Finding a Job in the IT Industry

Finding a Job in the IT Industry Good and Bad Practices for Job Seekers
Svetlin Nakov
Telerik Academy
academy.telerik.com
Technical Trainer
www.nakov.com

Table of Contents
Where to Search for a Job?
Define Your Goals
Prepare for Starting a Job
Search Channels: Job Sites, Career Centers, …
The Job Application Process
Research the Employer
Prepare CV, Cover Letter, Endorsements, …
Preparation for an Interview
Go to an Interview

Where and How to Search for a Job ? Guidelines for Job Seekers

Steps in the Job Search Process
The job search process follows these steps:
Define your goals – what kind of job you want ?
Prepare for starting a job – increase your skills
Research the job market
Research the employers and offered positions
Apply for a job
Prepare and send your CV and cover letter
Prepare for the interview
Go to the Interview

Define Your Goals
What kind of job you want ?
What position ?
In Bulgaria or abroad ?
What are the requirements for this position ?
Who are the potential employers ?
For software engineers / IT specialists :
What technologies I want to use at work (e.g. PHP / Java / .NET / front-end / QA / mobile / …)?
Are my goals achievable / realistic ?

The First Job is Hardest to Get!
Starting your first job is very hard
Start with lower goals and expectations
Once you get experience you could easily move to a better job / position / employer
Companies need experienced people
Be unpretentious !
You don’t need a big salary at your first working day – it will come later
Just start working somewhere, later you could move to a better position or company

Prepare for Starting a Job
Once you know what position you want, prepare yourself for it
Do you have the required skills?
Your university education is not enough !
How you could increase your knowledge / skills ?
Self-study ( books , tutorials , video-tutorials, … )
Training courses ( e.g. Telerik Academy)
Practical projects – very, very important!
What non-technical skills you need ?

Prepare for Starting a Job (2)
The everyday development of your IT skills during your life is your preparation for finding a job
At school – trainings, courses, practical projects
At the university – courses, practice and projects
Alternative education: courses, training centers, …
Telerik Academy / School Academy , elective courses at FMI , programming schools , training companies
Self-education – study yourself by books / videos
Internships / real-world experience / trial jobs
Practical projects – learn by doing and practicing

Prepare for Starting a Job (3)
Ask yourself: how am I different than the other 50 candidates for the same job position?
Do I have better skills than them ?
If not, how could I improve my skills ?
Do I have any experience ?
If not, how could I gain some ?
Can I start some project to gain experience ?
Have I prepared my job application carefully ?
Do I have awards, certificates, endorsements ?

Research the Job Market
Researching the job market is important
Research the employers
Review the job offers from the last 3 months
Who are the most active employers?
Research these employers – what skills thy need?
Research the job positions
What are the most searched job positions?
Did you find job offers for the position you want?
E.g. you may want to become game developer but does the industry need game developers?

Good Employers
What is a good employer and how to identify it ?
The best reference are insiders in the company !
Several insiders are even better
Generally companies from West Europe, USA and Canada are more reliable
Best employers demonstrate professionalism in all possible respects
Carefully written job description, emails, positive attitude in phone calls, clear expectations, etc.
Have good reputation – positive comments in public sites, forums, and message boards

Bad Employers
What is a bad employer and how to identify it ?
Beware of amateur / garage companies
" Garage company " is not a " small company "
Beware of high employee turnover
Beware of state / government companies and companies working on government projects
Beware of Greeks and Israeli employers
Beware of companies managed by incompetent people – you could notice this at the interview
Beware of organizational anarchy

Employers Rankings
Use carefully site like www.bgrabotodatel.com and www.karieri.bg/forum
Traditionally most comments come from haters
These sites can be easily tricked / manipulated!
Employees fired due to incompetence, always put negative comments against their former employer
Trust more to established consulting companies
E.g. Hewitt does a "Best Employer" ranking by industries, every year, worldwide
JOBS.BG's employer ranking may be a bit tricky

Top Employers in Bulgaria (2010) Source : http:// dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=618009

Job Search Channels
Job searching in the software / IT industry runs through many channels
Public job Web sites
Network of friends / colleagues
University career centers
Career events ( job fairs)
Recruitment agencies
Direct contact with the employer

Public Job Sites
Jobs sites (targeting the Bulgarian IT industry)
www.jobs.bg
www.itjobs.bg
www.rabota.bg
www.jobspace.bg
www.bestjobs.bg
www.orjo.com
www.jobtiger.bg
www.buljobs.bg
The list is not complete and not exhaustive
Job sites constantly change
JOBG.BG is the leader
Search in Google
E.g. try " работа Java developer "

You Friends Network
Ask your friends / colleagues / fellows
Many job offers are offered privately only
Send email to all your friends / colleagues
Use your contacts in Facebook
Use all your acquaintances by any channel
Explain them what kind of job you need and what skills you have
Send them your CV, portfolio, etc.
They will spend just one click to forward it

University Career Centers
The career centers at the universities :
At some universities there are well-working career centers  contact them
Many internship and junior job positions are offered at the universities
Some career centers for the IT industry :
FMI of SU – http:// career.fmi.uni-sofia.bg
TU-Sofia – http:// career.tu-sofia.bg
NBU – http:// www.nbu.bg/index.php?l=264

Career Events ( Job Fairs)
Career events ( job fairs) are great place to learn about the employers and find job offers
How to learn about upcoming career events ?
Career centers put invitations at their Web sites
The student's councils at each University
NBU – www.studentskisavet.com
TU-Sofia – www.studsavet.com
FMI of SU – fss.fmi.uni-sofia.bg
Largest job portals put invitations in Facebook

Recruitment Agencies
Generally in Bulgaria the IT recruitment agencies (HR agencies) do not work well
Most of them consider you as a commodity
They want to sell you to earn money
Your interests are usually ignored
They will ask you start a job which you do not want (e.g. an operator in a call center)
Some employers use only HR agencies to hire new employees
This is mostly for executive positions

Recruitment Agencies in Bulgaria
Generally the recruitment agencies are incompetent in the IT industry
However you can still post them a CV
Bulwork – http://www.bulwork.net
The most popular, but has bad reputation + unfair attitude to applicants and employers
Adecco Bulgaria – http://www.adeccobulgaria.com
Manpower Bulgaria – http://wwwmanpower.bg
Talent Hunter – http :// www.talenthunter-bg.com
ITJobs.bg ( HRCR ) – http:// www.hrcr.bg

Directly Contact the Employers
Sometimes best employers do not post public job offers
Candidates scramble to apply for them
Usually companies with very strong reputation ( like Microsoft, Google and Facebook)
If you want to work in such company, you need to be the active side
Make a list of the best employers in your industry and find their job offers
Be prepared to show significant achievements

The Job Application Process How to Prepare a CV, Cover Letter and Send a Job Application, How to Prepare and Go to Interview?

Job Application Steps
Recommended steps to follow during the job application process:
Research the employer
Research the job offer
Prepare CV, cover letter, endorsements, projects, portfolio, certificates, awards, etc.
Carefully send you job application
Prepare for an interview
Go to interview

Read the Requirements
Very important rule :
Follow the requirements exactly as requested
If a CV in English is required this means CV in English, not in Bulgarian
If a cover letter is required in Bulgarian, this means a cover letter in Bulgarian
If the deadline is March 31 st , this is not April 2 nd
Read the Requirements!

What Language to Use?
In the IT industry the official language is English
If anyone requests a CV in Bulgarian, this may be a suspicious garage-like company
If the job offer does not specify a language
Use the same language like the in job offer
You can still use English for the IT positions
If a cover letter is not requested, still send one
This will make you more-serious candidate

Research the Employer
Obligatory research the employer !
Explore what is its business
You should know very well what the company does, its products, services, customers, etc.
Research which are the company value
What is important for the company ?
Read articles / publications about the company
Read the forums and discussions
Beware: forum posts are not trustworthy source

Research the Job Position
Research carefully the job position !
Any unknown words in the job description ( e.g. BPMN, BPEL, ARIS, BPM, SOA)?
Learn about them, try these technologies!
Any unknown products in the job description ?
Download the products and play with them !
Any requirement unmatched by your skills / competence / experience ?
Improve your skills, take a quick course / tutorial!

Prepare CV and Cover Letter
Prepare a CV that matches the job position and the requirements in the job description
Start with the most important for this specific job offer technologies / skills / experience / projects
Carefully prepare a cover (motivation) letter
Write it specifically for the offered position
Never use a template
Find endorsements from former employers, professors, colleagues, and so on
Prepare diplomas , certificates , awards , portfolio

Sending Your Job Application
Send carefully you job application and according to the requirements
The email sender should be polite :
Ivan Ivanov < [email_address] >
An example of idiotic sender :
Asd Afds < [email_address] >
Email subject should be meaningful :
Job Application: Junior .NET Developer (Ref # 481 )
Bad examples : CV , Re: , rabota , < no subject>

Sending Your Job Application (2)
The cover letter and CV should be sent as separate files (best in PDF format) named meaningfully :
Ivan-Ivanov-Cover-Letter-Mobiltel.pdf
Ivan-Ivanov-CV.pdf
Examples of idiotic file names :
New Document (2).docx , ivan.doc , mobiltel.doc
Don’t attach a photo, put it inside your CV
Don't send 8 MB photo named vankata_pich 2 .jpg !
If you need to attach large files (more than 2 MB), something is wrong  find what

Write a meaningful text in the email body, e.g.
Obligatory put in the application email :
The exact name of the position (as in the job offer) and a reference number (if applicable)
The company name ( not your company )
How did you learn about this position
Dear HR Manager, I would like to apply for the position "Junior .NET Developer" (Ref # 481 ) in Mobiltel EAD published at Jobs.bg. Attached are my application documents: CV, cover letter, university diploma and English TOEFL certificate. Please feel free to contact me at any time by phone or e-mail.

Obligatory put a meaningful signature with your name and contacts at the end of the email :
Send your entire application in English ( CV, cover letter, endorsements, portfolio, email, signature)
Exception: if the job offer is in Bulgarian
Never mix the languages (BG text + EN signature )
Kind regards, Ivan Ivanov Tel. 0888 12 34 56 Email: [email_address]

Expect to Get Contacted
If your job application is carefully prepared, expect to be contacted in few days
Good companies always answer to polite candidates by phone or by email
Positive or negative, you will get an answer
If you have sent CV 2 .doc in an empty e-mail without a subject, you will not get an answer !
Read your e-mail constantly!
Bring your phone with fully charged battery and do not reject the incoming calls

Prepare for an Interview
Prepare for eventual interview
Research the company
The interviewer will obligatory ask you about the company and "nothing" is catastrophic answer
Research carefully each of the requirements
You will be asked about your experience with the required products / platforms / technologies / etc.
Be prepared for classical (standard) questions :
Previous experience, expected salary, etc.

The Interview
Half of the effort you put with your job application is to get invited to an interview
Most candidates do not know how to apply for a job and never get invited to an interview
The other efforts are to demonstrate your skills and positive personality at the interview
Prepare for technical questions
Demonstrate knowledge and skills, positive attitude, thinking, readiness for teamwork
Avoid having high demands / pretentions

Homework
Define your goals for your future job
Is there a demand in the industry for this job?
Identify the typical requirements for your preferred job position
Identify the technologies you need to know
Create a wish-list of potential employers
Research these employers
Increase your skills for your preferred job position (pass tutorials, read books, take courses, …)

Finding a Job in the IT Industry
Questions?

Thank You!

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Finding a Job in the IT Industry

by Svetlin Nakov on Jan 12, 2012

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Finding a Job in the IT Industry — Presentation Transcript