How I went from being a street food vendor to working for leading technology companies. Part 2 - Get a job

We offer you the second part of the translation of Alvaro Videl's article How I went from selling food in the street to working for top firms in tech . It talks about the author’s attempts to “Enter IT.” This was more than 10 years ago, and the Uruguayan realities of that time are surprisingly reminiscent of those in the very part of the world where the overwhelming number of JavaRush students live. So read the article, and don’t forget to solve the problems. We think you'll notice how much easier it has become to teach yourself programming compared to 2006! This is the second part of my story, which I want to share about how I got into the world of programming. I didn't have the chance to study IT at university, I had my own path. If you missed the first part, you can read it here .

Get a job

In December 2006 and January 2007, I worked to create and launch a mapping application. By doing this, I wanted to gain as much knowledge about programming as possible, in the hope that it would help me in the interview. From the entire amount of information, I identified the most important thing for myself, what will help me get a new job. The ability to isolate the main thing is a very important step in achieving goals. Otherwise, you are scattered about everything around and are not able to deeply analyze any of the aspects. In my situation, I knew it was important to learn Objective Oriented Programming as it is one of the most important techniques. From a technology perspective, I identified PHP as a key programming language that would help me get a job, and knowledge of Flash programming could set me apart from other candidates. How did I understand this? These were my intuitions based on what I read online and what was written about in magazines. So, I created the application and was ready to take interviews. Now I had to write a resume. I had no idea what to write on a technician’s resume and what to keep silent about. In my personal skills, I listed working with MS Word, MS Excel, Adobe Illustrator, and a little InDesign. Why not, right? No, that's not true. Remembering my first resume, I still blush. It said with all its content - no, shouted: “before you is a complete teapot.” The problem is that I didn’t know what to write about in order to seem competent, so I listed absolutely everything. I am sure that today, applicants for the position of back-end developer who list their skills as “proficiency in MS Word” will be eliminated immediately. Moreover, I will be the first among those who refuse to consider such an applicant. But we are all strong in hindsight, and now it’s easy for me to reason! As soon as I compiled my resume and got a number by which I could be contacted, I immediately offered for consideration my candidacy for the position of PHP programmer at Live Interactive. I constantly re-read and double-checked the information on the resume application form. “Is my name spelled correctly? Is your phone number correct? I'll check it again. I don’t want to miss this opportunity just because I misspelled the address.” I was very nervous, but I had to pull myself together and press the “Send” button. Cry. Sent. Exhalation. "I did it. I sent in my resume for my first job." After the resume was sent, I lingered in the Internet cafe, looking through some pages. Half an hour later, to my great surprise, the bell rang. “I don’t know this number...” Based on the area code, it was clear that they were calling from Montevideo, but so quickly... It can’t be! Or is it still possible? I stood there in confusion for several seconds until it dawned on me that it was they who were calling. Can you imagine? I was shocked. “Do I need to answer the phone? No, no, I’m not ready for this!” Such thoughts flashed through my head. I tried to quickly pull myself together and leave the cafe to answer. "Hello! This is Live Interactive, we are calling about your resume. Is this Alvaro Videla?” came from the other end. “Yes, it’s me,” I said in response. The caller introduced herself as an HR manager and she wanted to arrange an interview. She asked when it would be convenient for me to meet, and I replied that it would take a week to complete all the business here. In principle, I could have taken the next bus and headed straight there, but I had to be 100% prepared for the meeting so as not to miss my only chance. At the end of the telephone conversation, it was known when and where the interview would take place. Now is the time to properly prepare. I had no doubt that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t miss it. But first, I needed to talk to my mother and wife to process everything that happened. On the one hand, I understood that finally the efforts I had put in were starting to bring results, and it was a wonderful feeling. But on the other hand, it was just a tiny opportunity to see at least some light in my life. Making my dreams come true was now entirely up to me, and it felt like a huge responsibility. I had no idea how to cope with this burden alone. I spent the next week preparing for the interview. I read and re-read books, thought about how I should dress for the meeting. I had never worked as a programmer, and had no idea what could be expected of me. There was no one to ask, so I decided to think less about appearance and focus on the technical aspects of the question, hoping that my skills would speak for themselves.

Unforeseen obstacles

Time passed quickly. And now, I’m already sitting on the bus, which in two hours will take me to Montevideo. In my backpack is the book “PHP User Bible” and some money so that I can buy a burger and pay the fare from the station to the company office in the city center. I didn't want to be late, so I was there an hour before and walked around in circles, trying to cope with my anxiety. I needed something to occupy myself at this time and distract myself, so I went to the nearest square, sat down on a bench and read a book. It was impossible to believe that my fate would be decided in about an hour. “Have I prepared myself in the best possible way? And on the day when it was decided to put the book down to leave the house - was it worth it? I kept asking myself. Then I came to my senses. "All! Enough!” I told myself. “Time to focus on the book in front of me rather than speculating about hypothetical possibilities.” Now it's time to go to the office for a meeting. If this were a Tarantino film, my character would probably be called Mr. Blue - blue jeans, blue shirt and blue sweatshirt. I walked into the reception area, where I was greeted by the HR manager with whom I spoke a week ago. She asked me to sit down and wait a little and offered me a glass of water. I agreed and immediately became mired in doubt. “Am I doing everything right? Is this how I should behave or am I doing something wrong?” Oh, how nervous I was. Meanwhile, people were walking back and forth, from office to office. And I peered at them, wondering if there was one among them who would conduct the interview. One person approached the HR manager. “It’s him!” I thought. But no, I was wrong. Soon the HR manager called my name and led me into a large conference room. She handed me a stack of papers and told me that this was the first stage of the interview - a psychological test with over 100 behavioral and situational questions. WHAT IS THIS EVEN? Nowhere in the PHP book was it mentioned that in order to become a programmer, you need to pass psychological testing! I tried very hard. But he doubted every question, did not understand what they were for. Naturally, I had no idea if I was answering correctly, but I hoped that all this would bring me one step closer to my dream job. I finished and returned the papers with the answers. I was again asked to sit down and wait for the next stage of the interview. Soon the HR manager introduced me to the person who would conduct the technical part of the interview. “It’s now or never,” I thought. - Now or never". At that moment, all responsibility was on my shoulders. You couldn’t let your wife, your mother, your family down. “If I don't get this job, it won't be because I just got confused in the middle of the interview and didn't know what to do. If I don’t make it to the next stage, let it be because I’m simply not suitable for them, and not because I lacked knowledge or preparation.” These were my thoughts at that moment. I hope you enjoyed the second part. In the next chapter I will tell you how I got the job and what happened during the first week in a new place. Note: The illustration you see above was created by my friend Sebastian Navas. If you would like to use his wonderful illustrations in your presentations or articles, please contact him. Deviantart profile https://polacostyle.deviantart.com/ , or contact him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sebastian.navas.16