How can a graduate get a job in IT?

The IT sector is one of the most in-demand and rapidly developing industries. The demand for information technology specialists is constantly growing: today they are needed not only by IT companies, but also by almost any business.

Therefore, if you are a graduate of a course or university and are just about to start your way into IT, here are some tips:

A separate piece of advice for school leavers: first, you should decide on your future specialty. You can read about the in-demand IT professions in our other article. We also recommend that you complete training with job placement programs so that you have every chance of finding a job after graduation.

1. Make a salling resume

A resume, like a portfolio, is your face in the response to a job. Therefore, its compilation is one of the key steps in finding it. That's what is best and most effective to include in it, in addition to education and work experience, if any:

• Professional achievements: the projects you have worked on and their results;
• Skills: everything related to your job. Basically, it is the possession of the necessary programs;
  
• Personal qualities: do not write about stress tolerance and the ability to work in a team – this should be the case with you. It would be much better to write "I know how to organize the work of several people" and "I always meet deadlines."
  

When upgrading professional skills, do not forget about flexible ones.

In the cover letter, be sure to indicate why you chose this particular company. Do not send the same text to everyone: the fact that you have studied not only the vacancy, but also the specifics of the organization that offers it, will show you from the best side and give you more chances to get a job.

Be literate, concise, and write only what is relevant to the work or proves your words. For example, winning the Programming Olympiad (with a diploma attached!) it proves your professional knowledge and skills, but your passion for gardening is not particularly.

2. Assemble a portfolio

Study examples of other people's portfolios – this will be a guideline when compiling yours. It is also worth considering:

• Trends: what is in demand now;
• Relevance: collect the most relevant and related projects to the desired job – this is exactly what the employer is looking for.
  
• Quality: stronger and more presentable developments should be placed at the beginning.
  

But where can I get work for a portfolio if I have no experience?

• Create personal projects

Sometimes employers have enough of a portfolio of educational tasks, but it would be better to do something separately, and if not commercial, then "for themselves".

Commercial projects can be found on social networks, interest groups or with friends, and contribute at a reduced price. There are also training cases – works that are done during studies in cooperation with real companies.

• Participate in hackathons

Demonstrate your skills in practice and participate in various development projects: this will help you build a portfolio and show potential employers what you are worth. For example, one of the ways to quickly create your own project is to participate in a hackathon.

Hackathon (hacker "hacker" +marathon "marathon") is a forum for developers in which programmers of different specialties join teams and create a project in a limited time (usually 2-3 days). You don't need experience and special skills to participate – they go there in order to acquire them.

Sometimes hackathons are held even at universities.

The game development hackathon is called Game Jam, or simply the Developer Jam Festival, where small teams create entire games in the same short time.

At the hackathon, you can get to know other developers, learn how to work in a team and show yourself to representatives of companies (sponsors), which will greatly help you get a job in the future.

• Apply for vacancies and complete internships

Even unpaid work at first will give you experience and show the employer what you are like. Do test tasks to recruit projects – the probability that you will be hired is not one hundred percent, but this is also an experience.

Therefore, do not rely entirely on internships: they can help and even give you the first money, but they do not guarantee employment.

3. Create an account on the job search site

A resume has been compiled, a portfolio has been typed. What should I do with them now? Save it in PDF or Google Doc format and send it to employers by email. Or create an account on one of the job search sites. Here are some of the most popular ones specializing in IT:

• Habr Career
• Headz – vacancies remotely and in the capitals: in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
  
• VC.ru Vacancies
  
• InGameJob – an international website with vacancies from game development;
  
• Tproger
  

These are the most basic job search sites in Russia, where vacancies are published at home and in the office. You can post a resume and respond to vacancies on several sites at once – this will increase the chances not only that you will find a suitable position, but also that it will find you on its own: Linkedln research proves that 85% of vacancies are closed without even being published.

Therefore, we recommend that you create an account on LinkedIn, an international social network for professional networking. Here companies post information about themselves and look for specialists in various professions, including IT.

Some companies place ads on their websites and on social networks, for example, telegram channels. Look for and try all possible ways – and do not forget about politeness. Employers are more likely to hire a candidate who is pleasant to communicate with than an uncommunicative lone master.

It is better to track new vacancies on several sites at once.

Conclusion

Failures do not mean that it will always be like this – take them as a defeat, but use them as a learning experience. Keep persevering, approach the job search carefully and improve your skills – and you will definitely find the first and then highly paid job in the labor market. Have a great start to your career in the IT field!

It is better to prepare for a future profession from school – the CODDY programming schoolwill take care of this. We train programmers of various profiles from an early age.