Five Tips to Help Students Land Their First IT Graduate Jobs

Starting your career in information technology (IT) isn’t just about landing your first graduate job. 

Building a career in IT is about honing your skills and identifying ways to make use of your inherent interests in your work life. It’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all model, because your interests, strengths and education will all contribute to defining your path in this industry. 

The good news is that IT is a rapidly growing field with a huge demand for tech talent and numerous opportunities to break into the field. With the right approach, graduates can set themselves up on a solid and rewarding career trajectory in IT. Let’s explore 5 simple steps that will help you along the way.

 

1. Find your specialisation

Choosing a career path can be tricky – you’ve probably had limited practical experience in IT, and you’re already being forced to make important choices about your future. In this vast industry, it’s important to think about what area will suit your interests and skills. 

Although this might sound like a daunting task, there are simple, actionable steps you can take to find your specialisation, such as:

• Researching and evaluating roles in IT, and learning about companies that specialise in the areas you’re interested in.
• Use your university or institution as a resource. Reach out to your past institutions and try and arrange to speak with teachers or past alumni about the paths they’ve chosen.
• Arrange to meet and chat with IT professionals in a range of fields. In general, people like to talk about the work they do. Either through your network, your university or even through cold emailing and messaging on LinkedIn, arrange a coffee meeting or a phone call to learn more about your chosen fields. 

 

2. Gain relevant skills and accreditations

After narrowing down your professional pathways, it’s time to think about some practical skills and certifications that will help you break into the field. Compared to other industries, IT is highly skill-driven, and each new proficiency you acquire will provide a real benefit to your career search. 

If you’re interested in software development, learning programming languages like Java, Python or C++ will be essential at some point in your career. Having some pre-existing competencies with these languages will therefore make you much more attractive as a graduate. 

For cybersecurity roles, certifications like CompTIA Security+ or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) can be extremely useful. In general, VMware and AWS certifications are useful for any IT graduate since they come from world-leading IT institutions. 

Obtaining these qualifications will not only make your transition into graduate and junior roles easier, but it will also show potential employers that you’re proactive and motivated – making you a more attractive candidate.

 

3. Get real-world experience

While your knowledge, skills and accreditations are all integral to your future career, there’s no substitute for practical, hands-on experience working in IT.

Employers know that theoretical knowledge without practical application will not prepare you for the demands and challenges of the IT industry. Important soft skills such as communication, time management, and problem solving will only be developed through experience in the field.

Internships and other practical experiences are a great way for students and recent graduates to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. Fortunately, there is still huge demand for interns in the IT industry, and ample opportunity to gain these skills and experience, and get a better idea of where you want to work. 

Networking is an invaluable tool to find these roles, and developing your networking skills early will build a strong foundation to help you thrive as you go forward in your career.  

 

4. Prepare for interviews and assessments

Whether you’re looking for an internship or a graduate position, approaching interviews and assessments strategically will give you the best shot at securing a role. Although each organisation has their own process to hire IT talent, adequate research, planning and practice will substantially boost your chances of success. 

Start with thorough research on the organisation and the role that needs to be filled, and carefully study the job description and any supplementary resources provided. Once you have a better grasp of the role, think about how your knowledge of technical concepts and specific skills (such as programming languages or database management) will apply to the role’s selection criteria. 

Along with this, think about how your soft skills and experience fits in with both the company’s broader culture and aims and the requirements of the role. Prepare example answers to behavioural questions that demonstrate both technical and soft skills. Practise these answers on your own and then with friends and family, until they can be readily recalled and easily tailored to different questions. 

When it comes to online assessments, while these can be difficult to prepare for, there is a wealth of practice tests that can be found online. Completing these tests under time conditions will help you to remain confident and calm when it comes to the real assessments. 

 

5. Be open to feedback

We’ve all heard that learning from failure is an important step towards success. While this might sound cliché, it’s particularly true when it comes to the job market. Sometimes your skills, knowledge, experience, tailored resume and interview preparation will still not be enough to secure a role. This is a universal experience shared by both recent graduates and seasoned, qualified professionals. 

To set yourself up for success in IT, it’s important to treat these experiences not as failures, but important learning opportunities. Always ask for feedback after a selection process and note down and reflect on the comments provided. This can also be applied more broadly than just hiring processes – you should try to seek professional feedback whenever you have the chance. 

Your professional connections may be happy to look at your resume, and give constructive criticism on how to present your skills and experience more persuasively. This advice will be instrumental to your applications in the future.

 

To take advantage of the vast opportunities in the IT industry, a proactive approach will help recent tech graduates build a successful and fulfilling career. The 5 steps outlined above aren’t a complete guide to building a career in IT, but they do provide a useful outline to help you boost your chances for success in the field.

 

Take the next step in your career with Motion

Our recruitment consultants connect talented candidates with IT employers. Experience and personal understanding are the keys to our success.

 

You can talk to our team via their profiles, or check out our latest IT graduate jobs on our jobs board.