Tech is the new hot scene in Nairobi, so developers should find it easy to land a job, right? Wrong. There is a huge gap between the number of openings employers are looking to fill and the number of qualified candidates they are finding.
Why is this? Most commonly, job candidates struggle to present themselves in the right way, they fail to apply to the jobs they are best suited for, and they lack soft skills when interviewing with the employer.
In this presentation, we discuss all you need to know in order to navigate the tech hiring scene. Getting a job – be it at a startup, large corporation, or as a freelancer, may seem daunting. We’ve got you covered.
And just in case you forgot…
Who are we?
Duma Works delivers high quality, affordable hiring solutions for small to medium-sized enterprises in Kenya. We are a community of over 10,000 Kenyan professionals (and growing), and we have matched over 4,500 job seekers to opportunities.
To sign up: Visit www.dumaworks.com, send a WhatsApp to 0701060302, or send an SMS to 22131.
8. YOUR PERSONAL NETWORK – This is the best option.
Someone you know vouches for the organization and
recommends you directly to the employer.
DIRECT APPLICATIONS – These are openings that
are listed on a company’s website. Less competition
than a job board, but hard to build a list of leads.
JOB BOARDS – It’s easy to find leads, but you’re
pitted against a large number of other applicants
so it’s hard to get noticed.
STEP 1: FIND OPENINGS
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9. Are you likely to secure an offer?
Don’t apply for jobs that you don’t meet the
qualifications for.
Will your skills and knowledge progress?
If you want to grow as a developer, you need to
be challenged by your work.
Will the job pay enough?
You need to be getting enough pay that you
aren’t thinking about your salary and stifling your
ability to be creative.
STEP 2: QUALIFY LEADS
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10. Is the job secure enough?
You should assess the risk profile of a company. Do
you want to be the first developer in an early stage
startup? Do you want to be the newest member of an
established team? There’s no right or wrong answer.
Am I going to be productive with this company?
Do they have some sort of iterative development
process? Will I get along well with the other
members of the development team?
STEP 2: QUALIFY LEADS
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11. TECHNICAL DEPTH – Highlight some of the
technologies you’ve worked with and describe
your level of expertise in each skill.
SOCIAL PROOF – List some of the companies
you’ve worked for and/or testimonials you’ve
received from past colleagues.
WORKING SOFTWARE – Link to either a working
installation of an application you have created or
a code sample you were responsible for. Make this
easy to find and preview.
STEP 3: ON YOUR CV
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12. PRACTICE – Practice writing code in a simple text
editor without syntax highlighting or completion
macros.
REFRESH– Learn these core computer science concepts:
• Algorithm complexity
• Sorting
• Hashtables
• Trees
• Graphs
• Operating systems
• Architecture
STEP 4: INTERVIEW PREP
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13. Confidence is good, arrogance is bad.
Arrogance implies insecurity. Confident people don’t
feel the need to overtly display their skills
STEP 5: NAIL THE INTERVIEW
Understand the value you bring.
Your paycheck comes from the value you bring. Most
job seekers forget this and talk mostly about what they
want in a job.
Understand the organization.
What does the company do? What is its vision and
strategy? What are its values? Who are the competition
and what is the market opportunity?
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14. Questions to ask during an interview
• What software have you delivered to users in
the last month?
• How do you monitor and measure the end user
experience?
• Are you profitable?
• Why are you hiring developers now?
• What does your technology stack look like?
Whey did you choose those options?
STEP 5: NAIL THE INTERVIEW
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15. Questions to ask during an interview
• What is the team’s policy on technical
documentation? Unit testing? Code reviews?
• What major projects is the development team
working on at the moment? What’s the strategic
motivation behind them?
• Do you do user experience or A/B testing?
• Do you have automated acceptance tests? Who is
responsible for QA?
STEP 5: NAIL THE INTERVIEW
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17. UNDERSTAND THE COMPANY
The Startup Story
Startups always have a story of why they started
the company and what they’re hoping to achieve.
Interests and Skills
Talk about how your interests and skills align
with the needs of the startup.
Suggest an improvement
Give a suggestion on something you would
improve or change.
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18. STARTUP CULTURE
Dress code
Don’t go to your interview in a suit! Wear
something business casual.
Be a team player
Be someone easy to get along with. Most skills can
be learned, but nature and character are hard to
change.
Be humble
In a startup, you may be working long hours and fail a
lot. You also may be doing a lot of menial stuff if you
work at a very early-stage company.
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20. FULLTIME THEN FREELANCE
Build skills
Develop skills working on real-world projects.
Develop interpersonal and teamwork skills.
Save money
It may be a while before you get your first
contract as a freelancer. You don’t want to take
bad clients who treat you badly or pay bad rates.
Build contacts
In the beginning, your direct professional
network, like former co-workers, will bring you
the vast majority of contract opportunities.
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21. FIND OUT ABOUT JOBS
Referrals and Networking
Ask people who you have worked with in the past
for referrals. Grow your LinkedIn network.
Online sites
Check out Elance.com, Rentacoder.com,
Freelancer.com, Dice.com
Professional Profile
Get involved in the open source community by
fixing bugs on open source projects and
answering questions on stackoverflow.
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22. MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
Use proper English
Make sure you don’t make spelling mistakes and
that your sentences are grammatically correct.
Good photo
Make sure you post a professional, friendly photo
on your profile.
Communicate
Respond quickly and treat clients with respect.
Where possible, show enthusiasm and friendliness.
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23. FREELANCE BEST PRACTICES
Choose a small set set of skills
Balance between mainstream technologies and
some “niche” ones
Communication
Know the client’s level of technical understanding.
Make your choices clear and justify them.
Only one client at a time
Switching between projects leads to lost time. Imagine
switching between two jobs several times a day.
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24. DEFINE THE PARAMETERS
NEVER TAKE AN OPEN-ENDED ASSIGNMENT
Engagement term
What is your start date, stop date, and expected
hours per deliverable (or per week)?
Deliverables
What are the discrete deliverables and remits?
What approval process will you go through?
Payment terms
Where do you send invoices, to who, and how
many business days after submission will the client
be able to pay you?
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25. DEFINE THE PARAMETERS
NEVER TAKE AN OPEN-ENDED ASSIGNMENT
Communication
Who is your day-to-day contact at the client firm?
Who is the project lead?
Availability
When can clients expect to reach you, and vice
versa? Are weekends fair game? Is there a 10pm
work/sleep meridian? Work this stuff out in
writing in advance
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26. FREELANCE TO FULLTIME
Look for flexible opportunities
Try to find a full time (or even part time)
opportunity that allows you to work from home
and/or on your own hours.
Ask your clients for a job
Ask your clients if they’re hiring or if they can
refer you to someone who is
List your freelance experience as a business
List your experience as ABC Software Company
with you as the Founder rather than “freelancer”
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28. HELLO,
NICE TO MEET YOU!
Duma Works is a CAREER BUILDING
PLATFORM that connects employers
with qualified job seekers, primarily for
entry-level and middle-management
positions. The top sectors we deal with
are office work, hospitality, and ICT.
29. Our MOBILE PLATFORM makes jobs
accessible for everyone.
Our MATCHING ALGORITHMS
identify the top qualified candidates
based on employers’ social
connections and their hiring criteria.
Our SCREENING SYSTEM verifies
job seekers’ skills and helps train
them for interviews and future
employment.
OUR TECHNOLOGY
30. HOW IT WORKS: SIGN UP
Personal Info
Name, Age, Town
Karibu
DUMA
Works!
Job Profile
Skills, Education, Work
Experience, Hours, Salary
Referral Network
Colleagues, Referees,
Friends, Family
SMS 22131
WhatsApp 0701060302
Website www.dumaworks.com
31. YOU’RE IN GOOD HANDS
ACTIVE USERS: Over 9000
JOB MATCHES: Over 4500
JOB LOCATIONS: Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu,
Naivasha, Eldoret, Nyeri, Embu, Meru
AWARDS: CLIENTS/PARTNERS:
Google Innovation Award for Social
Equity and Poverty Reduction
Centennial Innovation Challenge Winners
Two online article features
AND MANY MORE …
32. MEET THE TEAM
Christine Blauvelt
Co-Founder
Arielle Sandor
Co-Founder
Linus Lennstrand
Chief Technology Officer
Kevyn Wainaina
Customer Care
Jack Mwangi
Software Engineer
Kenny Rachuonyo
Software Engineer
Angela Wairimu
Corporate Affairs
Fred Muya
Software Engineer
33. THANK YOU
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU
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