# Landing my 1st VS 2nd developer job **URL:** \ **Category:** Career (You Can Do This!)\ **Created:** [February 19, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477 "2018-02-19T17:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EleftheriaBatsou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/eleftheriabatsou/32/212506_2.png) [@EleftheriaBatsou](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/EleftheriaBatsou)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/1 "2018-02-19T17:52:01Z")
_and tips on how you can do it too._ _This is the story of how I landed my 1st and 2nd developer job and what I learned through the process._ **Before the job hunting** While I was still serving as an intern in a startup company in Amsterdam I started searching for jobs in Greece (where I’m originally from). The job hunting was hard. I didn’t have a lot of experience or skills. **Quick insertion of my resume →** { back then: - I had just graduated from an engineering university; - While I was at the University, I had been working as laboratory assistant for 2.5 years, but no one seemed to care about it. - I had completed a 3-months internship in Greece; - I was doing another internship in Amsterdam; } **Side note:** If you are a Junior developer looking for a job you may have noticed many companies refer to juniors as people who have more than three years of experience [personally I find it crazy!]. Positions requiring zero years of experience are called “entree positions” and not all companies offer them. **Back to my story:** Guess what?! I couldn’t find a job advertisement with zero years of experience. So I started applying for junior positions. > **_Tip 1:_** Apply for positions even If you don’t meet all the required criteria. > Worst case scenario → you will not get the job. > Best case scenario → you just landed an interview, now it’s up to you to persuade your boss you are the most suitable person for the vacancy. **Side note:** Don’t be discouraged of job advertisements. Sometimes it goes like this → [awesomeCompany is looking for a young, inspiring, aspiring, energetic, open-minded, hard-worker, positive-thinker, insert-a-big-word-here, “JUNIOR” full-stack developer with 10 years of experience. The developer must be a master in React, Angular, Vuejs and has proven back-end experience. It is also required to be a ninja in git/github and bitbucket. You must have worked before with agile/scrum methodology and in fact, you must have worked at least for 5 years as a scrum master. The awesomeCompany works with a variety of technologies but we prefer the newest, beta-libraries, alpha-frameworks and unicorn-versions because we are superstars and we can make everything work even if it’s not yet invented. Before sending your application answer to these 99 non-sense-questions. Please send your motivation letter, CV, links to your work, portfolio, LinkedIn profile, social media profiles, Skype ID, email address, home address, IP, and your ex-girlfriend’s number, because, yeah, we might need that also. If you don’t meet ALL the pre-requisites don’t apply.] **How I landed my 1st job as a developer** I sent numerous applications to start-ups or well-known companies. Most of them either replied with a phrase that sums up to: “_sorry, we are searching for more experienced developers_” or did not answer at all. The few companies that were willing to meet me, were at the same time sending me a test (ok, I know this is a common practice, but back then I wasn’t aware of this trend). > The test results were usually leading to rejections. After failing a lot, but never giving up, I received an email. A well-known firm, after examining my test, wanted to continue with me in the next phase, which was a face to face interview. > I was nervous yet excited to meet my interviewers. Before the “big day” I practiced a lot, I read many articles about tips and tricks, interview questions and answers, I googled my interviewers… That day I was clean, fresh and on-time… > **Tip 2:** It sounds like a cliche but it’s true → the 1st impression is very important. > **Tip 3:** Prepare yourself with small/easy steps. > The day before: practice interview questions/answers, search for the company and the interviewers, don’t forget to shower and sleep eight hours at night. > That day: dress in a “smart” way (search the company’s website for a dress code or an Instagram page with employers), be on time (surveys shows you can be about 10 minutes earlier of your scheduled time but never later). > Always give a steady handshake, and be kind to everybody. During the interview, I talked with the developer manager and also with the CTO and the CEO (yes, I was super nervous talking with the big guys). Although I had done my research I accidentally confused some facts about the interviewers. The same day I was also given another test to complete but the results would be emailed to me. A couple weeks past and I received an email which sums up to this “your test results were fine, we like you, BUT we had a lot of better candidates”. > I was rejected but I didn’t feel defeated. I replied back, asking for feedback. > **Tip 4** : Ask politely for feedback. Although it can be intimidating, you will be improved for future interviews. They informed me that my portfolio wasn’t strong enough and there were more suitable — experienced candidates. _ **But wait, this is a story about landing my first job and now I just told you I got rejected.** _ _ **Bear with me.** _ We exchanged several emails as I was trying to convince them I was actually suitable for the job and yeeeees, I did it! I persuaded my manager to hire me. I was so happy. > **Tip 5, important:** Believe in yourself even if no one else does. Know your value. Basically I got the job because I believed in myself and I was aware of my skills. Speeding things up, after my six-months contract ended I was left without a job. I needed some time to think and set my priorities. **During my 1st and 2nd developer job** > Short version: I developed myself I started studying for the first semester of my Master in “Graphic Arts and Multimedia”. I decided to study part-time so I could concentrate on reading, coding and developing my own little projects. And that was exactly what I did for the next few months… > I took my time, I didn’t rush it. I was waking up every morning to study for my Master’s and later in the day I was coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and sometimes in angularjs. I was doing the challenges #100DaysOfCode, #dailycssimages and #301DaysOfCode to keep myself motivated and on track, I was also tweeting my progress and encouraging others to keep learning. I started writing and publishing about my interests on Medium, I completed some freecodecamp front-end challenges and angularjs projects, I shared my favourite design/developer tools on YouTube, I redesigned my portfolio website, I styled codepen’s home page and I created many code snippets. . In my coding journey, I received emails, tweets and the few Skype requests. I was (and still am) happy to meet and chat with other developers. Listening to their stories made me more motivated and encouraged me to #keepgoing. > **Tip 6:** Share your interests, [tweet](https://twitter.com/BatsouElef) your progress, keep updating your social media/portfolio-website, and LinkedIn. > **Tip 7:** Be nice to people. Help and share twice as much as you currently do. **How I landed my 2nd job as a developer** It was just before lunchtime which means I was still reading for my Master’s degree when I received a LinkedIn message. As you may have noticed I am super focused while I study (or code), so I didn’t open the message. Later I found out that it was an opportunity for a job interview. I thought about my priorities and, yes, after all this reading and the countless hours of coding, it was time to move on. The manager and I scheduled an interview. Everything went great. Soon enough I got an offer. Currently, I am working in a great team with young, inspiring developers. I feel comfortable, I can speak my mind, there is no bad judgment and the overall working environment is very friendly. **Final thoughts and more tips** Everyday I try to learn something new and develop myself. - Always try your best and know your value. - Encourage others to believe in themselves. - Stay strong despite the rejections. - Set your priorities and work everyday towards your goals. - Focus on the positive side of each story, don’t let things get down to you. - At the beginning, It’s gonna be hard, but you chose a career (hopefully) because you love it. - No one will give you an opportunity if you don’t fight for it. - Show your enthusiasm, share your passions. - Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact fail fast, then gather your thoughts, stand up, and keep going. I promise you, great things are going to happen. Trust me. I’ve been there. * * * ## It would be nice to subscribe to my [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/c/EleftheriaBatsou) channel. It helps to create more content. Thanks for reading, have an awesome day! ---
**Author:** ![arhillis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/arhillis/32/158968_2.png) [@arhillis](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/arhillis)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/2 "2018-02-19T22:10:22Z")
Okay, I subscribed to your channel. Do you mind if we connect on LinkedIn? ---
**Author:** ![XavierR1985](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/xavierr1985/32/73909_2.png) [@XavierR1985](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/XavierR1985)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/3 "2018-02-20T02:22:02Z")
Thank you for your story, it’s very inspiring and encouraging. 🙂 May I ask you to develop the point regarding tip 4. How did you manage to convince the hiring manager? ---
**Author:** ![EleftheriaBatsou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/eleftheriabatsou/32/212506_2.png) [@EleftheriaBatsou](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/EleftheriaBatsou)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 6:04am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/4 "2018-02-20T06:04:57Z")
Yes sure! that’s my [profile](http://www.linkedin.com/in/eleftheriabatsou) Thank you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EleftheriaBatsou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/eleftheriabatsou/32/212506_2.png) [@EleftheriaBatsou](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/EleftheriaBatsou)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 6:29am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/5 "2018-02-20T06:29:27Z")
Hi Xavier, I emailed him asking for a 2nd chance, I wanted to prove myself right because I believed in my skills. Since they told me I wasn’t a strong enough candidate, I provided more links to my work. I am still a junior developer, my work isn’t very advanced, in fact, I remember sending some html/css projects (not even javascript), but I mentioned several times I wanted to learn more and that I would work hard. In the end he agreed to take me on board 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![XavierR1985](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/xavierr1985/32/73909_2.png) [@XavierR1985](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/XavierR1985)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 7:47am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/6 "2018-02-20T07:47:53Z")
Thank you very much for your answer! Your persistence paid off! Keep up the good work. ---
**Author:** ![arhillis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/arhillis/32/158968_2.png) [@arhillis](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/arhillis)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/7 "2018-02-20T13:25:51Z")
Just sent the invite. ---
**Author:** ![jazztbone2b](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/jazztbone2b/32/69155_2.png) [@jazztbone2b](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/jazztbone2b)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/8 "2018-02-21T00:50:23Z")
Awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience! Just subscribed to your YouTube channel. Keep up the great work! ---
**Author:** ![ILM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/ilm/32/363239_2.png) [@ILM](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/ILM)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job/175477/9 "2021-01-17T19:56:10Z")