Junior Entering The Tech Sector? Think Outside The Box

2: Think the opposite of your peers.

The sooner you realize you are not special. Better for you.

Juniors, graduates, or tech fans? The tech sector has changed over the last two years. Better or worse? Hard to tell at this point.

Before we go any further. If you are someone in the tech world. One of your goals should be to realize that the most logical thing is not how things work in practice. Conquering a technical and logical mindset is what is going to give you a huge advantage over your peers.

What’s Behind Us?

Behind us are the days where you could show a portfolio of 3 CRUD projects or calculator one and except to get the job. Don’t forget its 2024 and things have changed. Better or worse? Hard to tell. We are passing the point of the LeetCode solvers, where being the master at one guarantees you the job. Yes, it’s still important to understand how to maneuver around it.

But it doesn’t guarantee that you will get the job. What you should realize is that the game has changed and has become harder. We will not touch into any argument that’s because of how many CS graduates there are - plays a role in the current situation. But overall, how has the economics shaped the current market.

You can either complain about it or adapt.

Your Strategy?

Not getting into any schemes on how you should tailor your CV or should you straight up lie your way into the role. Should you practice LeetCode or not? How should your portfolio look like? They all are important factors. Leaving that for the other articles we will cover down the road. The goal here is to convince our readers how important the social aspect of the whole setup is. Let’s look at an example.

Pearson A

• Perfect technical knowledge

• No social skills

Pearson B

• Average technical knowledge

• Average social skills

If you are thinking that Pearson A is getting the job, you are wrong. In theory, it should work that way considering that the role you will be performing is technical. However, in the end and in the real world. The one with the most social skills. The one with better ways to persuade the hiring managers. One that leaves a bigger impact on the decision maker is the one that will get the role. Things are a bit different if we are talking about senior roles considering it is expected of you that you possess both traits. Another thing to keep in mind?

The days of junior entitlement are gone.

No one cares about you. Maybe if we get lucky and hit a crazy tech sector boom in the next few years, we will see the same pattern. But considering the current economic picture it’s not realistic to expect that soon. You will either learn and realize that social maneuvering plays a huge role in getting the role you want, or you will not have any luck getting the role.

Understanding that the best bet as a junior engineer without experience is not to expect anything without an effort. Getting out of your comfort zone and pushing things how you want - better say your way. Don’t be afraid to reach out to protentional hiring manager before the interview, talk with people from the same company. In the end it all comes down to taking things into your control.

Eliminating all the self-beliefs you had before and mixing your technical knowledge with your social one. The only way you will get the leverage. The other option is you have someone inside you that will refer your way into - this also works. The only way you will get the job in the current economic climate as a junior is to do what your peers will not. Think outside of the typical engineer box, do what wants and eliminate any entailment.

When they zig, you zag.