Tech is an innovative and interesting field with good salaries and plenty of job openings. However, it isn’t always easy to land your dream tech job. Not only do you need to perfect your tech skills, but you also have to compete with a lot of other people to get the attention of companies. Here are some tips to ensure you make yourself the ideal candidate for tech companies.
1. Work on your communication skills
Communication skills are very important to have even if you don’t have to talk to clients. You will most likely be working within a team of developers. This means that you will have to be able to collaborate effectively so that you can understand the vision for the project, decide who is responsible for what and understand the standard practices for accomplishing tasks. You may also need to present your work to people within your company without using jargon, to make it easier to understand. Miscommunication can end up costing both money and time, this won’t make you very popular with your company.
You can improve your communication skills by setting up a blog, starting a podcast or going to meetups. This can show your employers that you are committed and invested in the technical community and will demonstrate your ability to communicate and make connections within the world of tech.
2. Be open to learning new things
You shouldn’t just learn one specific language; you should be aiming to learn how to think. The programming language is about how to break problems down and understand abstract ideas. These skills will enable you to learn new languages and concepts on the job. Here are some ways you can become a great learner:
- Be inquisitive. Make sure you ask questions. Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t understand something, speak up and let others teach you.
- Harness the motivation to go beyond the surface of a concept and work on increasingly complex applications. Don’t be scared of concepts you don’t know, dive in at the deep end.
- Try coding every single day as this is a great way to form the learning habit.
3. Make sure you are networking
It can be difficult to be recommended to companies and clients if you haven’t got any connections. If you don’t work on building a community, you will become just another CV lost in the pile. Therefore, to avoid this, you should start approaching recruitment companies who can help you find the job you want. They will have built up relationships with companies in the area and so will be able to put your name forward as a candidate. However, you need to first make sure it is the right agency for your needs. There is no point in targeting an agency that doesn’t deal with tech jobs or is from the US when you are living in Bangkok, for example. If you are an ex-pat living in Bangkok looking for a job in tech, you should approach a company such as www.recruitdee.com as they have strong relationships with tech companies and so can help you to get a foot in the door.
However, you do need to build your own network as well. To build a network you need to go to events, conferences and meetups. It is best to do it in person, but you can also join online groups. Don’t be afraid to bite the bullet and just ask people to meet up. Email someone you admire and invite them for coffee. The worst thing they can do is say no, but the majority of people are happy to share advice and recommend things to help you on your journey.
