Comment by Blaine Garrett on "How to Get a Job as an entry-level developer in countries like the United States, Canada or Germany, if you are not a resident?"

I've been a part of the hiring process at two different jobs now - neither where we used recruiters. At the first job, we had a pipeline of students out of a major University and would have a booth at the campus job fair, etc. At the second job, which was more of an early startup, we used Linked In and Angel List more. At the first job we hired many people who were not residents and it didn't seem to be an issue. Both jobs were US based.

Personally, when reviewing applicants, I tend to look for other experience or personal projects or something interesting they can bring to the job. This is especially true for me when looking at a bunch of resumes from University students who all all the same relevant course work and equally little work experience. At the very least it gives something additional to talk about at the interview. One of my best hires had a psychology and software engineering double major. He turned out to be one of the most customer focused engineers even though he probably wasn't the most attractive from just the engineering coursework perspective.

While there are lots of different personality types as part of the hiring process , here are some things that would stand out to me personally:

Any civic involvement, volunteering, etc. I interpret it as having compassion and community values that will benefit the team you will be a part of as well as build customer empathy.
Personal projects - regardless of their adoption or purpose. I see this as being self motivated, self directed, and an independent thinker and learner.
Anything "Right Brain". I interpret this as being able to think creatively and abstractly. This is a valuable skill to have in debugging, problem solving, and picking a solution when there is no single correct solution. Especially if you are a 'maker', this demonstrates being personally motivated etc. Do you play an instrument? Do you draw? Do you paint War Hammer figurines? Even if you are not great, it is a differentiator.
Any work experience that may not seem relevant. Were you shift manager at the grocery store in high school? Did you baby sit? Were you a campus security guard? Ever work on a construction team or do seasonal farm work? Janitorial? While none of this might seem relevant work experience, it shows that someone else would hire you, you can handle responsibility, and depending on the work scenario, it can show that you can work independently and/or with a team.

Again, these are just things that stand out to me when comparing two otherwise equal candidates. Good question.

Search Hashnode