Working in the tech industry can be very exciting, the field is constantly evolving with innovations. Tech jobs offer some of the best job satisfaction, remuneration, and flexibility. Tech jobs welcome people from various backgrounds who are open to learning and adapting quickly to the ever-changing space.
However, Landing your first job in tech can be very daunting, it may trade more than you are traditionally used to, for you to land your first job in tech. This article will help give some pointers to help you secure your first job especially if you are starting from scratch, with little or no experience on how the tech world works.
Two essential steps are needed for you to land your first job, even if you have had zero experience in the tech industry, employers will always focus on these essentials to pick their ideal candidate for the job. These are are
- You Must Obtain Job-Specific Knowledge And Expertise
- You Must Develop Workplace Attitude And Behaviour
We will consider these in greater depth to help better prepare you for your first job
1. OBTAINING JOB-SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE
Being a jack-of-all-trades isn’t going to give you the competence you will need to get your first job. Your first task should be to identify the kind of job you want and then obtain the job-specific skill that the job requires. You must focus on a desired field and study to acquire the technical skills required for the job. No one is going to hire you if you lack the technical demands of the job. Obtaining job-specific knowledge and expertise will require you to study at a credible school or training program or at least follow a guided study plan.
Identify The Key Skills For The Job You Want
When you have narrowed down your interest to a desired field or niche, you must identify the skills that will be required for such roles. There are two ways to do this – First, you can get these from job descriptions (in advertised vacancies). Secondly – much more important – ask someone who already does your desired job. When approached nicely, most people will be willing to spend a couple of minutes of their time discussing what their job entails.
Informal interviews from experts in your desired field will give you insight into the job, and help you understand what employers will expect from prospective employees. This is also a great way to build contacts within the industry. Avoid taking career advice from friends unless they are in the same field as your desired career.
Focus on the Critical Skills Of One Job
Direct your focus on the critical skill for one job and you will stand out from other candidates. Every job has a set of “critical skills” and “nice-to-have” skills, your study must emphasize the mastery of the critical skills and then a bit less of the “nice-to-have” skills. A Network Engineering job must, for example, include mastery of concepts such as IPs &subnetting, Routing, troubleshooting network downtime, etc, a Cloud Architect must be able to design. present and sell a solution as some critical skills, Nice-to-have skills will be analysis analyzing financial statements.
Master the critical skills to the point you can explain them in simple terms to someone else and they will understand it clearly. This will come in handy when you sit before a panel for a job interview.
2. DEVELOPING WORKPLACE ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR
One of the most challenging hurdles in landing your first tech job is overcoming the experience gap. It is kind of a paradox that you need some job experience to get a job and you need the job to get the experience.
The easiest way to break the experience gap is by developing the right attitude and behavior that managers look for in an ideal candidate. These are otherwise known as “soft skills”.When combined with your hard skills, make up for the lack of experience to land your first job.
Your soft skills are your most potent weapon to beat the competition when it comes to your first job.
The Desirability Quotient In Employment (DI)
When someone lacks prior job experience, it is their Desirability Quotient that gets them hired. The higher the Desirability Quotient, the higher their chances of being hired. The DI is a combination of both Soft Skills and Emotional Intelligence EQ
Desirability Quotient = Emotional Intelligence + Soft Skills.
Some of the excellent soft skills to have are communication skills, trustworthiness (no employer will employ you if they can not trust you), self-aware, passion, resourcefulness, time management, team spirit, creativity, enthusiasm, etc These are some biggest attitudes and behavior to get you land your first job.
Emotional Intelligence is your ability to manage your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you. You will be working with other people, and how good you are at managing your own emotions, and of people you work with can impact productivity. It includes things such as your motivations, empathy, self-awareness, and social skills.
According to a study, Emotional Intelligence is twice as valuable as Intelligence. It is something employers are very particular about. It is a skill you definitely should develop.
TO SUMMARISE
1. Pick a job and career that you are passionate about, something you will actually enjoy doing.
passion
2 . Focus on the desired job and career and research it thoroughly, ensure it is the career of your dreams
3. Pursue a training course and professional development specific to the job, the goal is to obtain the essential skills for the job.
4. Develop your soft skills through seminars, workshops, and professional mentorship.
5. Obtain first-hand experience through personal projects, portfolios, class projects, internships, and job-related volunteer activities.
6. Prepare thoroughly for every interview.
CONCLUSIONS
To land your first job, you must be focused on a desired field or sub-niche and develop key skills and competence relevant to the job type. Being a jack-of-all-trades diminishes your competence in specific jobs. Study and learn critical skills to great depths. Also, develop skills and attitudes that managers desire from ideal candidates. A combination of both your hard and soft skills is your best chance to beat the experience gap. Focus on the job you want and develop the skills (soft and hard skills) required to fulfill the job role.
