Applying for your first role in Software Engineering
The last time I wrote a blog post about getting your first software engineering role was about nine years ago, and a lot has changed in that time, so I thought it was about time I wrote a more up-to-date post sharing my experience both as someone looking for a junior role and someone hiring junior engineers.
First, I want to give a background of when I was looking for my first role as a software engineer. I graduated from university in June 2008 at the start of the financial crisis and having studied Internet Computing and been developing websites in my own time since I was only 12, the web was already my second love, second only to my fiance (now wife).
Companies like Microsoft rejected me automatically from their intern program based on my qualifications not matching their criteria. I was applying for anything and everything across the whole of the UK and faced rejection after rejection.
While looking for that first role, I realised how much I needed to gain experience, so I looked at ways to differentiate myself from others applying for the same positions that I was in.
This was when I started focusing on the following 5 points:
- Building a Strong Foundation Before you start looking for a job, building a solid foundation of skills and knowledge is…
