How To Get Your First Job After a Coding BootcampHint: You don’t HAVE to be a full-stack developer.
Keri SavocaBlockedUnblockFollowFollowingApr 15Image credit: #wocintechchatWell, you did it.
You made it through 3 or 4 months of coding bootcamp, and graduation is right around the corner.
Now, the pressure is on to find a job.
You’ve made a resume, your LinkedIn is in tip-top shape, and you’ve got hundreds of recent commits on GitHub.
So, obviously, you start applying to anything labeled “full-stack developer” or “software engineer” and you cross your fingers waiting for a response.
But what if full-stack development isn’t right for you?Sure, you studied JavaScript and a back-end language or two, but this doesn’t mean you have to go the full-stack route.
There are plenty of other options, and excluding them from your job search is a mistake.
Here is what you need to remember:Your new-found skills are transferrable to a variety of fields within the tech industry.
Your previous experiences might make you particularly well-suited for a role other than full-stack developer.
You aren’t finished learning.
Let’s explore.
Your new-found skills are transferrable to a variety of fields within the tech industry.
You just learned a hell of a lot in a really short period of time.
Limiting yourself to one field is silly, especially when you should be looking for a company that suits you and exploring a variety of roles during your tenure there.
You can be a front-end developer, a full-stack developer, a technical writer, a teacher or a career coach at a bootcamp, a UX designer, a DevOps engineer, a product manager, and so on.
You don’t have to be a full-stack developer just because you studied full-stack development.
This is where LinkedIn comes in handy.
Add as many skills to your profile as possible; you can search for roles that fit your skillset instead of just searching by job title.
Your previous experiences might make you particularly well-suited for a role other than “full-stack developer”.
Okay, so now you know JavaScript and a bunch of other technologies.
But you shouldn’t forget about your previous experiences.
You used to work in marketing and now you can code?You used to be a graphic designer and now you can code?You used to be a freelance writer and now you can code?You used to be a teacher and now you can code?I hope you see where I’m going with this.
It’s in your best interest to leverage all of your skills — not just your new ones — when starting a new career.
You’d be surprised how often your previous experiences will come up in interviews, especially if you’re looking for your first job out of a bootcamp.
Your programming skills speak for themselves, but your previous career(s) will likely be a big topic of conversation.
Tech companies are looking for people who bring a diverse skillset to their team.
Your existing skills will set you apart, so don’t omit them from your resume.
You aren’t finished learning.
Sure, you learned a lot in 3 months, but you’re not done.
If you want to work in tech, you should be ready to continue learning for the rest of your life.
You need to find a company that will support your professional development and give you the opportunity to keep learning, regardless of the position that you start with.
The number one question you should be asking during your interviews is Can you tell me more about the culture of learning at {companyName}?This is why it’s a good idea to work with skilled recruiters.
I always recommend that people apply for the big tech companies, even if actually landing a job at one of them is a long shot.
A Google recruiter, for example, will take your resume and identify positions that would be a good fit for you.
You might be surprised to hear that you are a strong candidate for a role that you hadn’t considered.
When you’re ready to embark on a job search, doing your research is just as important as knowing who you were and who you are.
You’re not just a developer; you’re a developer who has experience with X and who once lead a team in Y.
You’re a developer who knows more about Z than anyone else at companyName.
Maybe full-stack development is perfect for you — but if it’s not, don’t be afraid to look in other directions.
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