Landing a programming job

It is getting harder for freshers to break into the software industry and land a good job especially if you are from a tier 2 or 3 colleges. So what can you do.

The answer to this is very simple – the industry is looking for people who can do a task that is given to them – when you join the industry the key is to be able to “write code” as that is what you will be hired as a fresher to do. Let us say you go for a training you should ask yourself at the end of it – can I write code and if the answer is NO – then you will find it extremely hard to get a job in the software industry.

The key is to get a computer and get comfortable with it. The more you work on the computer the more comfortable you will get at it. So go for the training and come back to your PC and you need to work hard at it writing programs – what programs? – You may ask and the answer is simple – any program that will teach you the concept that you learnt.

You can find these programs to code at these locations

1. Mindqjobs.com and we have a section on programming and their solutions. 
2. Click here to get a list of programming questions - 50 programs for software engineers looking for jobs
3. Any book will be able to give you enough samples to understand and learn. 

Do not copy-paste the sample and execute it and say you tried it out. Read the sample – close the source – try and do it without looking at the source – if you run into difficulties stop what you are doing – go back to the source – read it once again – close the source and come back to the computer and fix the problem – that is the only way you will learn and get confident. The key is to be able to implement things on your own.

Let us say, now you have the required knowledge and the confidence that you can program given the problem – you may ask – How do I now get a job? Write about the tougher programs that you have programmed or what you have learnt on a blog. Some examples of blogs of students that have trained under me are

1. Step Towards a Corporate World
2. Summer at Inforica

Include this URL in your resume. You should be able to write these programs if asked to at the interview and I can assure you that in 8 out of 10 cases you will land yourself a programming job. In any circumstances do not lie about your skills or experience – even if you get through the interview your shortcomings will be exposed and things will get tougher once you start working.