Few industries are as dynamic and appealing to young folks coming out of universities as tech. But embarking upon a career in that sector can feel confusing and perhaps even intimidating.
How do you decide where to apply? How do you research prospective employers? Must software engineers go about their job-searches differently than, say, business development candidates? How do you put your best foot forward in an interview?
We spoke with several hiring managers at growing tech firms about what new graduates should do as they search for their first role in the industry. Here’s what they had to say…
Decide Upon A Workplace Environment And Sector
There are a lot of tech firms out there – some new and some established – and young job seekers must do their due diligence on where they want to work. “The first thing is to identify himself or herself with the environment that will allow him or her to scale most effectively,” says Luan Lam, vice president of global talent for application monitoring and management company, AppDynamics. “What I mean by that is, does a person thrive in a smaller environment or in a bigger environment? That makes a big difference in his or her success.”
Lam, who has held his position with the firm for three years, entered AppDynamics when the organization numbered less than 200 workers. Today it stands at over 1,000. Also, says Lam, a new graduate bent on entering the industry must know where he or she belongs. “Is it an enterprise software company that you are most interested in going after or is it more IT consulting services-related, or even consumer-related,” he explained.
Do Your Research And Pick Your Role
The best way to convince potential employers that you are passionate about working for them is to show that you are more than familiar with their organizations and show that your goals align with theirs, says Lam. “A fresh grad should always tailor his or her resume to fit different types of roles he or she is applying for. But I wouldn’t suggest applying for more than two different roles at any given company because you don’t want to come across as being desperate.” Tailoring your resume to a position means talking up projects you have worked on or seminars and training programs you have attended that are relevant to that role.
Applying to different types of roles – say, business development, marketing and engineering – also shows that you are unfocused in your search. “You need to have a really concrete stand about who you are and what you’re going after within a company,” says Lam.
“We want candidates to really be prepared,” says Leilani Lucero, a recruiting manager at Justworks, a payroll and benefits management platform that has raised $53 million to date and grew from about 25 employees in 2014 to nearly 100 today. “We want candidates that are targeting specific companies and are not just applying to anything. My suggestion for new grads, or entry-level, is to create a list of companies that they’re interested in that align with their values or that they admire. And that they really research the ins and outs of the company and the backgrounds of the leaders of the company as well as other key people that they may potentially be speaking with as they move forward in the interview process.”
Scout For The Scouts
Zeroing in on recruiters within a company is a great way of setting yourself apart from other job candidates.
Jamie Hooker, director of talent at successful events ticketing platform, Seatgeek, concurs. “The great thing about tech companies is that most of them have employee pages where they have all of their employees and what they do, and maybe even some fun facts about their employees all on one page. So it’s pretty easy to find out either who to contact in recruiting or who might be the manager for that role.” Hooker added that job candidates should apply for a position before reaching out to company personnel.
A larger networking scheme, as is the case with finding work in any industry, should be part of a job-seeker’s foray into tech, says Lucero. “I think it’s important that they network early,” she said. “Whether that be joining a LinkedIn group, a school group, do LinkedIn outreach to people that they admire or want to emulate – leaders in the tech industry – join tech meetup groups, do online projects, get on job boards, GitHub—anything that could be available, I think, is important to participate in. Even finding a mentor and leaning on the mentor and the connections that they’ve made to help make introductions.”
Know Your Hybrid Skills
Some skills are applicable in a handful of different positions (Read More: The Top Skills For The Modern Workplace). Know what those are and make sure hiring managers know you have them. Says Lam: “If someone who is applying for an HR job but is also social media-savvy, that’s a big plus for us. Or somebody who is in marketing but is also huge into analytics, big data—how to create a dashboard, how to really use data to effectively scale his or her own career.” Top skills, he added, are analytics and an understanding of big data.
One no-brainer is the self-starting soft skill, says Hooker, which all companies are keen on. “We really look for people who have produced evidence that they are self-starters,” she explained. “Working in our environment, there can be a lot of autonomy and also some ambiguity at times. So you really need to be a self-starter and direct your own work.”
Different Sectors Require Different Approaches
If you are an engineer, you will have to adopt a different strategy than if you are a business development or marketing operative. If you build software, highlight coding projects you have worked on , hack-a-thons you’ve entered or internships you’ve had—those will be relevant info for a hiring manager. Says Hooker: “For engineering candidates who are new grads, we really like to see that they’ve done some sort of side project, so they’re actually doing some web development on the side; they have a pet project that they’re really excited about. Whereas on the marketing side, maybe they’re not doing web development on the side but they do still have some expressed interest in the tech industry as a whole.”
Those specifically looking for business development roles need to talk about results. “It’s all about numbers,” says Lam. “How many deals have you closed? How have you achieved against your quota?” If you have not worked in those fields, highlight different courses you’ve taken on negotiation and marketing because that will show you are not excruciatingly green in that arena.
Do Not Lie About Your Credentials—You Don’t Have To
“Don’t misrepresent yourself or your background on your resume,” says Lam, “because that will come out during the interview process.”
“You are going to be asked really specifically about certain projects and certain things you put on your resume,” says Hooker. “So you definitely want to make sure to be really honest and that you’re not overselling what you do.”
Resume-padding might be tempting for new grads that have little experience to boast about yet still badly want to secure a job with an employer in the industry. But, says Hooker, there are other ways to impress. “Where you can make up for that is through your cover letter and expressing why you’re interested in that specific company.”
