How to get a job as a software developer (with no experience) in India.

It is a known fact that many engineers struggle with getting their first job in the software community, unless you come from a very good college you’ll probably struggle to catch your break.

On the good side, more and more companies in India are realizing that you don’t need a degree to be a software dev, you only need to be passionate about coding and computers to get a gig.

So before going ahead, ask yourself “Do I love coding? Do I love sitting, staring at a computer screen for 10-12 hours a day?” If your answer is no, I feel like this field is not for you.

Start with why, “Why do you want to become a software dev?”, do you have an idea that you’d like to bring to life? Do you like creating new things? Do you like computer programs and would love to learn how it all works? Having a purpose of what you’re doing will drive you for the rest of your career, make sure you have a purpose - motivation will wear off but your drive will remain.

No break for freshers

“Nobody wants to hire a fresher, everyone wants an experienced guy”

It is the chicken and egg problem, “how do you get experience when you have no job and how do you get a job when you have to experience?”

That is not entirely true, remember everyone NEEDS people who know what they’re doing, who can work hard, and are smart in general.

Employer: Why should I care?

It is not that hard getting started as a software dev. However, you need to shift your perspective from thinking “how can I get this job?” or “how can I get in this company?” to “how to do I make or bring some value for this company?”, “what skill sets do I bring to the table that’ll bring value to this company?”.

Search for job openings on portals like Naukri, angel.co, and LinkedIn and see what positions are most abundant for freshers and plan your way accordingly.

Most importantly, you need to sell yourself.

Even if you have all the knowledge in the world but you’re a hermit and no one knows, Google/Apple won’t come seeking you. Learn how to sell yourself. Think like this, imagine that you’re a third-person watching this communication happen between you and your potential employer. Observe what yourself will be telling the potential employer from a third-person view/perspective.

Are you impressed by whatever this guy is showing/talking? If no, realize that you need work and get grinding, ultimately you’ll get better with practice.

You can also note down possible questions or scenarios with interviewers and rehearse, doing this activity daily will subconsciously help you gain more confidence.

Everyone wants solutions, everyone wants skills, think about how are you going to bring any solutions to the table, and how to showcase your skillset.

Communication skills will matter more than your knowledge.

Go for small-scale startups

Go for small-scale or startup companies, instead of aiming for the big MNCs at the start of your career.

I don’t know how many people (freshers) realize that working in a small-scale/startup company at the beginning of your career would add a lot of value compared to working in an MNC. With MNCs, the exposure to the kind of work you get is very limited. This is because they have huge projects and can only hand-over a minuscule part of it to each employee to maintain productivity. In contrast, in a start-up, you’ll get to see the whole spectrum from the start to the end of a project. No doubt, you won’t have the comfort of an MNC, you’ll have to slog 10-12 hours every day, but you will learn a lot in a short span of time.

So, work for a small-scale company to get that precious experience and learning.

How do I get these companies’ attention?

Make a good portfolio, again sell yourself. Create a good GitHub profile and a cover letter template, and edit the cover letter template for each position for which you apply.

You’re as good as your projects.

Be a perpetual learner, you won’t sustain in this industry if you cannot keep on learning new things. You’ll have to redefine your skills every few years as a software dev, if you hate learning new things go for a government job instead - there’s much stability there in terms of staying in your comfort zone.

Write your learnings in a blog and showcase them.

Whenever you are taking a course or trying to learn some new skill, always try to document it - preferably using G-Doc - but paper notes should work as well. This way you will have something concrete to show for the time you invested in your learning. Look at the greener side, if you didn’t get anything else at least you got a good article from it :D.

Always try to learn/write documentation like you’re going to show it or share it with a group of people whom you held in high regard.

Write good documentation for every Github project that you do, learn how markdown works, and create an awesome README page - use images and GIF if necessary.

Takeaway

If you would like to take something actionable away from this blog, take these points home:

  1. Think about what potential benefits you’ll bring to the company and write them down.
    • Everything looks good in our head, shit goes south when you try to articulate it on paper. It is where the magic happens, if you cannot get it on the paper - trust me - you don’t have it in your head.
  2. Make interesting projects and create an awesome README page (Use images and GIFS).
  3. Write blogs for every learning activity that you do.
  4. Keep applying to companies and expect to face 100 rejections. Tell yourself that you won’t be down until you face 100 rejections.
  5. Use angel.co to apply to start-up companies (Best site I’ve ever used).
  6. Network with people. Connect with people on LinkedIn and ask questions.
    • Think like you’re not an individual but a company and you’re the marketing/PR head of yourself, and you’ve to do your job getting in touch with people and having a word with them.
    • This works for me, if something doesn’t work out you cannot get upset, you cannot take things personally, you’re not an individual you’re the marketing/PR head of your own company.
  7. Be in contact with people who have some experience and get your stuff reviewed.
    • This comes under networking, remember you’re the PR person of your own company, don’t take things personally, swallow your ego and NETWORK.

I wish you all the very best.