The world is changing. It affects all areas of life, including professional activities. The IT industry is quite promising, given the growing market and demand for specialists of various levels. It is an opportunity to choose a profession that brings more satisfaction, is more lucrative, and allows constant development.
The number of graduates of technical universities is increasing. However, this is still not enough for IT companies. In addition, reskilling, which means retraining, acquiring new skills, and changing the type of activity, is becoming more widespread.
A study by indeed.com revealed that 85% of job seekers plan to find a job with new opportunities for themselves and choose a different career direction.
Those who decide to switch to the IT industry are called switchers. So, how can you “switch” most effectively, and what does it take?
Content
1) English level B1+
If you are not a native speaker, check and improve your English before diving into the information technology world. To get started, you need at least an Intermediate level, as this is the professional language of the industry. You will find this condition in the list of job requirements. Also, be prepared to speak English during the interview or define your level with an in-house teacher.
Fortunately, there are now many different schools and online courses, mobile applications for self-study, and speaking clubs with native speakers. These will help you improve your English in 3-6 months. Better work offers can be a good motivation for this.
2) Choice of specialty
First, define the possible directions of a new professional activity. You can choose something related to what you like or in which you feel more confident. It’s best if you are interested in the profession, as switching will require you to delve into the details, learn new things, update your knowledge, and devote many hours of practice to hone your new skill. Choosing something outside your professional interests can lead to struggle and rapid burnout.
If you want to try your hand at IT immediately, look at professions with a low entry threshold.
Among these:
- Trainee,
- QA,
- Junior Developer,
- Project Manager.
They do not require mandatory technical education and long-term specialized training. So the start can be more accessible.
3) Skills training
Distinguish between hard and soft skills. Both types are significant for building and developing a career.
Here we did an overview of the soft skills. These help you:
- manage your time;
- find exciting ideas;
- build effective communication with colleagues;
- achieve better results at work.
Most likely, you already have some achievements in this regard. Besides, you can list your soft skills based on your previous work experience. Describe the qualities that made you successful in the team and in life.
As for hard skills or professional competencies, you will have to learn. It is crucial to have the necessary background according to the chosen specialty.
In addition to technical universities, there are now online courses. It takes 2 to 6 months to master a new IT profession. These courses are run by experienced specialists, so you get theory from experts and consolidate knowledge in practice through homework. Sometimes there is an opportunity to develop your project in the process.
If there is no lack of discipline, an excellent option is self-education through MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), which include Coursera, EdX, Udacity, etc., platforms.
Some IT companies have training centers and hire their most talented and diligent students.
4) CV and work samples
A well-written and structured CV guarantees that you will be able to interest IT recruiters. This is one of the tools to get more invitations to the first screening interview.
- Start your resume with a summary – conclusions or a concise list of your strengths and skills. It’s also a good idea to include a list of accomplishments at previous jobs. These should be relevant to the position and potentially of interest to the employer. Hard to find? Look harder – you indeed have some. Put in the names of the companies where you worked before, your position, city, and period of cooperation. Add information about education and specialized courses, if any. Do not forget about contacts: phone number and e-mail.
- Regarding the photo in your CV, some differences exist between the Eastern and Western European markets. While Ukrainian candidates like adding pictures for better self-presentation, European companies prefer to know about your professional assets. A candidate’s appearance should not be a reason for discrimination. Talk about yourself with your work. Having your projects, sites, blog, and profile pages on social media will be a bonus.
- Be sure to include a cover letter with each CV you send. Name yourself and mention the position you are applying for. A good idea is to write how you can help this company in one or two sentences. After all, recruiters receive dozens of resumes daily, so try to do everything to get noticed.
5) Tech interview and test task
You did an excellent job in the previous tasks if invited to the second round interview. Usually, this is a meeting with the team leader and team members.
Here are a few tips to get through this stage with dignity:
- Try to show your best qualities in communication.
- Introduce yourself as a professional and describe your experience, preferably with examples.
- Be natural – this will help to avoid unnecessary excitement.
At one of the stages, you can be offered a test task. This is your chance to shine. Do your best and a bit more. Take advantage of every opportunity! We wish you success!
To start right away, have a look at the job listings here. After all, we may be looking for each other!
