First Job - Tumblr Posts
"When You Start Your 1st Job"
I'm gonna be real shitty the first week, aren't I?
i worked at a movie theater and on slow days we would jump scare people while checking the horror movies
where was your first job?
Fast food service (McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, ect.)
Restaurant service (waiting tables, dishwasher, ect)
cashier/bagger at grocery store
life guard
I’ve never had a job
other (put in tags)
(Im currently trying to get my first job and I’m curious what the most common first job is)
Brad’s ‘gay uncle’ Rod Harden cast him in his first film role as Beverly the Beverage Boy in the NC-17 flick Palm Springs Resort Ruckus.
Cut to the chase, this will be a very long post because of the amount of information the people presenting gave us! So much! Anyhoo, the 1.5-hour Zoom meeting was a bunch of representatives from mostly tech companies giving out advice for CVs/Resumes, practical career advice, interviews, and technical interviews. Though this is targeted towards tech people, anything can find the information given to be somewhat helpful!
The Sections
CV/Resume Advice focused
Preparing for first round Interview
How to Stand Out on LinkedIn
Technical Interviews and how to stand out to the Tech Hiring Manager
Career and CV/Resume tips for Tech Graduates
Warning Signs from An Interview
Section 1 - CV / Resume Advice 💻📑
Employers only read your CV in 30 seconds - make the information they are going to read count.
Make it personal to you AND relevant to the role you are applying for
Make sure the content on your CV is concise - don't ramble on forever
The layout should be easy on the eye - not all stuck together in terms of text but not too colorful and in your face
Formatting - The most important and relevant information at the top.
Create a punchy Bio summary at the top - Three-four sentences about who you are and what you do - what you are passionate about
It’s okay to have a 2-page CV/Resume IF the information is all relevant. If not, keep it to 1 page.
Skills - Technical skills and soft skills listed
Your experience ✨
Fact-based.
Don’t copy the job descriptive
Talk about YOUR achievements
Don’t use too much “I did this… I am this…”
Your education 🏫
Include everything relevant like bootcamps, apprenticeships in the area you are applying for
Keep high school information minimal if not relevant
Hobbies and Interests 🎮🎲
Share hobbies that show a skill
Think about what the company does e.g. A gaming company and you're a gamer
Share you’re creative - an eye for colour, design, and creative thinking
Know how to destress - you like yoga and mindfulness
Don’t include hobbies that are more lifestyle e.g. shopping and eating out
Include awards you have gotten that would be relevant to the job you are applying to.
Section 2 - Preparing for first round Interview 👩💻
❌ Don't ❌
Do not speak negatively of your previous company/employees - it has a bad look on you and might jeopardize your employment stage if you get the job when they talk to your previous manager
Do not appear to be disengaged/uninterested when interviewed - body language can be assessed also
Do not give false information - about your skill set, don't lie saying you know a language when you don't, and be transparent
✅ Do ✅
Do ask for clarification if you are unsure about anything. Could be about the job description, or want them to expand on things, do ask questions 💯
Do active listening and respond 👂 - ensure that you are present in the moment
Do ensure you sell your strength/have a positive attitude - sell yourself so that they can pick you
What is the typical interview process? 🎬
Phone/Video Screening with the hiring manager/someone from the company
1st interview - Face-to-Face / Remote with the hiring manager/member of the team via Teams / Zoom etc
2nd Interview
Stakeholder/Hiring Manager
Might do a presentation or a task (technical interview if for a tech role)
Give yourself enough time to complete the task
Key Tips to succeed in the interview 🔑
Preparation - ensure you look up who the attendees are for the interview (e.g. via Linkedin)
Research - Look up the company information/Statistics/Glassdoor reviews/Social media content. See how they are online, what the company’s culture is like, pros and cons
Questions - Do not be afraid to have a list of questions for your potential employer / take a notepad with you, to prompt this / take responses down.
Review - Study the job descriptions to identify the pros and cons of the job.
Structure your answers - STAR approach - Situation, Task, Action, Approach
Time management - If you have multiple interviews to prepare for, schedule allocated time in your day to prepare for each process
Rest - Ensure to have a good night's rest prior to the day. Allow yourself no distractions in the last 15 mins leading up to your interview!
Section 3 - How to Stand Out on LinkedIn 🙌
Going through each section of your LinkedIn profile and tips on how to improve it!
Banner
Having a banner is best, don’t leave it empty.
Make it related to your desired role - a techy image for tech people, the image of the city’s business sector for business people
Profile picture
Have a profile picture to have an idea of who you are
Have the “Looking for work” banner on
Sub-section
The headline: Be passionate about who you are. Have key elements of who you are.
Have your name and pronouns
It's okay to use emojis in your profile - shows personality
Featured Section
Use the featured section to show off who you are
Show pieces of work you’ve done
Have certificates? Show them here
You can have up to 5 pieces in the featured section so choose wisely
It shows the employer how active you are in the community for tech people
Activity
Write posts every so often
Use hashtags (only 4-5 at most) to make your post reach more
Use hashtags that have a lot of followers (search in on LinkedIn to find out how many followers the hashtag has)
If you have recently been let go, make a post about it, with the hashtag, and people will repost or comment to help you
About
Another part where you can talk about yourself
Make it really personal
Be specific - not just a long paragraph about yourself
Key skills - programming languages, even things you are currently working to learn
Talk about your strong areas
Add a GitHub, Replit, GitLab, etc
Recommendation
If you have worked somewhere else, have an ex-coworker make a recommendation for you - employers love to see how other people who have interacted with you have to say about you
Talking to Hiring people - Not a section but a to-do
It can be scary but it’s okay to message the hiring individual to say “Hey I have recently applied, is it okay to look out for my application” and go on more about why you would be a good candidate.
The hiring managers have to look at so many applications and CVs/Reumes and they find it difficult to see people’s values and personalities so giving them a message will prompt them to search for your application and read through it.
Section 4 - Technical Interviews and Standing out to the Hiring manager in one 🚀🤘
Each company is different and will be doing it in a different way - e.g. one company tests your C# skills and another might test your PHP skills
Prepare by asking questions about what it would involve - most employers tell you what languages will be involved, if they don’t, ASK!
Coding exercises and Take-Home challenges are the most common
Understand what platform and what format will it be in e.g. what programming language you will use
Ask questions if you don’t understand something! - You don’t understand one part of the coding exercise, ask. It’s not weak to ask questions, you don’t want to do the exercise completely wrong.
Use Google - It's okay to Google to refresh your knowledge you've forgotten a bit. Googling is a skill in itself.
Use the STAR technique
Be honest and be yourself - don’t lie, be honest if you completely don’t understand something
Be confident in what you CAN do
How to Impress a Tech employer 👀
Ask questions 🤔
The relevant question to the job role
Ask about the team, company, culture, responsibilities, and career path, and even ask the Hiring Manger why they like their job also!
Don’t wing it
Highlight additional learning
Coding bootcamps, open source contributions, online free learning
Showcase your previous work
GitHub, GitLab, Projects, Presentations, etc.
Section 6 - Warning Signs from An Interview 😰❌
Not every company knows how to hire and interview well - making the whole process even worse. Here are some things to watch out for...
Structure ❌
No structure to the interview
No intro to set expectations
Not being able to articulate what the company does not get you excited about the work they do
Or it’s like they asked to do an interview with 10 minutes notice…
The Interviews 😨
Whenever you ask how long the interview process / how many rounds there will be and they don’t give you a concrete answer… start to worry…
Rule of 4 interviews - having so many rounds wastes your time and the company’s time. 4 interview rounds at most!
Quality ❌
It might be structured but they might be asking shit questions that have no relevance to the job role at all
E.g. “How many golf balls can you fit in a mini car?” Why are you asking me that when I’m applying for a C# Developer role?
Power to the people!!! 🤘💯
Leave reviews on Google, Glassdoor, or anywhere else if the interview process was terrible.
Let other people know what the company is really like!
Call them out and make them improve their interviewing process.
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Well, that's all! I hope some or all of the information I collected help you! If you think any of the information is incorrect or false, take it to the companies because I just copied what they presented on their slideshows 😋
Have a nice day/night and happy programming 👍🏾💗
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Ok so, tomorrow's my first day working in an amusement park and I'm very excited but also very anxious.
Any advice you can give me is very well received!
14 year old me, just entering the workforce by cutting a family friend's lawn, and getting a minor injury: man i hope this gets me an early retirement
So let's get this clear:
I start my job → I report supervisor for harassment of another employee → supervisor gets demoted → HR (supervisors mom) quits → My mom is promoted to supervisor
Good Lord it's a cycle-