Digital bootcamps are becoming popular for people aiming to acquire tech skills in a short span of time. Due to its demand, many bootcamps are even going the extra mile to ensure those who complete their programs get their money’s worth and secure employment.
Naturally, after investing so much time and money in a tech bootcamp, you would be eager to start reaping the benefits of your investment by getting a well-paying job that matches your skills. However, you may face challenges during the job hunt process. Receiving the right support for your job search is therefore essential as it can boost your confidence and equip you with skills that can get you hired instead of relying on self-taught knowledge.
Many career service providers have vast experiences in the field and are well-positioned to refine your skills, understand your weaknesses, and market yourself better. In fact, these services are often built into your bootcamp, so you won’t even have to spend additional time and money seeking help and guidance elsewhere.
Interested to know how you can land a tech job after acquiring tech skills? Below are three tech bootcamps that are driven to ensure you have proper career guidance.
CSULB Digital Skills Bootcamps at the College of Professional and Continuing Education
How can it help you get hired? Receive interview coaching to prepare you for a competitive job market. You will learn how to strengthen your practical and theoretical skills to ace interviews. In addition, you will receive professional guidance on ways to customize your résumé to stay ahead of the curve.
To score an interview opportunity, your résumé will probably need to pass through an applicant tracking system (ATS)—many companies use it to screen out applications that fail to meet job specifications. According to LinkedIn, an optimized résumé can increase your chances of making it to the interview stage.
Interview coaching can also significantly increase your chances of landing a job. You will be guided by professionals who will build up your skills using different real-life scenarios.
The University of Wisconsin—Madison’s Digital Skills Bootcamps
How can it help you get hired? As a learner, you will undergo professional coaching on how to enhance your professional social profile, like LinkedIn. You will learn how to market your skills to draw the attention of prospective employers and recruiters.
Because LinkedIn is not only a professional social media platform but also a job board, an optimized profile boosts your chances of being noticed. Many aspiring techies have and are using LinkedIn to land their first jobs.
Internships are another way to quickly get a foot in the door. Among Indeed’s nine practical benefits of internships, “securing strong recommendations and references” was a point it highlighted as being able to turnaround one’s job hunting process. At University of Wisconsin’s Digital Skills Bootcamps, you will receive career support that could help you leapfrog into the industry.
NYU School of Professional Studies Digital Skills Bootcamps
How can it help you get hired? You will have the opportunity to connect and network with employer partners. Belonging to a community of learners also means networking with others in your learning circle to grow your professional network. Career professionals are on standby to give you all the guidance you need to discover your career path.
Why is this important? Because your lead to landing a well-paying job could very well be within your professional circle. According to a report by CNBC, around 80 percent of jobs are secured through personal recommendations or referrals.
Sometimes you may not get a clear picture of the career niche you want to pursue, which is why having a professional coach weigh different career prospects can help you make an informed choice.
Key Takeaways
Gaby Kamekona, Head of Career Services, and Sean McGowan, Head of Employer Engagement, shared their thoughts on how these digital bootcamps assist job seekers to gain meaningful tech jobs.
Kamekona said while learners attend bootcamps to build their technical aptitude and technical muscles in their chosen field, career services develops their “muscles” to create a career, and not just land a job.
Career services ensures learners transform the skills they’re acquiring and create long and lucrative careers in a new field that is ever-evolving. Students are also able to do that on their own over time, which is a huge deal for them. “They understand the nuances of resume writing and successful job search, what it means to network, and grow your personal brand,” she explained.
Then, there’s the Employer Engagement, which focuses on helping students connect to a built-in employer network and develop each applicant’s confidence. The two-pronged approach involving career services and employer engagement can be described as a fishing expedition.
“[Career services] which is coaching, career curriculum, and career events teaches students to fish so that they can feed themselves for a lifetime. My team, [which is] on the employer’s side, helps to push the fish closer to the line,” said McGowan.
Many students do not have connections in the industry and are unclear as to how to network. “They don’t know how to [attend an] interview or who to connect with. We help them build that network through relationships that we’ve built. That’s part of the value that they get by utilizing career services,” McGowan added.
Students have access to career services from the beginning of the program. These services also feature career curriculum and career content as well as participation in online career events. Next, they embark on their technical resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and professional networking. When the Career Services team is confident that the student is career-ready and has a toolkit to take to market, they are introduced to the Employment Engagement team.
From here on, the Employer Engagement team works with students to assist them in obtaining an interview with recruiters and hiring managers from their vast employer network. “In tandem with the coaching they receive, our team’s purpose is to help learners bypass the ATS system and gain a one-on-one opportunity with a human to showcase their skills and talents in an interview,” McGowan noted.
Apparently, applicant tracking systems (ATS) can be tough, especially for bootcamp or certificate-level students because most systems are not designed to track those credentials. McGowan said, “It’s usually built for degree programs. For us, we’ve built personal relationships with hiring managers so we can put [the student] at bat and give them a chance to interview swing away.”
Signs You’re Ready to Break Into the Tech Job Market
Kamekona shared some of the typical signs of a student ready to apply for jobs.
First, you have spent time thinking about where your passion lies, what you find exciting, and what technical skills have spoken to you. You also show confidence and are certain of what you want to continue learning.
Second, you must have spoken to a career coach already and interacted with someone on the career side to help you think and plan how your career journey will look like. This includes reflecting on your past self and building a technical resume that shows your transferable and technical skills.
Third, you should be engaged in some form of interview preparation, whether that’s going through our behavioral interview module in our career curriculum or working with a career coach. You must be thinking about how to get best prepared to have a meaningful conversation with an employer.
McGowan chimed in, saying that what helps set students apart is their passion and effort in the job search. Essentially, the student who is going to go over and beyond, might be putting together a portfolio for their resume or connecting to people in the field to do informational interviews.
“What we try to do is help them understand what’s going on in the industry so that they continue the research because employers tell us those are the students that are going to stand out. So, it’s not just the program, but the extra effort they put in on top of the coaching and the curriculum,” he said.
Ace Your Job Search in Tech
In summary, digital skills bootcamps are among the easiest pathways to acquire tech skills and to land a tech job. The latter part, of course, is thanks to their excellent career services.
So, if you need some support navigating the saturated tech job market, you may want to consider applying to any of the digital skills bootcamps highlighted above.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
