1. Finding a Job in the IT Industry - Starting an IT Job
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Transcript of 1. Finding a Job in the IT Industry - Starting an IT Job
Finding a Jobin the IT Industry
Good and Bad Practices for Job Seekers
Svetlin Nakov
Telerik Software Academyacademy.telerik.com
Technical Trainerwww.nakov.com
JOB
Table of Contents
1. Where to Search for a Job? Define Your Goals Prepare for Starting a Job Search Channels: Job Sites, Career
Centers, …
2. The Job Application Process Research the Employer Prepare CV, Cover Letter,
Endorsements, … Preparation for an Interview Go to an Interview
2
The Job Search & Application
ProcessTypical Steps
Steps in the Job Search Process
The job search process follows these steps: Define your goals – what kind of job
you want? Prepare for starting a job – increase
your skills Research the job market
Research the employers and offered positions
Apply for a job Prepare and send your CV and cover
letter
Prepare for the interview
Go to the Interview
4
Define Your Goals What kind of job you want?
What position?
In Bulgaria or abroad?
What are the requirements for this position?
Who are the potential employers?
For software engineers / IT specialists: What technologies I want to use at
work (e.g. PHP / Java / .NET / front-end / QA / mobile / …)?
Are my goals achievable / realistic?
5
JOB
The First Job is Hardest to Get!
Starting your first job is very hard Start with lower goals and
expectations
Once you get experience you could easily move to a better job / position / employer
Companies need experienced people
Be unpretentious!
You don’t need a big salary at your first working day – it will come later
Just start working somewhere, later you could move to a better position or company
6
Job PreparationGather Enough Skills to Match the
Requirements!
Prepare for Starting a Job
Once you know what position youwant, prepare yourself for it Do you have the required skills?
Your university education is not enough!
How you could increase your knowledge / skills? Self-study (books, tutorials, video-
tutorials, …)
Training courses (e.g. Telerik Academy)
Practical projects – very, very important!
What non-technical skills you need?
8
Prepare for Starting a Job (2)
The everyday development of your IT skills during your life is your preparation for finding a job At school – trainings, courses,
practical projects
At the university – courses, practice and projects
Alternative education: courses, training centers, … Telerik Academy / School Academy,
elective courses at FMI, programming schools, training companies
Self-education – study at home by books / videos
Internships / real-world experience / trial jobs
Practical projects – learn by doing and practicing
9
Prepare for Starting a Job (3)
Ask yourself: how am I different than the other 50 candidates for the same job position? Do I have better skills than them?
If not, how could I improve my skills?
Do I have any experience? If not, how could I gain some?
Can I start some project to gain experience?
Have I prepared my job application carefully?
Do I have awards, certificates, endorsements?
10
Prepare for Starting a Job (4)
Create your own developer profile E.g. in GitHub / CodePlex /
Google Code Upload your projects online Ensure your projects look well (code
quality) Start your own web site and blog
Show your expertise to the world Ensure your site looks well Examples: totaloff.com,
pavelkolev.com, todormitev.wordpress.com, itgeorge.net, veselinaraykova.wordpress.com
11
Where and How to Search
for a Job?Guidelines for Job Seekers
Research the Job Market
Researching the job market is important Research the employers
Review the job offers from the last 3 months Who are the most active employers?
Research these employers – what skills thy need?
Research the job positions What are the most searched job
positions?
Did you find job offers for the position you want? E.g. you may want to become game developer but does the industry need game developers?
13
Good Employers What is a good employer and how to
identify it? The best reference are insiders in
the company! Several insiders are even better
Generally companies from West Europe, USA and Canada are more reliable
Best employers demonstrate professionalism in all possible respects Carefully written job description,
emails, positive attitude in phone calls, clear expectations, etc.
Have good reputation – positive comments in public sites, forums, and message boards
14
Bad Employers What is a bad employer and how to identify it? Beware of amateur / garage
companies "Garage company" is not a "small
company"
Beware of high employee turnover Beware of state / government
companies and companies working on government projects
Beware of Greeks and Israeli employers
Beware of companies managed by incompetent people – you could notice this at the interview
Beware of organizational anarchy
15
Employers Rankings Use carefully sites like
www.bgrabotodatel.com and www.karieri.bg/forum
Traditionally most comments come from haters
These sites can be easily tricked / manipulated!
Employees fired due to incompetence, always put negative comments against their former employer
Trust more to established consulting companies
E.g. Hewitt does a "Best Employer" ranking by industries, every year, worldwide
JOBS.BG's employer ranking may be a bit tricky
16
Top Employers in Bulgaria (2010)
17
Source: http://dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=618009
Job Search Channels
Job searching in the software / IT industry runs through many channels
Public job Web sites
Network of friends / colleagues
University career centers
Career events (job fairs)
Recruitment agencies
Direct contact with the employer18
JOB
Public Job Sites
Jobs sites (targeting the Bulgarian IT industry) www.jobs.bg www.jobtiger.bg www.itjobs.bg www.rabota.bg www.jobspace.bg www.bestjobs.bg www.orjo.com www.buljobs.bg 19
The list is not complete and not exhaustive
Job sites constantly change
Search in Google E.g. try "работа
Java developer"
You Friends Network Ask your friends / colleagues / fellows Many job offers are offered
privately only
Send email to all your friends / colleagues
Use your contacts in Facebook
Use all your acquaintances by any channel
Explain them what kind of job you need and what skills you have
Send them your CV, portfolio, etc. They will spend just one click to
forward it
20
University Career Centers
The career centers at the universities: At some universities there are well-
working career centers contact them
Many internship and junior job positions are offered at the universities
Some career centers for the IT industry: FMI of SU – http://
career.fmi.uni-sofia.bg TU-Sofia – http://career.tu-sofia.bg NBU – http://
www.nbu.bg/index.php?l=264
21
Career Events (Job Fairs)
Career events (job fairs) are great place to learn about the employers and find job offers
How to learn about upcoming career events? Career centers put invitations at
their Web sites
The student's councils at each University NBU – www.studentskisavet.com
TU-Sofia – www.studsavet.com
FMI of SU – fss.fmi.uni-sofia.bg
Largest job portals put invitations in Facebook
22
Recruitment Agencies Generally in Bulgaria the IT recruitment agencies (HR agencies) do not work well Most of them consider you as a
commodity
They want to sell you to earn money
Your interests are usually ignored They will ask you start a job which
you do not want (e.g. an operator in a call center)
Some employers use only HR agencies to hire new employees This is mostly for executive
positions
23
Recruitment Agencies in Bulgaria
Generally the recruitment agencies are incompetent in the IT industry However you can still post them a CV
JobTiger – http://wwwjobtiger.bg Adecco Bulgaria –
http://www.adeccobulgaria.com Manpower Bulgaria –
http://wwwmanpower.bg Talent Hunter – http://
www.talenthunter-bg.com ITJobs.bg (HRCR) – http://www.hrcr.bg Bulwork – http://www.bulwork.net
24
Directly Contact the Employers
Sometimes best employers do not post public job offers Candidates scramble to apply for them
Usually companies with very strong reputation (like Microsoft, Google and Facebook)
If you want to work in such company, you need to be the active side
Make a list of the best employers in your industry and find their job offers Be prepared to show significant
achievements25
The Job Application Process
How to Prepare a CV, Cover Letter and Send a Job Application, How to Prepare
and Go to Interview?
Job Application Steps Recommended steps to follow
during the job application process:
1. Research the employer
2. Research the job offer
3. Prepare CV, cover letter, endorsements, projects, portfolio, certificates, awards, etc.
4. Carefully send you job application
5. Prepare for an interview
6. Go to interview 27
Read the Requirements Very important rule:
Follow the requirements exactly as requested If a CV in English is required this
means CV in English, not in Bulgarian
If a cover letter is required in Bulgarian, this means a cover letter in Bulgarian
If the deadline is March 31st, this is not April 2nd
28
Read the Requirements!
What Language to Use? In the IT industry the official language is English If anyone requests a CV in
Bulgarian, this may be a suspicious garage-like company
If the job offer does not specify a language Use the same language like the in
job offer You can still use English for the IT
positions
If a cover letter is not requested, still send one This will make you more-serious
candidate
29
Research the Employer Obligatory research the employer!
Explore what is its business You should know very well what the
company does, its products, services, customers, etc.
Research which are the company value What is important for the company?
Read articles / publications about the company
Read the forums and discussions Beware: forum posts are not
trustworthy source
30
Research the Job Position
Research carefully the job position! Any unknown words in the job
description (e.g. BPMN, BPEL, ARIS, BPM, SOA)? Learn about them, try these
technologies!
Any unknown products in the job description? Download the products and play with
them!
Any requirement unmatched by your skills / competence / experience? Improve your skills, take a quick
course / tutorial!
31
Prepare CV and Cover Letter
Prepare a CV that matches the job position and the requirements in the job description Start with the most important for this
specific job offer technologies / skills / experience / projects
Carefully prepare a cover (motivation) letter Write it specifically for the offered
position
Never use a template Find endorsements from former
employers, professors, colleagues, and so on
Prepare diplomas, certificates, awards, portfolio
32
Sending Your Job Application
Send carefully you job application and according to the requirements The email sender should be polite:
Ivan Ivanov <[email protected]>
An example of idiotic sender: Asd Afds <[email protected]>
Email subject should be meaningful: Job Application: Junior .NET Developer
(Ref #481)
Bad examples: CV, Re:, rabota, <no subject>
33
Sending Your Job Application (2)
The cover letter and CV should be sent as separate files (best in PDF format) named meaningfully: Ivan-Ivanov-Cover-Letter-Mobiltel.pdf Ivan-Ivanov-CV.pdf
Examples of idiotic file names: New Document (2).docx, ivan.doc,
mobiltel.doc Don’t attach a photo, put it inside
your CV Don't send 8 MB photo named
vankata_pich2.jpg! If you need to attach large files (more
than 2 MB), something is wrong find what
34
Sending Your Job Application (3)
Write a meaningful text in the email body, e.g.
Obligatory put in the application email: The exact name of the position (as in
the job offer) and a reference number (if applicable)
The company name (not your company)
How did you learn about this position
35
Dear HR Manager,
I would like to apply for the position "Junior .NET Developer" (Ref #481) in Mobiltel EAD published at Jobs.bg. Attached are my application documents: CV, cover letter, university diploma and English TOEFL certificate.
Please feel free to contact me at any time by phone or e-mail.
Sending Your Job Application (4)
Obligatory put a meaningful signature with your name and contacts at the end of the email:
Send your entire application in English (CV, cover letter, endorsements, portfolio, email, signature) Exception: if the job offer is in
Bulgarian
Never mix the languages (BG text + EN signature)
36
Kind regards,
Ivan IvanovTel. 0888 12 34 56Email: [email protected]
Expect to Get Contacted
If your job application is carefully prepared, expect to be contacted in few days Good companies always answer to
polite candidates by phone or by email Positive or negative, you will get an
answer
If you have sent CV2.doc in an empty e-mail without a subject, you will not get an answer!
Read your e-mail constantly! Bring your phone with fully charged
battery and do not reject the incoming calls
37
Prepare for an Interview
Prepare for eventual interview Research the company
The interviewer will obligatory ask you about the company and "nothing" is catastrophic answer
Research carefully each of the requirements You will be asked about your
experience with the required products / platforms / technologies / etc.
Be prepared for classical (standard) questions: Previous experience, expected
salary, etc.
38
The Interview Half of the effort you put with your job application is to get invited to an interview Most candidates do not know how
to apply for a job and never get invited to an interview
The other efforts are to demonstrate your skills and positive personality at the interview Prepare for technical questions
Demonstrate knowledge and skills, positive attitude, thinking, readiness for teamwork
Avoid having high demands / pretentions
39
Homework1. Define your goals for your future job
Is there a demand in the industry for this job?
2. Identify the typical requirements for your preferred job position Identify the technologies you need to know
3. Create a wish-list of potential employers Research these employers
4. Increase your skills for your preferred job position (pass tutorials, read books, take courses, …)
40
Finding a Job in the IT Industry
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