What I Wish I Knew About Software Engineering Jobs While In College
While college was great and taught me a ton about Computer Science and Software Engineering, there are some things we did not cover that I have found imperative while job searching.
- Testing!!!! — Test your code! Whether you are learning to program in college or bootcamp or by yourself, and haven’t started doing this, start today. And keep going with it to make it a habit. Testing your code minimizes the chances of having silly bugs, and also helps you with the problem solving aspect and design of your solution. And companies do look for software engineers who test their code. So take the time, learn how to do this, and create a healthy habit out of it.
- Finished, well documented projects on Github — Have at least 2–3 projects on github that are complete and well documented. This shows you have finished a project from the start and have developed good habits as a software engineer. In your README write what your project does, what problem it solves (or if it’s a fun project why you created it maybe), and perhaps how people can clone and use it. Also, comment your code.
- Data Structures — at least the main ones. This will allow you to answer most whiteboarding questions since most of them are not really complicated but test your knowledge of problem solving and fundamentals in computer science. Arrays, HashMaps, LinkedLists and Trees would be a good start. Also it would not hurt to look at some methods of solving problems, like recursion. I have an article on recursion coming up soon. It’s a pretty cool technique.
- Experience — If you have the time to get a job while studying, take the chance. Don’t neglect your studies obviously, but if you have the chance and know you can handle it, do take it. Jobs don’t have to be complex. You can even do some freelance work for friends or local businesses. It exposes you to the responsibility of creating something for someone else to use. And it looks great when applying for jobs that someone paid you for your code.
- Connections — If you are in college you have the gold ticket! A lot of colleges provide connections for their students. Do take them. Meet people. Introduce yourself. You can also browse Google and look for internships and other events provided to Computer Science students. Try to take advantage of those.
- Agile terminologies — This one is not really necessary but is asked in interviews often. Look over agile development and try to maybe create a project with that management style.
- LEARN from rejections— I am sorry for the all caps, but this is very important. Yes, a lot of the times you may not be provided with a reason why, but often we know what we “messed up”. Write these things down, or keep them in the back of your mind. Just learn from them. If you did not know how to answer a behavioural question well, go on Youtube, there are so many recruiters sharing tips. My personal favorite at the moment is Andrew LaCivita. He shares so many tips on how to approach various interview questions in order to impress recruiters, and also provides tips on resumes and cover letters. It’s not a failure really if you take something away from the experience and use it to build your success.
- Learn how to write good cover letters and a stellar resume — There are so many ways to do this. You can google examples of resumes and cover letters online to show you how you may structure yours. And if you don’t want to use Word you can also use LaTex to create your resume and cover letters, which is what I do. I like it because it allows me greater control of the structure of my resume and cover letters, although the latter is not as dependent on structure as resumes. For cover letters try to convey why you are interested in the company you are applying for, and why you would be a good candidate for the position. Don’t recite what is in your resume.
These are some things I really wish I focused on while I was in college, because it would have allowed me to really hone those skills earlier on.
Good Luck!