I always asked myself, "Where do I find the time to look for other opportunities?" It turns out that the time we have daily is fixed; we just need to learn how to prioritize the things we feel are important within that time. Some things I did were clocking in and out of work strictly for 9 hours daily and allotting 2 hours each day to scan LinkedIn and JobStreet. I traded the time I would normally spend watching movies to do things I felt were important. And it's okay. Sure, I missed the new movies and series, but I acquired something more valuable for me in real life.

• Celebrate small wins and take note of what you learned. Focusing on the main goal is good, but we should also recognize our small wins as we work towards that goal. Appreciating the steps we take will make us feel more empowered and proud of what we've accomplished. This approach is also more sustainable in the long run, especially in the real world.

• It's okay to seek greener pastures. I thought people would feel bad about me just because I was looking for better career opportunities. When my partner left her previous company, she could definitely feel some changes in how she was treated. But for me, I experienced the opposite. People around me were more supportive and always said it's normal and okay to look for opportunities to better your life, and there is no shame in that.

• Not all decision can be made alone. It can feel heavy when you think you're making decisions or fighting battles by yourself. Talking to people who care about you and sharing your burden can ease that feeling. While it might not change the situation, it's always good to have someone to talk to, listen to your experiences, and sometimes offer a new perspective. Conversations don't have to be exclusive to difficult times; they can also be casual, like asking what they would do in your position. I really relate to this since I started talking to my parents and my partner before making decisions where I felt unsure. When I share with others, the burden somehow becomes lighter and easier to carry.

I could probably go on about the many realizations I had while actively looking for opportunities, landing a job, and being offered the role. However, I believe the points I've mentioned above are the most valuable and applicable to everyone, regardless of their current career status.

By the time this article is published, I will likely be on my way or just starting to make changes to my routine, workflow, and habits to fit my new role. To the company that gave me a chance to launch my software career, I feel immense gratitude for all that I've gained during my stay. I truly appreciate all the support I've received in more ways than one.

To my co-workers, my message is: "I'll be seeing you all around, and I hope that when we do, we will have more happy and fun stories to tell." The experience has been great, and working with you all has been FUN.