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Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

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Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#1
Hi, I'm 19 and currently in my second CS semester. I've got some projects on my portfolio, did some internships and will start an job as an research assistant at an institute next semester. However, I really have no clue how I can prepare myself enough before landing my first job after university. The only things I can find are: build a portfolio and contribute to open-source.

Which advice did/would have helped you landing your first job after university? And whats your best tip for life in general?

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#2
I had side projects like Android apps, good grade, decent soft skills, and extracurricular clubs/sports. Those seemed to help.

I think your internships and being a research assistant should be your biggest assets. Try to remember some of your accomplishments and how you handled tough situations. Managers/recruiters love to ask you about past experiences. Try to get letters of recommendation from your bosses and from a professor too.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#3
Your internship and research assistant are really good starting point. - Observe the work culture in your current workspace and ask feedback from your manager and coworkers. -Make a list of your weak and strong points.For me this helped me choosing the kind of work I love to do. Example: I like talking to people and solving problems,so I prefer customer support or BA role than a programmer. I know programming but I struggle to sit and code longer hours. - If needed improve your softskill. Many online free training available - Be flexible with relocation if the role promise long-term career growth and build strong skillset for your profile.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#4

Your internship and research assistant are really good starting point. - Observe the work culture in your current workspace and ask feedback from your manager and coworkers. -Make a list of your weak and strong points.For me this helped me choosing the kind of work I love to do. Example: I like talking to people and solving problems,so I prefer customer support or BA role than a programmer. I know programming but I s…

Thanks. Specially the part, talkong to people in order to find what you'd like most. I haven't found the perfect position for me yet.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#5
You will be judged on how you look, how you speak, how well you write, and what you produce. You need to make an effort on all four. In every group, some will take advantage of you, some will sabotage you, some are bullies, and some you can trust. Your best strategy is to recognize them as early as possible.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#6
When you are new, say yes to everything. Stay busy, if you have nothing to do, ask for something. You want to take the load off your team members where you can to contribute & build some clout/respect. Find the most knowledgeable team member and shadow them.

Real jobs are just college group projects that never end.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#7
Other than school, which is sort of an anomaly, I find that the only thing that prepares you to do something is actually doing it. So the corollary is, you're never actually prepared for anything ahead of time. Don't worry about it, just trust yourself to either know or figure out what to do when the time comes. We make the path by walking.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#8
That's generally good advice. Another thing I can recommend is to learn to market yourself and your work. Getting a job is, in a way, selling yourself. You have to convince the potential employer that parting with his/her money for your time is a bargain. This is a mix of persuasion, presentation, and communication. A few mock interviews with someone who knows the ropes, some time spent on your appearance and speech would help a lot. I landed a job in 2000 right out of college even though I had a CGPA below the cut off just because of how I was able to talk myself into an interview and then impress the interviewer.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#9
post #6

When you are new, say yes to everything. Stay busy, if you have nothing to do, ask for something. You want to take the load off your team members where you can to contribute & build some clout/respect. Find the most knowledgeable team member and shadow them. Real jobs are just college group projects that never end.

This is good advice. Saying yes to everything is basically the most important thing. The other thing is to try to tackle headache problems for your team or manager.

You’ll know it when you see it because you will literally get uncomfortable when thinking about completing it.

High output involves completely finishing things. It will be impossible at first, but as you get more experience, in both total and your current company you will be better at it.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for students before starting their first job

#10
A few things off the top of my head, no particular order:

* Read the documentation. I can't stress enough on that.

* Don't over-engineer stuff. Keep it plain and simple. Remember - most of your co-workers will have a lot of experience and you won't be able to impress them with something revolutionary. Chances are, they've seen it and had it for breakfast a million times.

* Don't be afraid to ask, even if it seems like a stupid question. Especially if you get wrapped up in a big and complex project. Most people are aware that during the first 5-6 months, new developers are often a net loss to the company, regardless of their skills and knowledge - there is always and adaptation period. Use that to your advantage.

* Be __brutally__ strict about the working processes and don't try to re-invent the wheel. Application structure, naming conventions, pull requests, code review - stick to it no matter what(unless there is a very specific situation and you are instructed to do otherwise). I.e. if everyone on the team makes short commit messages, that explain the change and link it to the relevant jira, github, gitlab(or whatever tracking system they use) ticket, do the same. No need to write a 50 line commit message describing the change in all files. And vice-versa - if they do write 50 line commit messages, explaining every line of code they've changed, do the same.

* Pay close attention to the most experienced people and try to understand their thought process and mentally train yourself to be able to think like them. Their thought process might not be the most efficient in general and it might be something completely different in your next job some day, but if it's proven to work for that team/company, stick to it.

* When you are given a task, check or ask if something similar exists. If it does, go over it, see if there is something you can re-use or at least understand it's mechanics and keep it close to that.

* You won't be in a position to say no, but everyone is in a position to require further details if needed. Which is not to say you should freely jump over to a senior developer every 3 minutes. Rather spend several hours trying to clearly understand what needs to be achieved, organize your questions in relevant clusters. That may help you answer many of them yourself. Whatever is remaining, ask someone if they have 10 minutes, go have a coffee with them if needed. If your questions/concerns are valid and relevant and what you are expected to do makes no sense, they can step up for you or tell you who you should talk to.

Good luck!

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