It's Never Too Late: Steps to Begin Today

I am not going to spend more than an hour per article, and this is my first. I hereby declare a self-challenge: 100 articles in 100 days.
Let’s see where it will lead, where my curiosity and yours will lead.

As a fresh graduate software engineer, I have never been more perplexed than in the last few months. Why? The easy answer would be "landing your first job in the tech market is the hardest thing ever.” But I don’t want to spend my whole life putting explanations in simple labels like those.

Let’s be honest, is there a perfect job for me as a fresher? I really do not know and will never know. But I am 100% certain about one thing: recruiters are looking for confidence more than qualifications. This is what I have discovered through my job-seeking journey.

If you are a fresher, please don’t fall for the same trap I have fallen into: never wait until you fit into a job. What I mean by fitting is simply that feeling you get while reading the job description, “I identify myself in this.”

Let’s articulate into structured steps now :

Step 0: Know yourself.

And by knowing yourself, I am going to be clear about it: you don’t need to answer the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” question. But you just have to link the few “dots” that could describe you in 3 or 4 lines. Are you a flexible person who wants to learn the latest technologies and work in a global environment with high-value products? Or are you a loner who wants to climb the career ladder as fast as possible, no matter the work? Try to identify this, and you will know what job title you’re looking for as a fresher.

Step 1: Iterate.

Stop saying the famous motivational phrase: “I want to land a job as soon as possible, whatever the job is.” Because simply, you cannot. You will get accepted once you fully fit the job in question, not because you wanted to land it as soon as possible. So let’s be clear, patience can be your best friend here because you really need it. How to iterate? Simple. Are you being ghosted? Optimize your resume. Are you not finding jobs that fit you? Optimize your job search. And so on and so forth. By iterate, I mean to work on your job-seeking process as your personal MVP and iterate it from scratch to something viable, capable of finding the right job.

Step 2: Do Manoeuvres.

Like a ship captain who adjusts course as the wind changes, always be ready to adapt. Personally, I was hesitant to look for non-developer jobs as a new software engineer and kept searching for developer roles. However, when I started applying for analyst or consultant positions, I got an interview within two days. It wasn't because these jobs are easier, but because I was a better fit for them.

I want to tell you a simple thing : if you don’t experiment, you will never achieve what you intend to. The steps I have provided may be my own approach to solve the job seeking mission. But whatever yours, just try it till you comprehend and build over it. Tiny experiments in the unknown are the best way to know the way.