In an interview with Delfi, Uptime’s HR manager Marge Peekman said that most of the successful IT companies are currently actively looking for new people to join their ranks and that when it comes to picking new people, a clear interest in the IT sector and a desire to achieve something great play a major role.
This means that while companies are always looking for experienced specialists, there is definitely room for young people just at the beginning of their careers, and that time spent in school or grade averages are not the main thing companies are looking at.
“The question is not whether they graduated university or whether they have been there at all. The most important factors when starting a job in the IT sector are a serious interest in IT, technical skills, and a desire to develop them further,” said Peekman.
“If all of the above exist, then the lack of a degree or a long previous career history will certainly not be an obstacle,” she added.
She noted that both Uptime and other IT companies have, and will continue to have, developers who are still at the beginning of their careers and work every day to become even better and more skilled in their chosen field, of course with the help of their more experienced colleagues. However, when talking to candidates at the junior level, a trend often appears: while they say that they have an interest in programming, there is nothing to prove it.
“Considering that developers often need to learn independently and get to grips with something new on their own, then in the absence of previous professional work experience, we need to see proof of this skill in some other way. When it comes to finding a job, it definitely helps if the person interested in having a career as a developer has already learned the most important things on their own, tried their hand, and actually attempted to program something,” she said.
“This could be, for example, trying to build an application on their own, participating in a hobby group, or at a hackathon related to the field, and continuously developing their creations whilst honing their skills.”
In conclusion, she noted: “The clearer someone can show us that they have a real interest in the field, that they are eager to learn, and have already tried to build something on their own, the better. In that case, lack of previous professional experience is not a problem.”
“We are always ready to hire young people, who are enthused and eager to learn if we feel that their interest in the field is sincere and they want to learn more and hone their skills,” said Peekman.
Would you like to join us? See open listings in Estonia, Denmark, Poland, or Norway.
