Job Hunt Vol 1
With the most intense of software engineering courses under my belt, it’s now time to do adult stuff and look for a job. Sighhh..
After a long weekend recharging my batteries I’m feeling a bit more refreshed with some good sleep behind me ready to kick on post course. Last week was a great week to just take it easy, relax and do things at my own pace for a bit. So what does everything look like on the other side? I think the biggest change so far has been a lack of schedule, it’s like finishing college and going onto University where there is a lot more freedom and you have your classes sure but for the majority of it you’re left to your own devices. I must say this was a slight concern prior to finishing as I did anticipate this but I feel as an individual I am much more organized and accountable for my time than I have been at any other point in my life so not a massive deal. It’s important to get to grips early with a new routine to avoid slipping into any bad habits, I did take the first week after the course slightly easier than I had done as the course was long and challenging and it’s important to be kind to yourself.
Micro-workshops are run every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday focussing on various aspects of the job hunt from CV’s to cover letters and interview techniques so you’re not completely thrown out into real world without any preparation. I would strongly recommend attending the workshops as they are very helpful in getting to grips with a new style of writing technical CV’s and displaying your portfolio, especially if you come from a working world where these things didn’t exist. The workshops also have the added benefit of waking you up so you don’t end up wasting your entire day, I can say during the past 2 weeks i’ve been fighting a mental battle to not procrastinate. Time seems to have slowed down to lockdown levels and I find myself looking at the clock at 3pm twiddling my thumbs. I’ve started re-using the pomodoro technique to keep myself on track and to not waste too much time whereas I never really had this issue on the course. Find what works for you and stick to it, I also have daily goals written down I try to achieve but I can do so much better I know that. I will find my perfect balance soon, and know it will be the biggest driver in me finding a job in this climate. Being consistent, motivated and accountable helps in not falling off the rails which I believe for everyone will be the biggest challenge in their own job hunts.
On the whole, I’ve quite proud of what I’ve done so far in this 2 week span, but I know there is also much room for improvement. I feel lucky that I have such a lovely peer group to spend my mornings with and we all support and update each other on how we are doing. I know once we all find jobs I will miss the morning catch up sessions greatly but for now I just want to enjoy what we have before we all eventually go our separate ways.
