As of today, I’ve accepted an offer to start as a web developer with The Bacon! I couldn’t be more excited to start contributing to this company’s codebase. But as I wrap up my projects to get ready to dive into this one, I want to share how I was able to get 5 offers in the 4 months since finishing Dev Bootcamp.
Offer 1: Software Development Intern at MarryMapp
Circumstances
Right after finishing DBC, I started sending out applications by the bushelful. One of the first places I looked for opportunities was through DBC’s online network of partner companies: companies DBC has approached regarding connecting graduates to work there. Many companies were listed for NYC; I sent out emails to nearly all of them. Within a few days, one company, MarryMapp, responded.
MarryMapp was a very young startup that hadn’t actually raised funding yet or launched its initial product, although they had built and deployed a beta product which was already being test-driven by around 200 users. They had a CEO and CTO with spectacular credentials, and both were developers with great degrees and successful years under their belt. But, because they had virtually no capital, they were seeking an unpaid intern to help build out their codebase. The CTO was not full-time in the role because of the lack of capital, and the CEO, while an excellent developer herself, needed to focus all her efforts on the huge amount of everything-else work that comprised their product and business, and they wanted someone who would work hard to help fix bugs and add features, but who they could also afford. The initial discussion I had with them clearly laid out that this was going to be a remote, part-time role which was going to be in all likelihood unpaid, because if there was any payment at the end of the 2 month contract it would be based on the company’s valuation, which would be $0 if they hadn’t raised capital by then.
But that was fine. I was happy to continue that discussion anyway, and let them decide whether they wanted me before I decided whether I wanted them. There was a lot to love: a remote role would let me continue job-hunting comfortably, a chance to work with two incredible developers with a lot of knowledge, a chance to learn things I had never seen before (Angular, Node, Docker, Sass, ES6, Coffeescript, Wordpress, vim…so many things!). Plus, the best green-flag was the interview itself, where the CTO asked me to build a recursive algorithm to return a count of how many times a word appeared on a grid. When I balked at doing something that had taken me over a day to do during bootcamp, he urged me on and supported me, all the way through to the end, and I was thrilled that he showed that much faith in my abilities.
What I did to secure this offer, and what happened after that
I stayed very positive throughout the process. I made sure to get a good sense of their business by looking up what I could find about it online, looking up both the CEO and CTO to get a sense of what sort of people they were like and what I could learn from them. I stayed open and willing to the structure and process that they laid out before me. Finally, I worked hard to get my algorithm skills up to scratch before the interview.
1.5 weeks after graduating bootcamp, they made me an offer to come on, and I signed on for a 2 month contract. I learned SO MUCH! It was an incredibly difficult experience, but so worth it. Plus, halfway through the contract, my CEO changed her mind about my status, and decided that she would be paying me–yes, paying!–as an independent contractor instead of an intern. I definitely loved being able to put “Software development contractor” on my LinkedIn…almost as much as getting a check at the end.
Offer 2: Mentor at Dev Bootcamp
Circumstances
Throughout the time I spent in the program at DBC, I spent a lot of time helping out my peers. I did this because it hurts to see other people struggling, but also because it was a way that helped me personally to solidify my grasp of concepts and syntax. During Phase 0, I ran a study group and dedicated between 5 and 20 hours a week to being on Google Hangouts with the group’s members. I worked hard to grasp every concept put before me as well as things I found on my own, not satisfied with anything and wanting always to get better and do more. Once I got on campus, I continued to try and help my peers, sometimes by signing up to help newer cohorts, sometimes by holding informal tiny breakout sessions, and sometimes just by working hard to be a good and hands-off pair.
So when I was invited along with several others from my cohort after graduation to interview for the Mentor positions, I already had something to point at to show I was both eager and capable of doing this work. (Plus, having had all that practice was a huge help!) The start of this role would coincide nicely with the end-date for my role with MarryMapp, and it would also be a part-time job that would leave me free to continue applying for full-time roles.
What I did to secure this offer, and what happened after that
I did my best to remember my ‘training’: letting the ‘student’ guide the experience, suggesting ideas and asking questions to get a sense of the ‘student’s’ knowledge on topics, and more. I continued the trend from MarryMapp of staying very positive throughout the experience, and working hard to be prepared, eager, and knowlegeable.
Within a few days, DBC made me an offer to start as a Mentor, and I signed on right away. I continue to work as a Mentor now–nearly 2 months into the experience at this point–and have been thrilled to be a part of the DBC staff. I love working with students and having the skills I need to help alleviate their struggles in a way that I just wasn’t prepared to do while I was myself a bootcamper.
Offer 3: Advisor at Codecademy
Circumstances
While I worked these part-time jobs, I continued to apply like crazy to many different jobs. One of these jobs I applied to was to be a Mentor at Codecademy. In order to apply, I reached out to several members of the staff at Codecademy via LinkedIn as well as completing their application. That was why they got back to me and followed up with my application–letting me know that while I wasn’t a fit for the Mentor role, I would definitely be a fit for the Advisor role, for which I promptly applied.
What I did to secure this offer, and what happened after that
They quickly got me through the interview portion. During the interviews, I made a point of showcasing my tutoring and mentoring experience: not only was I working at Dev Bootcamp, but I had also been volunteering to teach newbie groups during Women Who Code Algorithms nights, I had built a passion project for helping newbies get access to materials to become better web developers (check it out here: stackforyourself.com), I had been going to technical conferences and speaking about acceptance for bootcamp graduates… and more. Suffice to say, it was great to be able to talk about that. They made me an offer about a week later, which I happily accepted as a second part-time job alongside working at Dev Bootcamp.
Offer 4: Web Development Apprentice at Groundwork
Circumstances
Remember I mentioned I had been giving talks? Since finishing bootcamp, I have given talks, lessons, and tutorials over 12 times in front of groups! I absolutely recommend it as a way to build community and your professional network, build your credibility, expose your knowledge and ignorance alike, and be accountable to be knowledgeable on your topic for your event. One such event was the NYC.rb meetup, where I gave a talk “Avoiding N+1 Errors in Rails”. It was a concept I needed to actually learn before I presented it! And as it happened, at the event there were some people who were interested in hiring junior developers: namely, Groundwork.
Groundwork is a software consultancy that primarily builds several products for a financial company that hired them on. Their company is premised on the concept of mentorship and pair-programming, and it immediately caught my interest when their CEO/CTO came up to present after my talk. I found him extremely knowledgable and, staying after the event to speak with him and one of his developers, learned a lot from our conversation that came out of my talk. I reached out to them the next day to follow up right after completing their application on their site, and right away they asked me to come in the following week for a Pair Day.
What I did to secure the offer, and what happened after that
At that point, I had already gotten an offer from The Bacon (more on that below!) and so I made sure to be very clear on that, in the interest of mutual transparency and respect. Disclosing that I already had an offer I think made me a more exciting prospect in their eyes. When I came in for the Pair Day, I continued to do what I had already done: exercised my social skills by being pleasant and open, allowed my curiosity and willingness to engage run wild, and prepared as much as possible. I had a great day with them and they made me an offer the next morning!
Offer 5: Web Developer at The Bacon
Circumstances
During my frantic job search, I utilized as many sources for jobs as I could find. One awesome resource turned out to be the Women Who Code job board, where I found a job listing for The Bacon. I applied through the site, and the CEO reached out to follow up. After a very positive phone conversation, she set me up to speak with her developer–like MarryMapp, this is a small start-up with a need to bring on a remote, slightly-more-than-part-time engineer to help fix bugs and add features to their application.
What I did to secure the offer, and what happened after that
I made sure to ask plenty of questions to get knowledgeable on their tech stack and then brushed up on my Rails models, associations, and controllers. And a good thing too, since my entire technical interview was me and the developer building out several models for an example application.
Within 2 weeks, they made me an awesome offer: a 30hr/week commitment to help build out their codebase in a completely remote environment. Perfect–I would get the chance to keep my other commitments! I spent some time calculating how much free time I would have left (answer: very little) and talking to my family. I got the offer while in the middle of the interview process with several other companies, but I knew that the circumstances of the job, high level of responsibility, and much I just liked the team made this a clear top choice. But Groundwork made me a more lucrative offer. Feeling torn, I asked The Bacon whether they would be willing to match it: and they did! Within an hour of that news, I accepted the offer and am due to start next week!
Takeaways
Staying positive, engaging eagerly, and continuing to work on my knowledge by building lots of cool projects were definitely the main reasons I was able to secure these positions. I tried to create value and positivity with each interaction, stay flexible, and go boldly for what I wanted.
As for keeping myself going during the times when it felt especially difficult to imagine myself as gainfully employed to write wonderful code, I can only say that engaging with the community was an amazing antidote that kept on giving. Asking for volunteering opportunities instead of asking for referrals allowed me to get to know and help people. Putting myself out there by applying to give talks on topics I wasn’t qualified to give talks on made me work harder, feel more confident, and succeed better (and it always worked out in the end). Continuing to push code and wanting to see those green boxes on my Github made me accountable.
I can’t wait to start my second development job after bootcamp 4 months after graduating. And I hope this helps others who are also getting into the job market having finished their own programs, on the doorstep of their careers as web developers.