by Frances Advincula
I was anorexic in high school, and to start over in my efforts of recovery, I ran away to the other side of the world. I ended up turning down a scholarship to a private university and enrolled in a small, new college in Manila for undergrad. My parents rightfully worried I was throwing my future away. I worried about it too, but I think things turned out just fine. I love all the cutting edge things I get to code for Accenture Software now, and I’ve been asked to be interviewed by well-known companies — Google, Microsoft, Amazon, LinkedIn, Netflix, Fog Creek Software, and hot startups — AirBnb, The Levo League.
Why the sob story? I want to help everyone realize that, no matter what your state is in life, you can still do something proactive to better yourself, to achieve your goals. Yes, you have a shot at the big companies and rising startups even if you didn’t go to Stanford or live in Silicon Valley (although that most certainly helps!). I did it from the other side of the world, from school in a developing country. You can too.
To help you get started, I thought I’d share what I did, in hopes that you too, can find your dream femgineering job. You wan’t to be ready when luck comes knocking, don’t you?
Perfect your cover letter and resume.
If you are still in school or in an entry-level position, keep your resume to one page. I’ve heard that HR will throw it straight to the trash pile if it’s any longer than that. But anyway, just common sense — practice good grammar, proofread, ask your friends to proofread, etc. And read this article by Joel Spolsky: “Getting Your Resume Read.” It is the best, actionable advice on the topic that I have ever read. Ever.
Build your portfolio of coding projects.
CS theory is great (Automata Theory was one of my absolutest, favoritest subjects), but if you want a software engineer job, you have to show that you can write code. If you don’t have a lot of experience, software school projects are a good thing to list on your resume. But listen, I didn’t even have a GitHub back then, but I had my portfolio –and it served me well. So just imagine how far having GitHub can take you! Oh the places you’ll go!
Get an engineering internship, no matter what.
This is included in Joel Spolsky’s advice to CS students (which you are at a serious disadvantage if you don’t read it). Nothing will teach you how the industry works than a solid internship. You’re gonna be walking the talk by the time it’s over. I actually did mine fulltime for 6 months at Accenture, and I wasn’t the same person afterwards. If you really can’t find a good internship, consider remote ones like Gnome’s Outreach Program for Women.
Have a blog or write for other publications.
Why? Because blogging shows that you are curious and passionate. Blogging shows that you are willing to spend time outside of work/school for the things you care about. Blogging exposes you to new ideas and people who care about those ideas. Blogging forces you to be an expert in something (really, how are you going to write about it if you know squat?). Find organizations you want to write about and shoot the editor a well crafted email, volunteering. The worst case is that they’ll say no. This is how I got to write for a few startups, and even a fashion magazine!
Be Googable.
You are a young person. Social media is expected of us (plus, lots of startups communicate via social media). It’s also a great way to show you care without investing too much time blogging. A couple of ideas that go beyond Twitter/Facebook/Google+ include:
- Pinterest – Make boards about topics you are interested in: UX, Women-in-Tech, Startup Lessons, etc.
- Good Reads – Show that you are well-read with software and startup books! Poornima has a great reading list, and check out the Fog Creek Software MBA Program’s reading list.
Sharpen your interview skills.
Tech interviews are hard. You get asked the normal questions and you get grilled in coding problems and alogrithms too. You have to be prepared!
- Her Campus’s, 20 Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
- Coding Horror’s, Getting the Interview Phone Screen Right
- Poornima’s slideshow, Interview Skills & Secrets
- Palantir’s 3 Part Series: How to Rock an Algorithms Interview, The Coding Interview, The UI Design Interview
- Gayle Laakmann McDowell’s book, Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions is a really good, and thorough review of CS and programming fundamentals.
To calm your nerves, remember that an interview is two-sided. You are interviewing them too! You are also trying to find out if that company will invest in your learning and if you will fit into its culture (Read “My Interview Questions for Potential Employers“).
One last piece of advice.
Take time to enjoy your last semester too. People told me this, I ignored them, and I very much regret it. This is your last chance to savor your campus, your college friends, and the privilege of not yet fully being in the real world, with bills and rent and performance reviews to worry about. (Oh and it’s also probably not a good idea to take the GRE the same week as your finals, just sayin’.)
Frances Advincula writes the series Frances Fridays. Frances recently graduated with a degree in Computer Science and is currently pursuing a masters at Johns Hopkins. She now works as a Software Developer for Accenture Software. A proud geek girl, she’s sure she is the only one who can’t play video games. Tweet her at @FranAdvincula.
