6 Tips on How to Get a Coding Job

Key Takeaways

• Coding jobs are highly coveted positions, which means there is a lot of competition for job seekers who have just graduated from a bootcamp.
• We offer six tips to help you narrow your search for your first job and tap into resources to help you land your dream job.
• From online job sites to professional networks to your own coding bootcamp contacts, there are valuable resources at your disposal to ensure you land a job after your bootcamp experience and solidify your career in the booming tech industry.

If you’re reading this guide, you may have finished your coding bootcamp training and are ready to apply to your very first programming job. Whether you’re considering a career as a web developer, software engineer, or UX designer, we’ve got the answers you need as you begin your search for a job in a competitive market.

If you haven’t already secured a job placement through your coding bootcamp’s resources, keep reading to learn all you need to know to apply, interview, and nab your dream coding job and start your career as a professional in the tech industry. Below, we walk through six tips to help you navigate how to get a coding job and explore different career paths in tech that match your skills and interests.

Types of coding jobs in today’s tech landscape

First off, it’s beneficial to consider the wide variety of coding careers the tech industry can offer, each with its own set of programming responsibilities and required skills. Some of the most sought-after positions—include software engineer, software developer, web developer, and data scientist—can be done through full-time, part-time, or freelance work. As a freelance software developer or web developer, you get the chance to work with small businesses, startups, or major corporations on a contract basis, and it will be essential to have a robust portfolio that showcases your skills and your best coding projects.

Then, within each computer science field, there are myriad career paths you can pursue. For example, full stack web development will allow you to work on both the front-end and back-end of websites and applications, or you could opt to focus on one or the other. You might want to work remotely in data science, or prefer to be in an in-office data analysis role. No matter which direction you choose, from web development to software engineering and from cyber security to machine learning, it’s important to build a strong programming portfolio that highlights your relevant skills, including problem solving skills.

1. Network with coding bootcamp alumni, employers, and hiring managers

Networking is an important part of job hunting in any field, including coding. Here are a few ways you can network within the industry to increase your chances of getting a job:

• Attend conferences and events that revolve around coding. These events can be a great way to meet other professionals in the field and learn about new technologies and trends.
• Join online forums and discussion groups related to tech. This allows you to connect with other professionals and share coding skills and experiences.
• Join a professional coding association or organization. These organizations often host events and provide networking opportunities for members.
• Reach out to people you know who work in the coding field, or who might know someone who does. Ask if they would be willing to introduce you to others in the field, or if they have any advice on how to break into the field.

As you network, you may want to share a portfolio of work with potential connections. Networking can also help you connect directly with prospective employers, giving you the chance to showcase your skills and make a strong impression. By attending events, joining online communities, and reaching out to people you know, you’ll start to build a circle of professional contacts you can reach out to for future guidance.

2. Complete certifications beyond a bootcamp

In the tech field, it’s important to always be learning. While formal education such as a computer science degree is one pathway into the field, many successful computer programmers are bootcamp graduates or even self-taught, having learned programming languages and other coding skills independently and still landing jobs in the tech industry. Regardless of which route you take, there are many certifications you can earn to make yourself more marketable.

The demand for skilled coders and software developers is high in the current market. Some of the most in-demand skills include experience with JavaScript, Python, Java, and C++, as well as knowledge of cloud computing, data analytics, and machine learning. In order to align yourself with these demands, you can focus on developing these skills through enrolling in a school, taking online courses, getting hands-on experience, or completing technical assessments.

Some examples of certifications you can tack onto your coding experience include:

• Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP)
• Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA)
• Certified Software Development Specialist (CSDS)
• Certified Web Developer (CWD)
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Certified Java Developer (CJD)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate

These are just a few examples of the numerous certifications that are available to a future developer. There are countless more certifications that can help you qualify for entry-level positions as computer programmers and beyond, where you may be responsible for writing code, debugging, troubleshooting, and collaborating with more experienced team members. In general, certifications can help you further demonstrate your knowledge and skills to potential employers, and can make you more attractive as a programming job candidate. It’s important to research the different certifications that are available and choose the ones that align with your career goals and interests.

In addition to hard skills, like writing code and debugging technical issues, it’s also important to have strong communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to work well with a team. To develop these skills, you can participate in coding challenges and hackathons, work on personal projects as well as open source projects, and seek out opportunities to collaborate with other coders.

3. Research your coding bootcamp’s job resources

Several coding bootcamps have job placement departments, which are typically designed to help graduates find job opportunities in the tech industry. These may include a range of services, such as helping you craft a strong resume and build a portfolio that highlights what coding projects you’ve worked on, what programming languages you know, assisting you during the job search, and providing networking opportunities.

Some coding bootcamps may also have relationships with companies in the tech industry and may be able to provide graduates with access to jobs and opportunities that are not available to the general public. Additionally, many bootcamps offer career support and guidance even after students have graduated, and also may provide ongoing assistance to graduates as they search for programming jobs.

The specific services offered by job placement programs at coding bootcamps, and their efficacy, can vary wildly, so it’s important to have done your research before enrolling. So after having used your pre-bootcamp research time to uncover the opportunities available through the bootcamp you ended up choosing, it’s now time to tap into those resources.

4. Coding career digital resources

There are many resources online that you can use to find a coding job, but it’s important to use them efficiently to avoid feeling overwhelmed and to make your job search more effective. Some of these are more effective than others. See below to learn more about each of these resources in-depth.

• Online job boards. Indeed, Monster, and Glassdoor often have listings for programming, web developer, and data scientist jobs, but the sites themselves aren’t always the best ways to apply for the jobs you find. Indeed and Monster, for example, although they are incredibly useful for tracking trends in hiring on a macro level, simply aggregate employer job posts. Because of this, formatted text can be broken, important salary data is not included, and they don’t always list contact information.
• Professional networking sites. If you decide to formally apply for a coding job without a referral, we recommend going through a professional network site. Sites like LinkedIn can be a great way to connect with prospective employers and learn about job opportunities. The greater benefit here is a feature that lists the name of the hiring manager and the HR contact. This allows the process to be a bit more transparent and enables applicants to glean data, like the date the job was posted, the number of applicants, details on the programming language or specific coding skills the company is prioritizing, and more.
• Coding-specific job boards. Some job sites, like StackOverflow Careers, are specifically geared toward programming jobs. These sites can serve as a shortcut to your desired jobs.
• Company websites. Many companies post job listings directly on their websites. If you have a company you want to work for in mind, consider going straight to their website and searching their Careers page for open listings.
• Professional association and organization websites. These websites often have coding job boards and career resources available to their members. Before you join one of these organizations, make sure you research the costs and the benefits of each organization. Consider asking around in your professional network to learn whether this is the right route for you, and if your membership will be worth the investment.

As you can see, there are many online resources you can use to find a coding job. It’s important to know that applying “cold” comes with its own set of challenges, like potential mismanagement and hoops you have to jump through to finally get in touch with a hiring manager.

In the next section, we’ll explore how to maintain your enthusiasm and positive outlook throughout the application process in order to stand out from the competition.

5. Be persistent and positive in your job search

Landing a coding job—specifically as a full-stack developer—can take some time. It’s a challenging and rewarding role, but like any job, it has its own set of challenges. This is why it’s important to have a positive outlook as you embark on your job search, especially as you work toward landing your first programming job or developer job.

Some of the harder things about being a full-stack developer might include:

• Staying up-to-date with the latest technologies, languages, and programming skills. As a full-stack developer, you may be expected to be proficient in a wide range of technologies, which can require ongoing learning and staying up to speed with the latest developments. To keep pace, it’s important to learn to code quickly and efficiently, so you can adapt to new tools and frameworks as they emerge.
• Managing the complexity of large projects. Full-stack developers are often responsible for building complex applications or systems, which can require a lot of planning, coordination, and attention to detail.
• Debugging and problem-solving. As a full-stack developer, you’ll likely encounter a wide range of technical challenges and will need to be able to troubleshoot and solve complex problems.
• Communication and collaboration. Full-stack developers often work with a team of other developers, designers, and stakeholders, and will need to be able to communicate effectively and work well with others in order to succeed.

Another challenge you may face as a full-stack developer is the need to constantly adapt to user behaviors and platforms/programming languages, as well as the challenges that come with managing complex projects and solving problems. Meeting these challenges head-on can mean asking for help and knowing what resources to use.

6. Leverage coding bootcamp connections

If nothing else, coding bootcamp alumni networks and job placement programs can help graduates evade the complexities and potential biases of a poor applicant tracking system (ATS), ultimately assisting along their journeys to secure entry-level positions in tech.

An ATS is a system used by organizations to manage their recruiting and hiring processes for jobs like a web developer, computer systems analyst, and product manager. While these systems can provide many benefits, they can also pose some challenges. You’ll be able to avoid common pitfalls of an ATS by reaching out to the network you’ve built through coding boot camp, your LinkedIn contacts, and job placement services.

Here are other ways to bypass the complexities of an ATS:

• Get a referral from an internal stakeholder. Because an ATS can be complex and require a certain level of technical knowledge to use effectively, there’s a significant risk of applicant and server-side errors. For example, the system might not process your resume correctly or lead to an error when you’re about to submit.
• Inaccurate or incomplete data. An ATS mostly relies on data input from users, and if this data is inaccurate or incomplete, it can lead to misinformation. For example, if your resume fields are not entered correctly, you might not be matched to the right job opening. This is a far easier problem to solve if you’re able to send your application directly to a hiring manager through an internal referral from a coding bootcamp alumni.
• Bias in the system. Another reason—perhaps the most important—to tap coding bootcamp alumni or network referrals to begin your new career path is that an ATS often uses algorithms to match candidates to job openings, and these algorithms can be based on certain assumptions or biases. For example, an algorithm designed to match candidates with a certain number of years of experience might overlook qualified coding job candidates with relevant experience who just haven’t been in the workforce for as long.

Overall, a legacy ATS can pose unnecessary, expensive hurdles for any candidate. Coding bootcamp graduates with a high skill level who network effectively and proactively seek out alumni hiring managers can avoid running into the roadblocks of an ATS.

How to Get a Coding Job by Finding the Right Coding Bootcamp for You

The world of coding is always changing, with new trends and technologies shaping the future of tech. Even now, artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming increasingly important, opening up new opportunities for software developers and data scientists. And with the rise of remote work, it’s possible for coders to collaborate with other programmers around the world, while online courses and bootcamps make it easier than ever to learn new technical skills like programming languages as well as soft skills such as communication and adaptability.

All coding bootcamps should offer a certain level of transparency for future students. As you compare bootcamps to get matched to the best option for your needs and professional goals, make sure to establish whether your chosen bootcamp has both the educational and career services you’ll need once you graduate, and that it prepares you for different programming jobs in the tech industry. By doing this, you’ll have an added advantage when it comes time to search for your dream job in tech.