Comment Present what you have, clearly and professionally (Score 3, Informative) 441
- Be willing. One advantage that you have over older, experienced competition is that you're young, healthy, idealistic, unmarried, and have no children. Your ability and willingness to put in long hours can offset some of your lack of experience. Convey your enthusiasm with your during phone screens and live interviews.
- Advertise any personal projects or interests. I always take note of an entry-level candidate that has put effort into a project that they take pride in, whether it's a personal project, a school project, or blog postings. It doesn't necessarily have to be technical. It's a great differentiator and a glimpse beyond the resume into what motivates you.
- Send a reasonably professional email. Send your job-seeking email to yourself and examine it in your inbox. Preferably, your name appears in the format "John Doe", not "deeznutz23235@aol.com", "john", JohnnyBoy", or "JOHN DOE" . The subject line, if not predetermined by the reply mechanism, should be the title of the position for which you're applying. It should not be "Hi" or "Interested".
- Include testimonials. If you have a good GPA (>3.5) or recommendations from professors or your landscaping boss, include them.
- Avoid rambling answers. Part of what you're being evaluated on is the ability to articulate concepts clearly.
- Bullshitting is lethal. Once you start bullshitting, you're wandering a minefield with a blindfold on and every step can blow apart your credibility. Stick to the map. If you say "I have hands-on experience with X" and when I start probing about X, that turns into "I have some passing exposure to X" you will have committed lethal bullshitting.
- Be prepared for the unprepared interviewer. Have a two-minute summary of yourself prepared. Have a handful of genuine questions ready, i.e. not the vague, generic questions like "What do you like best about working here?" but things that you're genuinely curious about, like maybe "What IDE does everyone use here? What database technology in production?"