How to Land Your Dream Tech Job

Overview

Job Search

The first step to landing your dream tech job requires a combination of intentional, strategic job searching and proactive efforts to attract companies on the lookout for new talent.

1) Define Your Tech Career Path

First, before you officially embark on your job search journey, take the time to envision how you’d like your tech career to play out. Identify your interests, strengths and more importantly, specific job roles that align with your goals. Having this clarity will guide your job search and help you narrow down relevant positions.

2) Company Research

Similarly, ensuring that the companies’ values and goals align with your own is equally important. After all, casting too wide a net may be counterproductive (aka a waste of time) if none of the jobs meet your expectations. Thus, be sure to learn about the company’s products, services, culture and new developments. Being equipped with this knowledge will enable you to customise your job applications and demonstrate your sincerity during interviews.

3) Tailored Applications

Speaking of which, tailoring and personalising your applications to align with the specific job requirements is essential to show your genuine interest in the company. Customise your resume and cover letter to highlight the relevant skills you possess and illustrate how you are the perfect match for that particular job position.

4) Create An Outstanding Online Presence

In this age of all-things-digital, having a strong online presence is undoubtedly key to attracting the attention of companies. For instance, create a professional LinkedIn profile that showcases your skills, expertise and aspirations. Remember, keep your LinkedIn profile updated and active. By following this simple tip, you may find that instead of knocking on the doors of others’, others will come knocking on your door.

5) Networking

As with many adulting things, networking plays a crucial role in the tech industry. Expand your social circle (in the tech field) by attending tech conferences, gatherings, and online discussion forums to connect with other professionals. These are great platforms that give you the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations, exchange insights and build relationships that may lead to job opportunities – if not now, perhaps in the future.

6) Tap Into Alumni Networks

7) Leverage Job Search Platforms

Utilise and explore the myriad of job search platforms, especially those that are specially tailored to the tech industry. As a start, check out common platforms like MyCareersFuture, JobsDB Singapore, Monster Singapore, Jobstreet Singapore and LinkedIn. Some tech specific platforms include SGInnovate, GitHub Careers, Tech in Asia Jobs, and Wantedly.

8) Proactive Outreach

Instead of waiting for companies to post job openings, proactively reach out to companies you respect, even if they don’t have advertised positions. Express your interest, share why you would be a good fit for the company, and ask about possible opportunities. Even if they do not currently have an open position, they may reach out to you when there is an available position if you successfully leave a good impression.

9) Stay Persistent And Positive

Lastly, landing your dream job may take some time, so stay positive and persistent, as good things come to those who wait. In the meantime, continue to refine your skills, learn new technologies and seek feedback to become the best version of yourself. 

Resume Crafting

As your resume serves as your first impression on potential employers, being equipped with an impressive resume is essential in increasing your chances of landing that job. 

1) Tailored Resume

First, tailor your resume to match the specific requirements of each tech job posting. Analyse the job description, and highlight keywords / skills that align with your experience. While crafting your resume, be sure to emphasise how your past experience and achievements are relevant to the role you are vying for.

Additionally, your resume should also be customised to the industry you are targeting. For instance, if you’re applying for data scientist positions in both the chemical and banking sectors, you should have different resumes that cater to the unique requirements of each industry.

2) Use Action Verbs

To effectively convey your impact, begin each point with impactful action verbs that vividly illustrate your contributions and achievements. Instead of using words like “completed”, “helped”, and “supported”, use words like, “implemented”, “optimised”, and “spearheaded”. These words are much more likely to capture attention and leave an impression.

E.g., rather than saying “helped to create system X to increase sales revenue”, rephrase it as “spearheaded the enhancement of system X, resulting in a 20% upsurge in sales revenue”.

3) Clean And Concise Formatting

Many companies use Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to screen and filter resumes automatically before they reach human recruiters. Thus, ensure your resume is ATS-friendly by adhering to a simple format – use standard fonts, section titles and bullet points. Avoid fanciful designs, such as excessive colours and graphics, and remember to save your resume in a compatible file format (e.g., PDF, Word). 

Furthermore, keep your resume short and sweet – i.e., keep it to two pages maximally!  Tip: Omit having a picture of yourself on your resume unless you are applying for a role that calls for it, e.g., modeling / influencer to save on space. 

Good Resume Samples:

Photos by Standford University: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/alumni/career-resources/job-search/resumes

Bad Resume Sample:

Photo by: https://resumegenius.com/blog/resume-help/bad-resume-examples

4) Highlight Technical Skills

5) Include Relevant Projects And Link To Your Portfolios

Beyond professional experiences, showcase your personal projects, open-source contributions, or completed coding challenges. If you possess an online portfolio, GitHub repository, or even a personal website that displays your expertise, include direct links in your resume to allow easy access for recruiters. To find out how you can build up your tech portfolio, read our previous article here.

6) Quantify Your Achievements

Where possible, boost your achievements with quantifiable metrics by following the XYZ resume format. This format is a simple yet powerful way to provide context and flow to your accomplishments. It also works well with the ATS format as specific keywords are included. 

In short, this format guides you to include what you’ve accomplished (X) + the qualitative results (Y) + the skills and experience you utilised to attain the results (Z). An example of correct XYZ resume formatting should look something like this: 

“Increased revenue for 10 small businesses (X) by 20% (Y) through designing and implementing new software features on their online platforms (Z)”.

7) Leadership Roles And Extracurricular Activities

Emphasise any tech-related volunteer roles, hackathons, or involvement in the tech community at large. This accentuates your dedication to continuous learning in the industry, as well as your true passion for all-things-tech. 

Along with this, highlight your leadership abilities by including teams or projects that you’ve led. Because, as with all industries, leadership skills are highly valued in the tech field. 

8) Check, Check, Check!

9) Seek Feedback

Last but definitely not least, seek feedback from objective sources – trusted friends, mentors, or professionals in the field. They may provide valuable perspectives and suggestions on how you can further enhance your resume. At Heicoders Academy, our experienced team provides free resume consultation for students (past and present) that have taken any of our courses!

Ace Your Interview

Once you’ve mastered the art of job searching and crafting resumes, what remains is the final (but also most crucial) step of any job search – acing the interview.

1) Thorough Research And Preparation

Prior to the interview, take time to thoroughly research and prepare for the company and role you are applying for. Here’s how you can do so: 

• Company Research: Have a holistic understanding of the company’s products, services, culture, values and recent developments. Start with the company’s official website, where you can find information about their missions, values, etc. Then, check out news/press releases, social media channels, and Glassdoor reviews, where you will get a better idea of the company’s ‘personality’.
• Role Insights: Next, familiarise yourself with the specific requirements of the role you are vying for. Have a general idea of the skills, qualifications and experiences the company is looking out for. 

2) Understand Interview Loops And Format

The interview loops for tech roles often comprises multiple rounds in different formats: phone screens, technical assessments, and behavioural interviews. To ensure you are ready, it is important to have a general idea of the interview format. Some steps you can take to understand  the interview format include the following. 

• Check the Job Posting: Review the job posting/description, where it may specify the interview format/stages.

• Reach Out to HR or Recruiter: If the listing does not provide details of the interview format, consider reaching out to the company’s HR/recruiter to inquire more. This may sound counterintuitive, but the reality is that it is in the interest of the recruiter for you to secure the role as this is part of their KPI. As such, they are incentivised to help you as much as it is reasonable.

• Review Different Websites: Websites like Glassdoor often have interview reviews shared by previous candidates. These reviews can give you an idea of how the interview might go. Consider also checking out LinkedIn profiles of current or former employees of the company, where they may have shared information about their interview experiences.

3) Technical Questions

Tech interviews often include challenging technical questions – expect questions related to data structures, algorithms, and programming languages. To combat this, brush up on your technical knowledge and problem-solving skills. Revise core concepts and practice solving problems on platforms like LeetCode and HackerRank. This will also aid you in the technical assessment portion, which we will cover in a bit. 

4) Behavioural Questions

Beyond technical questions, be prepared to answer behavioural questions that interviewers will ask to assess your soft skills. To prepare for this, keep in mind examples and anecdotes that demonstrate your strengths. From teamwork, to leadership, to problem-solving, recall instances where you demonstrated such skills.

Consider structuring your responses according to the STAR method – i.e., Situation (S), Task (T), Action (A), Result (R), which helps to structure your answers in an organised and understandable manner.  

• Situation: Clearly summarise and provide context of the situation/context in which the experience or challenge occurred. It is also important to explain why this is an important problem that is worth the effort/resources to address.
  
• Task: Next, explain the task or objective you were faced with – i.e., the problem you needed to address, or the goal you were working towards.
• Action: This is the core of your response. Describe the steps and actions you took to address the situation at hand. Emphasise what you did, how you did it, and why you chose to do so. More importantly, be sure to highlight your skills and decision-making abilities.
• Result: Lastly, share the fruits of your labour. That is, what you managed to achieve with your efforts. Remember to be specific and quantify your achievements when possible. 

5) Technical Assessments

In addition, technical assessments are also a common part of tech interviews. To prepare for this, consider the following:

• Review Fundamentals: As mentioned above, brush up and revise core concepts in your field of expertise.
• Time-Constrained Coding: As you will likely be under time constraint during the actual interview, practice coding under similar conditions to simulate a real interview. This not only enhances your speed, but also your accuracy (since you don’t have the luxury to check through your codes).
• Mock Assessments: Explore platforms like interviewing.io and Pramp, which offer mock interviews with peers and professionals to gain experience and refine your skills. 

6) Mock Interviews And Feedback

Last but not least, practice makes perfect – Minimally, better, if not perfect! 

Jio your friends, mentors, or peers to conduct mock interviews with, where you will be able to build your confidence in answering common interview questions. Then, seek their feedback on your performance to further refine your interview skills. 

Unsure where to start? Join Heicoders Academy’s telegram channel, where we provide resources and share interview tips!

Conclusion

With that, we have covered the 3 important arts to master when landing your next dream tech job. It’s no easy feat, but bear in mind these tips we’ve shared, and you’ll be well on your way to landing your dream tech job.

All the best!