Getting your first job in IT can be a quite nerve wracking experience: interviews (nowadays, too many Zoom interviews), trying to convince the interviewer that you’re capable of applying all that college knowledge into practice without sounding too confident, looking excited but not desperate…it’s quite an experience!

Even when you make it to the company, it can be challenging to fit right away in a new environment. But worry not, because today we’re talking about what companies are looking for in Junior Developers. And although we can’t speak for every single one of them, we’re positive this might be helpful.

Let’s get started!

You’re not that special but that’s okay

Phew! That one was harsh! This isn’t meant to be a kick in your self-esteem and pristine coder confidence, but chances are that the other applicants show the exact same qualifications and skills as you. Which means that…

Code is everything except not really!

Yes, you’re applying for a Junior Developer position and yes, you obviously need to code and do it well enough to join a professional project, but you have to keep other cards up your sleeve.
Besides the essential for the role of the job (the programming part of course), soft skills will tell you apart from other candidates. How you engage and react to your environment mirror who you are as a person, colleague and team member. Keep that in mind!

Be open minded

We recently went to a process that shook up our team quite a bit. Suddenly they saw themselves learning how to work with a completely new framework and it’s easy to picture how difficult it must be for a team that is used to working with very similar projects framework wise.
I might sound suspect because I’m part of the company after all, but it was really inspiring seeing them being so open minded to try something new and challenging while providing the best possible output.
During your time as a developer, you might find yourself in a pickle, exploring tools and frameworks you never worked with before, which means you need to be mutable in that sense. If we’re quite honest, IT is in constant renewal and working in this field means you need to keep up with the changes or else you’ll become stagnant.

Lone Wolves Aren’t Allowed

Unless you’re planning to work as a freelancer and be in charge of the entirety of projects (which is quite insane!), you have to prove yourself as a team player. Even when someone from our team suggests an acquaintance to be interviewed by our company, one of the things that is mentioned every single time is how they do with teamwork. Remember all those college group essays? They make a lot more sense now!

In the wise words of Kendrick Lamar…Be Humble!

Work hard, do your best and know your limitations. If you’re not comfortable with something, if you’re out of solutions, admit that. I know it’s hard to admit you’re not as qualified as you wanted to be regarding a specific subject or skill during an interview, but it’s better than getting the gig and ending up on a path with no return when they ask you to perform something you clearly don’t know about. Even once you’re part of the team you should never be afraid to ask for help. Humility means you know your limits and are eager to learn and do better.

You can do this! If you’re a Junior Developer which advice would you give to fellow colleagues? And if you work as a recruiter what usually impresses you in an interview?
Share your thoughts with us: mafalda.gomes(@)exaud.com

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