How to Find a Great Tech Job!
So, today begins my ‘official’ job hunt.
I will be graduating in a few months with my B.Sc. in Computer Science, with a Minor in Mathematics, with a good chunk of Physics in there. I am hoping to get a job either as an SEO, or as a programmer utilizing my talents in Java (SE or EE) or Ruby on Rails. I think I have a lot to offer employers, so we will see how it goes.
So far, I have a Monster.ca account created with my resume on it, and I have applied to a few jobs through it. I’ve even fired off a request to the Canadian Forces to see if they have anything suited to my education. There don’t seem to be tons of openings so far for entry-level jobs though - most listings I am finding on job sites require a minimum of 3-5+ years of experience.
The main problem I am trying to overcome is a lack of professional related job experience - since I am fresh out of school, I only have a coop and a consulting gig to place on my resume. While I have held a number of other jobs over the summers while I was in school, none of them are related. Should I put them on my resume?
Most of my resume information is available on my as well. If anyone knows of any openings that could use a bright, talented, and flexible CS grad with a good knowledge of a bunch of different disciplines (SEO, Programming, Web Design, heck… beekeeping, treeplanting, cabinet making, construction and more!), or can suggest any other places to look for jobs, feel free to pass on the information to me, either by commenting or emailing me at . (remove random underscores :p).
Since this is my first serious job hunt, I really appreciate any and all help and tips! I would really appreciate hearing from any recruiters about any suggestions they could make!
First few times out are always tough, I am sure you’ll do fine though. The only things I can offer are the following:
- Don’t get creative with your resume.. just read their job description and make your resume match it. If they are looking for a duck just be a duck. Dont be a duck that was a great altar boy and has experience as a hawk.
- Research the companies you are going to for an interview and try and see if you can find anything abou tyour interviewers. I have gotten jobs because I commented on someones schooling or favorite football team, Google is wonderful lol…
Your smart & personable (online at least).. you’ll do great man !
You should mention where you would like to work. Geographically I mean. Canada only? A certain area of Canada?
My best interview advice is if they ask you something you don’t know the answer to…don’t try to make something up. Tell them you don’t know but give them ways you would find the answer. Preferably something a little more impressive than “I google everything.”
Good luck.
Thanks for the tips, Scott and Mike. So far, so good - more applications in, we’ll see what happens!
Do not let the 3-5+ years of experience stop you from applying. Be straight up with them, and emphasize that you are eager to learn. They love that. It will be easy esp if it is for a company or group you are really hot after. Learn what they are up to and say you want to be a part of their team for x,y,z reason.
Good people are hard to find, so you will probably get call backs even if your resume doesn’t show lots of post grad experience. Like a previous poster mentioned, be sure to include how you would do something if you do not know off the top of your head. That is a big part of any modern job nowadays: research and finding solutions to problems. Good Luck.