How to apply for Internships and Jobs

Make a copy of this, turn it into a pdf, or store it on your computer. We think these are the most important points to consider when applying for internships and jobs. Read, research, and explore more to choose what’s best for you! Let us know how we did @ 30dayscoding@gmail.com. Good luck, you’ll do great!

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Cold emails

• Cold email == emailing someone you don’t know. It’s the best proven way to get in front of someone’s eyes directly and be instantly noticed.
• An example of this is sending emails to hiring managers or recruiters, telling them something about yourself and discussing a position/referral.

Selling point

• They get thousands of emails every day, so it’s important to highlight what’s unique about you! It doesn’t have to be too fancy, but something that you feel strongly about.
• Your unique ‘selling point’ can be anything — github profile, work experiences, projects, hackathons, projects, grades, certificates, courses, etc.
• Template: Here’s a short blog on writing cold emails: Cold Emailing, the right way

Cold email Flow

• Find the relevant person on linkedin — recruiter, hiring manager
• Send them a message on LinkedIn
• Hey recruiter, I’m interested in the xyz position at your company! My past experience at abc would make me a strong candidate for this position, I’ve attached my resume and look forward to your response!
• More examples in the cold email blog here: Cold Emailing, the right way

Find their email

• Use LeadLeaper.com, ContactOut.com, PIPILEADS.com
• Ask your friends, teachers, or relatives if they know people at these companies and email their contacts.
• Ask your Linkedin connections if they’re connected with someone you’re not. Sometimes people put their emails there.
• Github: A lot of software engineers and managers put their email there.
• Prepare a template -> unique to you with points you feel strongly about.
• Schedule an email for 8–9am in their timezone (mon-fri), and wait for their reply. Make sure to follow up with a small ‘thank you’ message.
• This can be a game changer for 1st round interviews. Give it a try, see what all works for you, and experiment along the way! There’s no one who is fit for all — different things will work for different people.

University career fairs (Offline)

• All universities have career fairs once or twice a year which can be useful for making good connections with representatives from various companies. You’ll usually meet software engineers and recruiters from those companies, so it’s always a great way to put your best step forward.
• General tips: check out the companies coming, do your homework on them, prepare for simple coding questions, and be confident. Make genuine connections with people there, and have a fun time. Be real. Talk like a friend, ask smart questions, give them your resume, and sound interested even if you’re not!
• Imagine yourself in their position — they’re talking to hundreds of potential candidates, so how can you make yourself stand out? Prepare a background story, sound excited and interested (smiling helps), and have a normal conversation. Don’t say things like “I’m a confident leader who would be great for the job”.
• Eg: Career Fair Schedule | For Students | Career Development & Professional Connections

Online Career Fairs

• There are events happening across the globe where companies hire developers — another great networking opportunity.
• Some amazing examples:
• GreyLock
• Startup Fair
• There’s an application process => apply, get in, and follow their process. It’s a great way to get access to multiple companies and meet lots of amazing people.

LinkedIn job portal

• https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/
• It’s important to have a good online presence. Linkedin is one of the more important online platforms, so make sure you have a nice, complete profile.
• Add relevant experiences and projects, a small bio, and some relevant posts about what you’re doing these days.
• No one is staring at your profile for hours so don’t spend too much time on it 😛
• Add projects, get endorsed for skills, add strong headings and summaries. In general, most recruiters don’t look at your summaries/bio/projects but it’s helpful when you’re applying through Linkedin.
• You can use the ‘easy apply’ feature on Linkedin and share your profile through that — make sure your profile is complete if you’re looking to apply through this feature.
• We don’t recommend it, because most people will apply through this — add some value by messaging a recruiter or an employee instead of applying randomly.

Referrals

• Referrals can get you a step ahead of others, leading you to a quicker first round interview (or even skipping the first round sometimes). Most big companies do this. This does not mean direct access to something, just that you’ll get a response faster or lessen the amount of interviews you’ll take.
• Developers working at companies often get incentives if someone joins the company from their referral, so there’s nothing to feel shy about. Every engineer and manager likes a good candidate and it’s a win-win situation for all.
• Flow: Send a simple 1–2 line message asking for the referral (with a selling point). Remember, be prepared before asking. The other person needs to actually like your profile because there’s no obligation on their end to get involved. So make sure to add some skills, your online profiles, or a portfolio of projects.

Networking

• Connect with people from different websites, send them a message and try to see if they have anything to offer. This is a great way to meet founders/co-founders and ask if they’re looking for new talent. They’re always on a lookout for developers to join!
• “Hey person, hope you’re doing well. It was great talking to you the other day about xyz. I would love to further connect with you on LinkedIn and discuss abc”.
• “Hey person, hope you’re doing well. I was impressed by your website/company/project and would love to talk to you regarding some collaborations/career opportunities/inputs. Thank you” — Works great, everyone likes to meet nice people.

Events

• Tons of events happen across the year where companies directly hire developers. Look out for those through your university portal, Linkedin, or other websites. Eg: Grace Hopper
• There are career fairs as well, where company representatives gather and look for talents. Don’t miss out on those if you’re eligible to attend. It’s always nice to meet new people and get informed about local opportunities.

Hackathons

• I love hackathons — free food, awesome projects, amazing people, and wonderful ideas. Work on a project for 24–36 hrs straight and present your idea to win prizes. Meet like minded people and network with different company representatives who host booths there.
• http://hackathonsnear.me/
• https://mlh.io/

Discord, reddit

• Discord has amazing communities for skills, eg: You know Angular. Search for an Angular community on Google and join it. Help people, ask for projects, work for free, and make strong connections. Leverage these through your resume and mention it during interviews!
• There’s also a job/contract/careers section where people are constantly looking for new contract developers. Message random people, get to know their projects/startups, and start working. Remote work has become popular and people are always looking for people to fill these roles.
• Eg: Angular Community on Discord

Online — careers website

• Companies have direct links to the job openings and it’s usually under the ‘careers’ section on their site. So, just like Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/careers/) most companies have a designated page for their jobs.
• This is my least favorite way of applying and it should be the same for you. There are other better ways, mentioned below, which have a higher interview rate than this one.
• As an international student (in the USA), you should probably only do this as a last resort — most of the applications go through a screening process and it’s harder to be noticed.

Remember

• You don’t have to apply for 100’s of positions to get an offer. Be PREPARED -> solve coding problems, make projects, and have fun. The ideal scenario should be to interview at 10–15 companies and, from this, get 2–3 offers. Work hard, but also enjoy the process. It is a long and tiring journey — make sure you take that in consideration. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

If you’re looking for a job/internship right now, you should understand one simple thing. It takes time. Be consistent and enjoy the process -> learn something new from this -> prepare for coding interviews -> and when you do get a job (which you will) -> give back to the community! You got this. We know you’re gonna kill it, keep going! Good luck.