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So you have completed the program! What to do now?!

How long does it take?​

Graduates of similar programs in Toronto take an average of 9 months to find their first job. Our past students have taken a few months by average. We have had students who were hired while in the program.

So it all depends. There are things you can't control: economy, luck, ...

There are things you can control:

Persistance​

It's going to feel terrible. You will apply to a hundred postings, get 3 interviews and get rejected from all of them. It feels terrible, but it's just the terrible sense of rejection, not real harm. It's normal and it's part of the process. You will find a job and forget about it.

Even your coaches in the program, some of them have personally told me how they applied to 100 positions before landing their first job. And your coaches are greatly talented people.

Remember that you only need 1 company to say yes. Imagine you got a bow, a target and UNLIMITED arrows. You just need one shot to land. Don't give up.

How do I increase my chances?​

There are 4 things you need in order to get a job in tech:

  1. Network to find the hidden jobs
  2. Portfolio to prove your resume is not just words
  3. Soft skills to work well with the organization
  4. Hard skills to actually do the work, duh

Instead of "hoping" to hear about a new position and "hoping" that you are the best candidate, here is how you can impact each of these 4 categories, ordered by their importance:

1. Network​

  1. If you have followed our instructions, you must have 10-20 people who you have connected with meaningfully. Reach out to them, take them out to coffee, let them know you are completing the program, and ask if they are aware of any opportunities or can give you any job hunting tips.

  2. You also have +500 LinkedIn connections and counting that you haven't reached out to yet. Keep adding people, reach out to them respectfully, ask for genuine help.

Shitty ways to ask for help

Demanding, too forward or whiny:

  • Do you have a position in your company I can apply to?
  • Can you recommend me? Pretty pleeeeease 😞
  • I've applied to 100 places. No one responds. blah blah :::
  1. Keep networking. Add and message all the people you meet. Grab coffees. Participate in literally anything:
  • Professional events
  • Hackathons
  • Webinars
  • ...
  1. Connect with recruiters. They are full of insights and are the first filter in some companies.
  • Don't update your linkedin to "open to jobs"
  • Don't use phrases like "looking for work"
  • Act like the software developer that YOU ARE who happens to be looking for a fulfilling career :::

2. Portfolio​

Everyone puts "react", "node" and other hot technologies on their resume. True differentiation is the work you have actually done.

Imagine you're hiring a caterer, a contractor, or a nanny. Do you care about their certificates and the programs they went to? Or do you judge them by their past work? That's also strangely true for software development.

While some (unfortunate) people graduate from the program and just apply to jobs, many keep expanding their portfolio with newer and more complex projects. After a few months, when a great position becomes available for them, we can guess which one gets the job!

So you need to keep building shit. You can't stop or you'll fall behind.

Here are some ideas:

  • Friends & Family: anyone in your network require a website/app? Maybe an artist or self-employed person?
  • Businesses without websites: restaurants, Airbnb's, camp sites, local art shops, mechanics, ...
  • Startups: there are many entrepreneurs without tech skills in the Genesis Centre, wishing they knew someone to build their idea
  • Build something useful: do you have an idea for a cool app people would find interesting? E.g. cheapest flights from NL
  • Volunteering: not-for-profit need your skills too

3. Soft skills​

Don't worry about this. We have already vetted you on this.

4. Hard skills​

In most cases, there is more value in networking or expanding your portfolio than learning new skills. Remember that most of our graduates have been hired for the skills you already have.

These are a few simple things that may come up in interviews. You can learn about them in a day or two:

  • Agile methodology, SCRUM and Kanban
  • Git Feature Branching
  • Understanding programming languages: Object Oriented Programming vs. Functional, Strongly typed vs. loosely typed

If you are already doing 1. Network and 2. Portfolio perfectly and still got some free time, here are some cool things to learn and add to your resume:

  • AWS
  • TypeScript
  • Object Oriented Programming with Python