This week I answer 3 questions from the @CodeNewbies Q&A tweets.
Q1: What do you feel would help you stand out when applying for a job in tech? #CodeNewbie
A1: Understand your audience and speak their language. Know the business value of each of your skills. Be honest and say “I don’t know. Here’s how I would find out…”
Q2: What could be a challenge that you’d face when trying to get hired?
A3: Not enough experience in newest tech because industry changes so rapidly. Instead, highlight your transferable skills (technical and non) and how they are applicable to the current challenges.
Q3: What can we do today to best prepare ourselves to get that dream job? What are the best resources to help with that?
A3: Do your research. Get a mentor or coach (ask me for help). Practice. Practice. Practice.
Need help getting hired?
I struggled getting hired as a software developer many times early in my career. It took a long time and a lot of work to discover what it takes to get a foot in the door, get an interview, get a job offer and negotiate a great salary.
After becoming a dev manager of a Fortune 100 company, engineering manager of a top-ranked mobile video game company and helping many other companies staff and manage their software development teams, I know what it takes to get a great job, make more money and have a bigger impact as a developer or IT professional.
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