The Tech Hiring Landscape: What It Takes to Land the Job

There’s no doubt about it – the tech job market is evolving. New and ongoing shifts in the market show that tech jobs are projected to grow at a rate of 2x the national rate over the next decade.

That makes now an exciting time to get into tech. But with an evolving market comes evolving tech hiring practices and expectations. In this post, we’ll look at what it takes to land your first tech job, how our coding bootcamp graduates have been fairing on the job market lately, and we’ll explore the importance of community when it comes to applying to jobs and starting a new career.

The Tech Job Search Requires a Plan, Persistence, and Perseverance 

It all starts with training. Once you have the tech skills and understanding you need to start applying to related jobs, you’ll be ready to do so. Our coding bootcamp graduates are getting hired as professional software developers, web developers, software engineers, and beyond. Our latest audited placement rates show that 72.8% of graduates are placed in jobs within 180 days of graduation. 

Among those placed, we see a trend as part of the evolving tech market: students who apply to at least 5 jobs per week during their search are more successful on average than those who apply less – and those who apply to at least 10 or more jobs per week are even more successful.

It’s clear that breaking through in the current tech job landscape requires persistence and perseverance while applying. This can be challenging, of course – no one likes to feel like they’re applying into a vacuum. But we prepare students with an understanding that this part of the process will take work – just like the bootcamp did, and just like the job will. What makes it manageable is the preparation you’ll be able to lean on and added support you’ll get along the way from peers, alumni, and career advisors.

We recently interviewed bootcamp graduate Richard Vanderburgh, now a Computer Engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute. He addressed the competitive job market and the usefulness of his bootcamp cohort and community.

“Even if you’re passionate about the technical stuff and you enjoy it and can continue working on it, finding a job can still be hard. But being able to network and connect with people, students, mentors, and everybody in the program is beneficial,” he said. “Just try to have good conversations, try to meet as many people as you can, and go to the extra events. Try to get as many different perspectives as you can, and you never know what job might cross your path that you didn’t even know existed. Just openly and honestly talk to people, explore, and do a lot of digging.”

The Value of Support in an Evolving Tech Hiring Market

Let’s be honest about this: The job search process can feel lonely. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We strongly believe in the power of preparation, community, and support as you navigate the tech job market.

During our coding bootcamps, students take part in the immersive Pathway Program, which includes career coaching, professional empowerment, skills-building, and confidence-building. The program helps students develop the professional and soft skills needed for success in tech, and allows them to work on these things in tandem with one another, which establishes a community that lasts well beyond the bootcamp.

This community is the backbone of the Tech Elevator network, which also includes access to alumni, mentors, and hiring partners. Bootcamp graduate Samantha Vanderburgh recently talked about how this network helped her land her current role as a Jr. Java Developer at Arcticom LLC,

“Everyone who works [at Arcticom LLC] is aware of Tech Elevator, and a lot of the hires are from Tech Elevator. I got this job, in part, because of graduating from Tech Elevator, because the company is so familiar with the program and how robust it is,” she said.

Toward the end of the bootcamp, we help students through the full job application process –  from networking to interviews to job offer negotiation. We’re there to coach them through the entire process as they continue their job search post-graduation.

This support, and the community built around it, help graduates navigate an evolving tech job market that’s full of both challenges and exciting opportunities.

Interested in exploring a career in software development?

If you’re ready to step into a welcoming, passionate coding community, free to check out an upcoming Open House to learn more about our bootcamps, hiring partners, career preparation, and more.

If you’re ready to get started today, take the first step by completing our five-question Aptitude Test.

 

 

Written by Vinny Sanfillipo,
Senior Director, Career Development