I would like to address first of all newbies who may read this article. I'm lucky :) Thoughts that in a couple of months everything will turn out great for you and you will find yourself a great job do exist, but they are extremely rare. And often this path is thorny. But first things first.
Briefly about yourself:
20 years. I started learning programming at the beginning of this year. I chose Java for a number of specific reasons. I started with YouTube playlists, and in May I decided to try JavaRush. I have 3 paid months here. For those of you to whom level 11 in 3 months seems like a small achievement, I will say that I am guided by the rule “I know a little, but I know it well.” I delved into the topics I was studying, and in the months free from subscription I worked here in parallel with Java Syntax Pro. Great course)) Better than the main course. Well, I practiced on the Internet: I wrote a 2D game, Snake, and stuff like that. However, considering my goals for the future, by November I decided to try my hand at the frontend part. This does not mean that I have given up on Java. I just decided to move it a little to the background. The front-end was a great success for me. And knowing Java, it won’t be difficult to navigate Javascript-e at the initial stage, at least. It is important to note that my solution is not a “jump”, where you, say, studied for a week or two and then were like: I’ll take up Python. After some time - “no, no, PHP is the future,” etc. I devoted a lot of time, effort and patience to Java, and I don’t think it’s wrong to choose what my soul is most passionate about. However, this is not about that now. Times are tough, everyone knows that. Lost my job. I started surfing the Internet and thought: why not submit my CV for the Java Junior position :) By the way, below there will be links to my CV and other information. As a result, a day later I was invited by one company for an interview, and 5 days later by another, where I got a job.
What you really need to know:
1) English
Yes friends. Even though the times are modern and everything has long been translated, you will need this skill. At the same time, it is important to note that in the work itself you may never need English, but at the interview stage, and both of them were in English, it is very important to speak it. The option that might come to some people’s minds, including me, like, “Well, I speak well, but I’ll give technical answers and explanations in Russian,” won’t work)) And here it was already difficult for me, because I have to give a correct, complete answer using Java terminology. But, at the very least, I answered everything.
2) Soft skills
I have always understood that the company takes on great responsibility when hiring a newcomer, being aware that there is a lot he may not know. But if this is compensated by a twinkle in the eye and the ability to correctly assess working conditions and prospects, then some gaps in knowledge may be overlooked. IMPORTANT. I don’t mean that this means you should neglect your studies, I just want to say that being a junior you have an additional trump card against the background of Middle and Senior. However, I was told almost immediately that I was accepted, and part of this was due to the way I presented myself.
3) Excitement
It is appropriate to worry in two cases:
When you have years of practice and work behind you, but here you cannot answer a couple of banal questions.
When you present yourself too brightly, convincing the company that it can acquire almost the best programmer in the entire universe, but in fact you can barely connect two words. In other cases, there is no need to worry. I indicated everything honestly and realized that some questions could confuse me, that this was my first interview and I had no work experience, and they themselves were hiring a newcomer. And therefore, why should I worry?
4) How to approach the first interview/job, etc.
As I said, after my interview with the first company, I decided that I didn’t want to be there. This may seem strange to some, like, “You don’t have any experience and here is such an opportunity, and you seriously refuse?!” Yes :) I took a long-term view of this situation and asked myself: will I be happy with this place in 3 months, 6 months, a year? The answer was no. I will not describe all the reasons that formed my reluctance to work there, but I can assure you that they are all justified. Programming is not an easy task, and there certainly won't be a dopamine rush from writing code every 10 minutes. Often you will have to do boring and uninteresting work. I am aware of this. However, this is not my last chance. I literally didn’t see myself there at all. But the second job worked for me. The interview, of course, was not without its problems, because suddenly EVERYTHING went wrong for me. Microphone, drivers, etc. For some reason, I couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi even from my phone at that moment. As a result, I conducted an interview on mobile Skype via 4G 😄 There were mainly technical questions, which, by and large, I passed well. Good - that is, in such a way that the answers satisfied both the guys and me. By the way, there was a team lead from the developer and HR departments. Afterwards they called me back and said, you have passed the first stage, soon there will be a second one in English where you will speak with a high-ranking person from Germany. Yes, by the way, the company is international :) The questions were in the spirit of: why do you need all this, why did you become a programmer, and so on, which helped him form an assessment of what kind of employee stands in front of him. 15 minutes after our online meeting took place, they called me back and said that I had been accepted :) This was all, by the way, an hour ago.
5) What topics were asked about?
In fact, I expected it to be more difficult, although I admit that I left some questions unanswered. It is important to note that this quality was also appreciated. The fact that I was honest where I didn't know and said straight out "I don't know" rather than making it up. Of course, I strained my brains, but if the topic was completely unfamiliar to me, then I did not answer. They asked about this (I didn’t remember everything, but by and large here it is):
Interfaces. When we need them. The difference between them and classes. How to implement them.
Polymorphism.
Encapsulation. All about access modifiers.
Lambda functions.
Difference between hash-set and hash-map.
Enum.
They gave questions that were related to programming, but not necessarily Java.
Logic questions.
I don't really remember the rest. On my own behalf, I will say that I answered 70 percent of them, and very fully and confidently.
Well, the main thing is the salary:
400 euros starter pack :) I am personally pleased. But, of course, I will strive for more. The work is official. I don’t know about the other benefits yet. First working day is Monday. Bottom line: as I said, I was lucky :) Of course, I still have a lot to learn, but at the same time I’m glad that my work paid off. My goal for this year was to become a programmer, and today I broke my phone screen, but at least I got a job. Balance in life - from one extreme to another) I thank JavaRush for such a service. Considering that I am back in this rut again, the services of this service will be useful to me again. As for the front-end, I will improve it too. Something like this. Good luck to everyone. My CV: https://resume.io/r/au9qnlrtM
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