Some snippets of advice for your first job search
Looking for that first job can be quite an overwhelming experience. For one, you have the whole imposter syndrome thing where you run around trying to decide if you have enough knowledge or skills to do anything. Then you have to think about the size of company and industry you want to work in. Should you go for as much money as possible or a place where you can learn? What job title should you look for? Is it ok to apply in cities where you don't live?
This whole process can get you down. But, fear not; that is why I am putting together this list of helpful snippets of advice and tips to help you search for your first full-time role.
Your first role can make a significant impact on what comes after. Ideally, your first role will set you up to make a big jump into your second one. That being said, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Opportunities are plentiful so making a decision isn’t life or death. At the very least you learn a lot about what you do or don’t want to do!
Advice #1: It’s really about the people
As you interview with different companies for your first role one thing you should be very attentive to is the people. Ultimately, the people will be one of the biggest factors affecting how much you learn and progress.
I was incredibly lucky to have the experience in my first full-time role that I did, as one of the first hires at Convesio, where I was able to gain a lot of great experiences. These early days at a startup can be a great opportunity to work around amazing people who care about their work and skills.
The first ten people at Convesio, my first role, were all incredible people and teammates. They were experienced entrepreneurs, experts at their craft, and great operators. All taught me so many things about different roles, running a business, and life in general, from leadership to sales and engineering. The people impacted my experience, and I credit them with a lot of my success and future success.
Some great questions you can be asking yourself about the people as you interview:
- Do they seem excited to be here?
- Would I feel comfortable asking these people for help? Would they be annoyed?
- Are they experienced in what they are doing?
- Are they entrepreneurial? Or great at the corporate game?
- Could I learn a lot from these people?
Advice #2: Join team, make impact, succeed
One thing I have witnessed throughout my experiences is there are no exact characteristics of what makes a good teammate or a successful person. Although there are no exact characteristics, they all have one thing in common. They can join a team, figure out the problems or places where they can make an impact, and then use their skill set to actually make said impact. Doing that will make you hirable for any team or situation.
That’s where being scrappy and resourceful can make a huge impact. Don’t shy away from problems and look for ways to improve them. In my first year at Convesio, I constantly looked for issues across all business functions: sales, marketing, customer support, etc. I used my skill set (coding) to help address those pain points. I automated things for HR, created how-to videos for our customers, and helped hook up integrations for marketing. Whatever problems I saw, I ran at them, and I became a lot better for it. All of the skills I learned from solving problems at my first job rolled over into helping me be a better problem solver in my second.
So how do you go about finding a place you can make an impact? This is one strong argument for joining a startup when you are younger. Startups are full of unfinished processes, unstable systems, and quite frankly, just problems in general. Often you don’t have a ton of direction either, so it’s up to you to be a self-starter and look for those opportunities to make an impact every day. If you can survive the early startup days and learn how to be a scrappy operator, I guarantee you will come out with a whole new set of skills and a whole lot more confidence in your problem-solving ability.
Although joining a startup in your early career is one way to learn how to make an impact, you can learn this at companies of all sizes. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you look for larger companies you can make an impact:
- Does the team seem like one that would give you the freedom to run at different problems?
- Is there a fail-forward mentality?
- Is the position you are in valued at the organization?
Advice #3: Don’t get caught up on the titles
It’s easy when you’re early in your career to get caught up on small things. However, I would argue at the beginning of your career you should be more focused on acquiring skills than you should be on job titles. Sure, a good job title can make it easier to get your next role, but walking away from your first job with real skills will make you even more hirable.
Another thing I think many people need to hear is that you don’t have to do the same thing forever! Remember point #2. If you can learn how to join a team and make an impact with your skillset, you will be more than able to switch around jobs in your career. Your first job can be a great starting place and take you down a specific career path, but it also can be a time to learn some different skills that can be applied elsewhere to get you into the position you want.
I feel I am an excellent example of this. Before my coding days I actually started my own digital marketing agency and ran paid ads for another agency. I was essentially a digital marketer. From there I learned how to code and got my first role in tech (at Convesio) as a software engineer. After a while at Convesio, I was wearing a few different hats, I was doing less coding, more product management, and marketing. After my first job I interviewed for product management and software engineering roles. I ultimately chose to work at SoFi as a Software Engineer. Who knows what I’ll do next. I’ve had offers for sales, marketing, and product management roles.
Every time I find myself playing a different role, I still rely on all the skills and experiences I’ve had in the past. I felt like starting as a digital marketer really gave me an analytical mindset and helped make learning to code easier. My technical understanding of coding and experience running a marketing agency made it an easy transition into product management.
The moral of the story, all skills are compounding! So go out there, start solving problems, and make an impact somewhere. Get over the title, you can always get a better one later.
Prioritize your growth!
Only you know what your future goals are and what you really want to do with your life. Make sure you always prioritize moving in that direction. Sometimes we have to think long-term and understand the first role isn’t what we have to do forever, but as long as you are moving forward, you will achieve your goals sooner than later.
Look for companies, roles, and people that align with the areas you want to grow. Don’t get all caught up on titles, benefits, and salary. We all want to make as much money as possible, but early in your career is the best time to make a few tradeoffs on salary for experience. When you are young taking risks is a lot easier and living cheaper is as well. Fewer responsibilities, no kids, etc. Use that to your advantage.
For my first job, I had opportunities to work at larger companies for more money but passed up on them to work at a startup. I watched my friends join large corporate companies with higher salaries. It hurt a little at the time, but now I can confidently tell you I am glad I made that decision. I prioritize my growth and gaining the entrepreneurial skills I was craving. Now, I have the skill set to be considered for roles I wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for my experience at the startup.
So take a deep breath, keep your head up, and do know everything will become more clear very soon. You may be in the shit of it right now, but I promise you there will be days you look back in disbelief at your growth, accomplishments, and incredible people you've met. It will be worth it so keep moving forward.
I believe in you, and you should too. Much love, friends 🙂
- CC