Published on <a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job-32183e82a612?source=rss----eb297ea1161a---4">| Prototyping: From UX to Front End &mdash; Medium</a> Eleftheria Batsou 
and tips on how you can do it too.
This is the story of how I landed my 1st and 2nd developer job and what I learned through the process.
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/940/0*-i5rsoZqRyZ933J3.">
<h3>Before the job hunting</h3>
While I was still serving as an intern in a startup company in Amsterdam I started searching for jobs in Greece (where I’m originally from). The job hunting was hard. I didn’t have a lot of experience or skills.
Quick insertion of my resume →
{ back then:
<ul>
<li>I had just graduated from an engineering university;</li>
<li>While I was at the University, I had been working as laboratory assistant for 2.5 years, but no one seemed to care about it.</li>
<li>I had completed a 3-months internship in Greece;</li>
<li>I was doing another internship in Amsterdam; }</li>
</ul>
Side note: If you are a Junior developer looking for a job you may have noticed many companies refer to juniors as people who have more than three years of experience [personally I find it crazy!]. Positions requiring zero years of experience are called “entree positions” and not all companies offer them.
Back to my story: Guess what?! I couldn’t find a job advertisement with zero years of experience. So I started applying for junior positions.
<blockquote>Tip 1: Apply for positions even If you don’t meet all the required criteria. Worst case scenario → you will not get the job. Best case scenario → you just landed an interview, now it’s up to you to persuade your boss you are the most suitable person for the vacancy.</blockquote>
Side note: Don’t be discouraged of job advertisements. Sometimes it goes like this →
[awesomeCompany is looking for a young, inspiring, aspiring, energetic, open-minded, hard-worker, positive-thinker, insert-a-big-word-here, “JUNIOR” full-stack developer with 10 years of experience. The developer must be a master in React, Angular, Vuejs and has proven back-end experience. It is also required to be a ninja in git/github and bitbucket. You must have worked before with agile/scrum methodology and in fact you must have worked at least for 5 years as a scrum master. The awesomeCompany works with a variety of technologies but we prefer the newest, beta-libraries, alpha-frameworks and unicorn-versions because we are superstars and we can make everything work even if it’s not yet invented. Before sending your application answer to these 99 non-sense-questions. Please send your motivation letter, CV, links to your work, portfolio, LinkedIn profile, social media profiles, Skype ID, email address, home address, IP, and your ex-girlfriend’s number, because, yeah, we might need that also.
If you don’t meet ALL the pre-requisites don’t apply.]
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/940/0*VqzBePRHO2Kr-E7g.">
<h3>How I landed my 1st job as a developer</h3>
I sent numerous applications to start-ups or well-known companies. Most of them either replied with a phrase that sums up to: “sorry, we are searching for more experienced developers” or did not answer at all. The few companies that were willing to meet me, were at the same time sending me a test (ok, I know this is a common practice, but back then I wasn’t aware of this trend).
<blockquote>The test results were usually leading to rejections.</blockquote>
After failing a lot, but never giving up, I received an email. A well-known firm, after examining my test, wanted to continue with me in the next phase, which was a face to face interview.
<blockquote>I was nervous yet excited to meet my interviewers.</blockquote>
Before the “big day” I practiced a lot, I read many articles about tips and tricks, interview questions and answers, I googled my interviewers… That day I was clean, fresh and on-time…
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/940/0*UqDESXSnNhPXCTHW.">
<blockquote>Tip 2: It sounds like a cliche but it’s true → the 1st impression is very important.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Tip 3: Prepare yourself with small/easy steps.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The day before: practice interview questions/answers, search for the company and the interviewers, don’t forget to shower and sleep eight hours at night.</blockquote>
<blockquote>That day: dress in a “smart” way (search the company’s website for a dress code or an Instagram page with employers), be on time (surveys shows you can be about 10 minutes earlier of your scheduled time but never later).</blockquote>
<blockquote>Always give a steady handshake, and be kind to everybody.</blockquote>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/867/0*TTWf-CZkwm347o5t.">
During the interview, I talked with the developer manager and also with the CTO and the CEO (yes, I was super nervous talking with the big guys). Although I had done my research I accidentally confused some facts about the interviewers. The same day I was also given another test to complete but the results would be emailed to me.
A couple weeks past and I received an email which sums up to this “your test results were fine, we like you, BUT we had a lot of better candidates”.
<blockquote>I was rejected but I didn’t feel defeated.</blockquote>
I replied back, asking for feedback.
<blockquote>Tip 4: Ask politely for feedback. Although it can be intimidating, you will be improved for future interviews.</blockquote>
They informed me that my portfolio wasn’t strong enough and there were more suitable — experienced candidates.
<h3>But wait, this is a story about landing my first job and now I just told you I got rejected.</h3>
<h3>Bear with me.</h3>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/940/0*_mSfMRSN7WJ0beDj.">
We exchanged several emails as I was trying to convince them I was actually suitable for the job and yeeeees, I did it! I persuaded my manager to hire me. I was so happy.
<blockquote>Tip 5 — very important : Believe in yourself even if no one else does. Know your value.</blockquote>
Basically I got the job because I believed in myself and I was aware of my skills.
Speeding things up, after my six-months contract ended I was left without a job. I needed some time to think and set my priorities.
<h3>During my 1st and 2nd developer job</h3>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/867/0*M1s98vpkTRiFw8p7.">
<blockquote>Short version: I developed myself</blockquote>
I started studying for the first semester of my Master in “Graphic Arts and Multimedia”. I decided to study part-time so I could concentrate on reading, coding and developing my own little projects. And that was exactly what I did for the next few months…
<blockquote>I took my time, I didn’t rush it.</blockquote>
I was waking up every morning to study for my Master’s and later in the day I was coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and sometimes in angularjs. I was doing the challenges <a href="https://codepen.io/collection/DEggwx/">#100DaysOfCode</a>, <a href="https://codepen.io/collection/AkeJLM/">#dailycssimages</a> and #301DaysOfCode to keep myself motivated and on track, I was also <a href="https://twitter.com/BatsouElef">tweeting</a> my progress and encouraging others to keep learning. I started writing and publishing about my interests on <a href="https://medium.com/@EleftheriaBatsou/">Medium</a>, I completed some freecodecamp<a href="https://codepen.io/collection/ArBmzO/"> front-end </a>challenges and <a href="https://codepen.io/collection/XbgyEJ/">angularjs</a> projects , I shared my favourite design/developer <a href="https://youtu.be/vFjg3zfsRro">tools on YouTube</a>, I redesigned my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtFDfoQPUb4">portfolio website</a>, I styled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ26p-zHrgk">codepen’s</a> home page and I created <a href="https://codepen.io/EleftheriaBatsou/">many code snippets</a>.
In my coding journey, I received emails, twitters and the few Skype requests. I was (and still am) happy to meet and chat with other developers. Listening to their stories made me more motivated and encouraged me to #keepgoing.
<blockquote>Tip 6: Share your interests, <a href="https://twitter.com/BatsouElef">tweet</a> your progress, keep updated your <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/EleftheriaBatsou">social media</a>/ <a href="http://eleftheriabatsou.com/">portfolio-website</a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleftheriabatsou/">LinkedIn</a>.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Tip 7: Be nice to people. Help and share twice as much as you currently do.</blockquote>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/940/0*60INISD3tnOmiJHK.">
<h3>How I landed my 2nd job as a developer</h3>
It was just before lunchtime which means I was still reading for my Master’s degree when I received a LinkedIn message. As you may have noticed I am super focused while I study (or code), so I didn’t open the message. Later I found out that it was an opportunity for a job interview. I thought about my priorities and, yes, after all this reading and the countless hours of coding, it was time to move on. The manager and I scheduled an interview. Everything went great. Soon enough I got an offer.
Currently, I am working in a great team with young, inspiring developers. I feel comfortable, I can speak my mind, there is no bad judgment and the overall working environment is very friendly.
<h3>Final thoughts and more tips</h3>
Everyday I try to learn something new and develop myself.
<ul>
<li>Always try your best and know your value.</li>
<li>Encourage others to believe in themselves.</li>
<li>Stay strong despite the rejections.</li>
<li>Set your priorities and work everyday towards your goals.</li>
<li>Focus on the positive side of each story, don’t let things get down to you.</li>
<li>At the beginning, It’s gonna be hard, but you chose a career (hopefully) because you love it.</li>
<li>No one will give you an opportunity if you don’t fight for it.</li>
<li>Show your enthusiasm, share your passions.</li>
<li>Don’t be afraid to fail. In fact fail fast, then gather your thoughts, stand up, and keep going.</li>
</ul>
I promise you, great things are going to happen. Trust me. I’ve been there.
<h3>Other stories:</h3>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/what-i-gained-after-1-year-of-100daysofcode-8269182f00a">What I Gained After 1 Year of #100DaysOfCode</a></li>
<li><a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/my-journey-with-pure-css-images-d5b561e51d2f">My journey with pure CSS images</a></li>
</ol>
Would you like to get me a coffee, please?!☕️
You can do that here → paypal.me/eleftheriabatsou
But If you can’t, that’s ok too 😍.
It would be nice to subscribe to my youtube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/EleftheriaBatsou">channel</a>. It helps creating more content.
Thanks for reading, have an awesome day!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/EleftheriaBatsou">Youtube</a> | <a href="https://codepen.io/EleftheriaBatsou">Codepen</a> | <a href="https://github.com/EleftheriaBatsou">GitHub</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/BatsouElef">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://eleftheriabatsou.com/">Site</a>
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<a href="https://blog.prototypr.io/landing-my-1st-vs-2nd-developer-job-32183e82a612">Landing my 1st VS 2nd developer job</a> was originally published in <a href="https://blog.prototypr.io">Prototypr</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Landing my 1st VS 2nd developer job

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