HN Explorer

Ask HN: How do I get a coding job as a recent grad with a non-CS degree?

4 points by saber3004 ↗ HN
I have experience coding, and by all accounts I seem to be pretty good at it. I have experience (even startup experience) but not as much as someone who has been in the Valley for a few years. I pick up new things quickly and can stay focused on a problem for hours and even days. The problem is that a lot of this isn't especially impressive to put on a resume.

I'll be moving to San Francisco before the end of the month and I need a job so that I can pay rent but I'm having trouble convincing companies that I'm a good hire. Most seem to look at my resume and write me off right away.

tl;dr: How can I prove that I'm worth hiring?

12 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 39.9 ms ] thread
glimcat
Most places without an HR department playing gatekeeper are unlikely to care, provided that you can communicate well about your skills and if you can back it up by showing prior work (via Github, etc.).
yashchandra
"How can I prove that I'm worth hiring?"

Show us one/some of the things that you have coded/built. That is one way to start.

mgkimsal
Most of the devs I know do not have a CS degree. Most employers are going to care about results, and a degree is only one signal indicating what sort of results you're capable of. Finished projects are another (usually more accurate) signal.

I'd be more likely to hire someone who can demonstrate actual coding abilities than someone who had a CS degree. If someone has both, that's great, but the demonstrated abilities are going to win out for most positions.

apsurd
Make stuff.

Show don't tell.

kunj2aan
Well tell us how you arrived to the conclusion that you are good at coding, pick up new things quickly and you are a good hire.

Did you solve a problem that no one else did? Did you create something that you found amazing? Did you collaborate with someone and he told you that you are good? Did your previous manager/professor tell you this or evaluated you positively in a coding project? Did your peers in the technical community do anything that lead you to believe you are good? Did you build something that some one is using and he liked it enough that you felt you could do it again? Did you ace some CS related subject and you are very confident in that domain? Did you win an award in a competition?

Just tell us how you arrived to that conclusion.

tsurantino
Right but he mentioned resumes.

On resumes, the first filter is the most relevant degree. How do you bypass that in the context of HR filtering thousands of resumes?

A lot of this advice is stuff that you can talk about in an interview, maybe briefly in a cover letter. A resume? Might be tough (especially if you don't have a lot of previous employment experience).

I'm just trying to play a bit of devil's advocate here because I'm also very curious about this question.

saber3004
Thanks for the reply. You pretty much nailed my problem.
saber3004
I got to that conclusion based on the work I did in a startup I interned at during the summer before my senior year. I had a project there where I worked with a more senior employee and was able to make significant contributions, despite having only recently learned the technology at that point. I suppose that he would make a good reference. For what it's worth, I've also been told that I'm good by my classmates based on my work on class-related projects or homework. Thanks for the question, though. It's really made me think.
thedillio
Hack their systems. Partially joking. But in all honesty companies have hired hackers that did built something slightly destructive (in the short term) to their website/app.

http://allfacebook.com/hacker-makes-facebook-look-like-myspa...

Disclaimer: I would just be sure that they are a very liberal startup and might appreciate a joke otherwise you might find the FBI knocking on your door.

Toph
Apply for jobs and reach out to real people at these companies you're hoping to get hired for rather than just filling out applications online and blindly waiting for a response back.

Do NOT send out your resume unless they explicitly ask for one. Attach a cover letter along with it if they do and explain in a short and brief manner i.e. simple terms, what you said here. Otherwise, allow your portfolio/github profile to do the talking. Work the interview angle as best as you can that way.

sherm8n
How much coding experience do you have? Are you able to list all the projects you've worked on and what you did for them?

If you're looking for a corporate job of course they will screen you out because you don't have a cs degree. This is one of the reasons they're terrible at hiring.

I have done lots of resume reviews, phone interviews, in-person interviews, and hiring for a big company. When you're looking at a stack of 500 resumes your goal is figure out how to filter that down to maybe 20 or so of the best looking resumes. It's dumb I know.

The most effective way of getting noticed is through a strong referral. Otherwise, you have to figure out how to really stand out. Do you have a portfolio to show projects you've done?

pairing
Apply! Show off projects on your resume (even if you don't think they are impressive), link to your github on your resume. Explain your passion for programming in a cover letter.

You would be surprised how many fresh CS majors have nothing to show other than the title. With the same intangibles, I'd hire a new college graduate with personal projects/open source code and no CS degree over a fresh college graduate with a CS degree and nothing to show for it.