Letâs face it - weâve all been here:
If you relate to this meme, youâre not alone.
Itâs the reason why many people take an EntryLevel program, because you get a portfolio after completing the program.
But what happens after you take an online course like ours?
How exactly do you use it to land a career in tech?
I talked to 5+ amazing EntryLevel students to get their answers.
According to our Product Management alumnus, Michael, you need to put all your effort into portfolio projects.
Leverage those projects youâre doing at EntryLevel. They really count.
- Michael
The quality of your portfolio corresponds to the quality of your work. When companies look at your portfolio, theyâll assume youâll put a similar effort into projects you work on at work if youâre hired. Your portfolio also shows that you do have previous experience.
Another tip for your portfolio is to pick projects that will benefit you in the long run.
For example, if you know you want to work in fintech startups, you can pursue projects relevant to that. This will align your experiences with what companies are looking for.
Not sure what you want to do?
Here are some short exercises to help you uncover your next career move.
Another tip from Michael?
Brag about the badges you earned.
Now, if youâve taken an EntryLevel program, youâll know what weâre talking about.
After completing a program, you get a certificate with badges that showcase skills youâve demonstrated during the program.
You can use these badges to say âthis shows I have this skill, because I did that.â Thatâs what Michael did, and he got hired and now works remotely.
Want tips for applying to remote companies? Listen to Michaelâs interview here.
3 months after receiving a Product Management certificate from EntryLevel, Lola got experience handling multiple software products.
How?
She took initiative by seeking opportunities to work with others.
Not only did she get experience managing stakeholders, she also practiced her communication and teamwork skills.
These soft skills are in high demand from employers. Anyone can learn how to use a PM tool or a design tool. But it takes practice to master soft skills - and you can start now.
Reach out to a few friends to see if theyâd like to work with you. Or use LinkedIn to find potential project partners, which leads us to our next tipâŠ
Hauwa bagged more than 5 scholarships through LinkedIn. Even though she just started using LinkedIn this year, sheâs found so many opportunities through the social platform.
Her advice?
Start engaging with others in your niche.
Maybe youâre interested in Data Analysis. Start following others who are learning about the topic. Join communities to see what others are working on. Share your portfolio projects there. Maybe you can even work on more projects with people in that community.
You never know until you try. One more thing:
Be resilient on what you want.
If you want something, and you know itâs going to make a positive change in your life, you should work hard towards achieving your goal.
You can make time for that goal you set for yourself.
- Hauwa
Hear more LinkedIn tips from Hauwa here.
Another reason to join a community is to get feedback from others, Alexa says.
Nobodyâs perfect.
Getting feedback - and learning how to fix your mistakes - is a valuable skill often used in the workplace.
If you can give and receive feedback well, youâll succeed at work.
Collaborate with others to accelerate your learning. Your community can hold you accountable to your goals. Even if you donât meet your goals, thatâs okay.
According to Alexa, âyou might not meet your project deadline, but the fact that you learned something while doing that project should matter. So you focus on the growth that youâve achieved and don't beat yourself up. Try again, and make your project better.â
Get more motivation from Alexa.
Meet Ati.
Ati used the frameworks she learned in EntryLevelâs marketing program in job interviews, and now works at ClearCalcs.
Her advice for you?
Treat your job search like an experiment. Keep testing, learning, and getting feedback so you can improve.
Be smart about what you're doing so that you get your results faster.
- Ati
Ati recommends not relying too much on mass-applying for big companies âwhere you might not get feedback until after two months.â
Instead, be proactive.
âReach out to people so you can talk to them, understand what they're looking for and find out if you can meet those requirements. So instead of waiting for two months, if you can find that out in one call, why don't you do that?â
In fact, Ati has kindly provided a cold outreach email template for you. Find it on Atiâs interview page.
Christiana applied to 50 jobs before she landed an internship.
When youâre transitioning careers, itâs really not easy. Itâs not as easy as they make it sound out thereâŠwhat matters is consistency.
- Christiana
It might take 6 months, or even a year.
When youâre feeling discouraged, just know youâre not alone.
Keep at applying, learning, and improving yourself. Christiana applied to jobs for 3 months before landing one.
She also had 2 companies reach out to HER with jobs after optimizing her LinkedIn, as advised in our LinkedIn tips workshop.
Hear more about her story and how she ultimately landed her job (using LinkedIn connections - with complete strangers!) here.
It now lies on you to really keep doing what youâre doing, keep putting yourself out there. It might take a while, but it will surely come.
- Christiana
Here are your clear next steps for your job search:
Need more support?
Our free job search workbooks can also guide you through the job search process: https://go.entrylevel.net/workbooks