Securing Your First Job in Software 3: Practice Your Pitch

This post is part of a short series on actionable steps in acquiring your first developer job, which I utilized in 2018 to become a Software Development Engineer with a major cybersecurity company.

You now have polished skills attached to your name and a way to be contacted. The next step is convincing potential employers to care enough to look at your resume (or at least, you know, process it through that keyword matching algorithm) - and it comes down to your 30-second elevator pitch. Perhaps this is in-person at a job fair or online with a short cover letter. I've included examples I used for each. Craft your own and practice, practice, practice until you can say the in-person version in front of a mirror without any notes.

In-Person Example

Hi, my name is Greg, I'm a UMBC alumni and a first year computer science graduate student at Georgia Tech. I work part-time as a Software Engineer and full-time as an IT professional. I have programming experience in Java and Python and I'm interested in Interactive Intelligence as well as the intersection of health and tech. In particular, I'm looking for an opportunity to expand my software development career with a private sector entry-level position in the [LOCATION] area. Is this aligned with any roles you're looking to fulfill?

Online Example

[DATE] 

Dear [COMPANY] Recruiting Manager, 

As a software engineer and computer science graduate student, I was excited to find your opening on [WEBSITE] for a [POSITION]. I would be a great addition to your team because I can [OBLIGATIONS], based on my core programming knowledge obtained through education and self-study, and my diverse technical skills learned through experience in software development and IT. I am interested in developing my career in software and learning more about [INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE / THE INTERSECTION OF HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY / PERSONAL INFORMATICS / ETC.]. 

It would be inspiring to work with a company that [INTERESTING FACTOID]. My resume is attached for your consideration. Thank you for your time to review my application, and I hope to have the opportunity to discuss the opening with you in person soon.

Godspeed, applicants.

Read on: 4: On Recruiters

Other posts in this series:
Securing Your First Job in Software 1: Register New Contact Info
Securing Your First Job in Software 2: Update Your Resume
Securing Your First Job in Software 4: On Recruiters
Securing Your First Job in Software 5: Optimize Your Online Search
Securing Your First Job in Software 6: The Technical Interview
Securing Your First Job in Software 7: Ask Your Value Questions