The document provides a comprehensive guide for job seekers in the IT industry, covering essential practices such as defining job goals, preparing CVs, and researching potential employers. It emphasizes the importance of gaining relevant skills through self-study and practical experiences, as well as maintaining a professional approach during the job application process. The document also outlines various job search channels, including job sites, networking, and career events, while cautioning against unreliable employers.

1. 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

2. 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

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

4. 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

5. 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 ?

6. 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

7. 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 ?

8. 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

9. 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 ?

10. 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?

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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 "

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

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

24. 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

25. 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!

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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!

29. 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

30. 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>

31. 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

32. Sending Your Job Application (3) 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 &quot;Junior .NET Developer&quot; (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.

33. Sending Your Job Application (4) 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]

34. 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

35. Prepare for an Interview Prepare for eventual interview Research the company The interviewer will obligatory ask you about the company and &quot;nothing&quot; 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.

36. 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

37. 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, …)

38. Finding a Job in the IT Industry Questions?

39. Thank You!