I have budgeted extra time on M/T/W mornings that I am not expecting myself to consistently meet, but on the occasions when I get to school early enough, I would like to dedicate my time to catching any job postings listed mid-week. If there aren't any that interest me, I will study my interview flashcards.
The minimum requirement I have for myself is an hour a day on the job hunt. If there are any postings I am extremely passionate about, I will slightly alter the schedule to get the application submitted sooner (seen through secondary calendar item in the evening on top of researching companies). If there are any meetings or interviews, they will happen in the afternoons during work time.
I have never worked in tech or a "traditional" business setting before and am nervous about the technical interview process. I would like general input on my resume and cover letters, but mainly would like more practice being asked technical questions (specifically) and general interview questions. I have ample practice writing cover letters and speaking about myself from my previous career in Theatre, but translating those skills to this industry would be greatly appreciated. I also would like help with suggestions of areas of tech that I can go into as a developer now because there are so many options that I am unaware of.
How will you hold yourself accountable to balancing time for your job search and following your mentor and group's advice?
Ultimately, I know that I want to learn as much as I can while in Turing, but I would like to get as many "at bats" with the application/interview process as possible so that when I finish the program, I can use my interviewing and job application time as efficiently as possible. I know learning more about the back end is extremely valuable, fascinating, and will make me more valuable as a developer, so I want to spend a good amount of time on the projects as well, but put a dent in the job hunt. If I find that my projects need more time so I can solidify the concepts, then I will cut down the job hunt calendar items on Tuesday evenings (by an hour) and on Wednesdays for sure due to projects typically being due on Thursday. If the project situation is very dire, I will entirely re-assess.
What is the focus of your job search (timeline, ideal job, steps you’ve already taken)? Be as specific as you can.
My timeline is kind of flexible, but I of course would love to have a job sooner rather than later. I have a two and a half (ish) month budget for after Turing and also have the option of freelancing at my old job once a week or every other week for some extra income if the situation gets too dire.
I would ideally like to work at a bigger company instead of a startup because I like the structure more than a place where I am given less specifics and would be for the most part entirely on my own. I think as I build up my confidence as a developer (since I am painfully new to the industry) I would be much happier with a larger team environment. I am just now researching the various areas I can go into, and honestly would like some help figuring out what all of those various options are. I know I love testing, so maybe a company that has a testing team? That being said, testing is expensive and not many companies pay for it, so ultimately...wherever. I'm not being picky aside from trying to stay in Denver. I would consider jobs in Boulder or the surrounding cities/towns because I used to make the commute to Boulder all the time and I do not want to move (I live downtown). I have been told that it is much easier to be picky about the jobs I apply for after I have gotten some experience, so I will make myself the best fit for any company of any size because I want to learn as much as possible, and we all have to start somewhere.
As for steps I have already taken, there are a few, but not many more than what Turing has required of me through PD deadlines. I have met with someone in the industry and got advice from him about when to send in applications, what to include and not include in a cover letter and on the resume, to have a few projects that aren't school projects on the resume/GitHub, that I should find an area I would like to go into and dive in to it, and to try and get some sort of certification that will make me more marketable. (Ideally would like to get AWS certified) I plan on reaching out to a Demo Competition judge that I connected with and asking her about the interview process and seeing if she would be willing to re-connect at some point in the near fututre. I would like to set up mock-interviews and attend meetups to continue networking since I've heard that most jobs are obtained through pre-existing connections and not job postings.