How to Land your FIRST Programming Job

In a sea of talent, how will you stand out?

Getting an entry-level job in the Philippine tech industry is hard. There’s so much competition that even though you send your resumé out to hundreds of companies, chances are, you’ll only get an interview with a handful. With that, you really need to invest in yourself and your skills so you could kickstart your career.

To help you get your foot inside the door, here are 4 tips to get your first programming career opportunity!

Tip #1: Get an internship.

An internship is a program offered by companies aiming to help students and young professionals have some exposure and work experience in their chosen field. Usually, interns will have direct mentorship from their supervisors so they could really have a fruitful learning experience.

In the tech industry, internships are important as this experience will give a realistic preview of what working in the industry is like. This is because interns have hands-on work in improving their technical and soft skills by assisting in company projects, shadowing their supervisors, and interacting with fellow employees and interns.

The experience that interns get also plays well in job interviews. This is because tech recruiters are looking for candidates with potential and skills. By emphasizing the role you played in your previous internships, you could show your recruiter that you’re a strong candidate.

Most importantly, internships are also a way for you to get absorbed into that company. If you perform well during your internship period, chances are you will receive a full-time offer. In pursuing internships, go for companies that you actually want to work for in the future!

One way for you to get a programming internship is through your network. If you’re still in school, you could approach your college professors and ask them if they know of any job openings for interns. You could also use resources such as LinkedIn to connect with people outside of your immediate network.

Job platforms like Kalibrr also list multiple internships across different companies and fields! If you want to kickstart your tech career, you can browse through these internships:

• [WFH] Dev Intern – Podcast Network Asia
• [WFH] Quality Assurance Intern – Kalibrr
• [WFH] OJT – Product Management – Data Analytics Ventures, Inc.

However, you must remember that quality means so much more than quantity. Pursue companies that offer a well-rounded internship program where they actually let you practice your skills. You want to get an internship because you want work experience. If the program doesn’t let its interns do something meaningful, then it might be best to look elsewhere.

You also have to set realistic expectations. Internship programs in programming are very competitive and rare. Because of this, try to pursue internships at start-ups instead of bigger companies. As a software programmer active on Reddit once said: “almost literally any internship where you do any coding is miles better than none, so don’t feel bad if you can’t get an internship at Google or whatever.”

Why not start tutoring?

Even if you’re in college, you can earn money and gain experience all at the same time. If you have a degree related to programming, you can start tutoring students below your year level from your same college program. Being a tutor for young, aspiring programmers is a great resumé booster!

You can also begin learning simple programming techniques so you could start to freelance! If you’re overwhelmed with the number of fields in the tech industry, you can focus on web development specifically on languages such as CSS and JavaScript. Web development is basically designing websites, and since everything’s going digital, practicing this skill will be really helpful in getting clients.

According to an article by BrainStation, the key is to focus on web development as it has the lowest barrier to entry in terms of programming; there are no other expenses in terms of hardware and servers for you to learn it. You can also get instant feedback by seeing the actual website you created with your code. The only investment you will need is your time!

READ: Use These FREE Resources to Improve your Tech Skills

If you’re still in school, you know that student organizations play a vital role in the college experience. This is because you can meet new people who share the same passion and interests as you do!

In most cases, universities have different organizations that are oriented toward programming and computer science. You could run for a position there and spearhead different projects. You could also just be a participant in the numerous events that the organization will hold! Usually, these programming-focused organizations hold competitions. Invite your friends to compete with you and start aiming for the gold medal!

By joining student organizations, you could also begin to network with other professionals. For example, a student organization will hold a webinar regarding the challenges that entry-level professionals face in entering the field. You could introduce yourself to the webinar speaker and ask them for any advice!

Lastly, volunteering in organizations is also a great way to add something to your resumé if you have no prior work experience. You could highlight the skills you learned in these organizations that could transfer into the professional workplace.

READ: 5 Insights from KodeGo and Kalibrr’s Personal Branding Webinar

One way to boost your chances of landing a programming job easier is to apply to different boot camps. An example of companies offering such services is Zuitt.

Zuitt is a company helping to shape the IT & Software industry by empowering its learners! Built on the philosophy of giving back to the community, Zuitt provides Filipinos with a “learn-now-pay-later” scheme in their coding boot camps. These courses are beginner-friendly where you could learn different languages such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, and MERN (MongoDB, Express.JS, React.JS, Node.JS).

Zuitt also offers “job hunting training” where they can equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to help you land your desired job. Referrals and recommendations from their company are also given if your performance during the boot camp was satisfactory!

If you’re interested in applying, you could view more information here.

All in all, following these tips is not an assurance that you would get your desired job immediately. However, what’s important here is that in your resumé, you have already started getting valuable experience. Even if you’re still a beginner, you’re not starting at the very beginning. This will give you an edge over a sea of candidates!

If this article helped you, follow Kalibrr on social media to get more tips on how to land your first role!

Kalibrr is a recruitment technology company that aims to transform how candidates find jobs and how companies hire talent. Placing the candidate experience at the center of everything it does, we continue to attract the best talent from all over, with more than 5.5 million professionals and counting. Kalibrr ultimately connects these talents to companies in search of their next generation of leaders.

The only end-to-end recruitment solutions provider in Southeast Asia, Kalibrr is headquartered in Makati, Philippines, with offices in San Francisco, California, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Established in 2012, it has served over 18,000 clients and is backed by some of the world’s most powerful start-up incubators and venture capitalists. These include Y Combinator, Omidyar Network, Patamar Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Kickstart Ventures.

For more tips on acing job interviews, follow Kalibrr on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tiktok.