How to get a job as a Junior Developer?

Beginning your journey as a software developer is definitely very exciting, but is not a piece of cake.

Whether you have just finished a Bootcamp, have a university degree or you are self-taught, getting your first job as a Developer is not as easy as it seems. You already have the technical skills, but now… what? How do you impress at the hiring process or how do you even get an interview in the first place?

There’s no simple answer for this, but here you can find some tips and advice from developers that started their software career at GuideSmiths, and could help you to find the right job for you in a company that matches your values 👇.

Tailor your job search

Search for information on the companies you are interested in. Remember that your tech stack preferences as well as your long term path goals should always be your priority on your search.

• What areas of web development do I want to focus on?
• Do I prefer startup or corporate culture?
• Remote first or office only?
• Is there diversity at the company? Would I work in English and Spanish?
• What type of clients does the company work with?
• Is Agile methodology used in projects?

Use other hiring platforms besides LinkedIn

There are tons of hiring platforms and job sites besides LinkedIn, some of them uniquely for software positions.

At GuideSmiths, we work with Circular, a hiring community where you can land a job with the best tech companies and startups through a straightforward and transparent hiring process.

Be honest about what you do know and you don’t during the hiring process

When we hire junior developers, we focus on their attitude, values and willingness to grow. Recruiters expect that juniors have technical skills gaps and that is fine if you are proactive to learn and develop.

If any of your recruitment procedure stages request a code challenge test, just focus on doing what you are capable of creating and ultimately, understanding. Less is more if you do it correctly.

Never stop coding!

Even if you don’t have the opportunity to do it in a professional path, you can always write code and gain experience on your own individual projects or get involved in Open Source projects. Thanks to GitHub you can post your projects and repos for the community, and collaborate with other developers.

Attend events

Attend meetups, hackathons or coding conferences, you’ll meet other developers who can give you some advice, and get in touch with companies that could be hiring.

At Guidesmiths we are organizing online meetups on Twitch. Check out our last meetup here:

📣 If you want more information from the GuideSmiths HR Team, do not hesitate to contact Marina Dávila or Iria Mavji !