How to become a developer in Belarus?

Who is an “ideal candidate” and how to get work in IT being a student? These questions are answered by the Head of HR of “Corpitech” - Anna Tsvetinskaya.

Anna, good afternoon, let's start with the simplest: a candidate saw information about the vacancy, looked through our website and realized that he / she would like to work with us. What should he do, where to start?

 Good afternoon. At first, it is necessary to compile and send a CV to our mail. All CVs are stored in our database for two reasons: firstly, if we do not find an application for a person today, we might want to work with him tomorrow. If you have a CV, we will contact you without any problems and make an offer. Secondly, when the company gets a new project  and creates a team to work on it, we analyze the CVs of our employees.

   What and how should I write a CV if I have never had an experience of writing it?

   No need to invent a bike - google it. Find an example of a CV, a standard form and tell about yourself in it. Describe technologies familiar to you, projects you took part in,  your term papers at university. Be sure to include your contacts in the CV, often candidates forget about it. For example, they indicate only the e-mail they visit once a month. It’s a pity, but in such cases it is problematic to get in touch with a candidate.

What should not be indicated in the CV?

   We had no precedents when a candidate indicated “more than necessary”. I would like people to write about themselves in more detail, it is interesting to study a person as much as possible, so that at the initial stage it was clear: are we going to waste each other’s time in vain during face-to-face interview. Do not be afraid to “blurt out the excess”, it is better to read about your favorite movie than to look at a blank sheet.

All employers require work experience from candidates: where can a full-time student get it?

It seems to me that being an “IT specialist” it is not difficult to find a use for yourself.You can always do something useful and interesting at university. For example, we have an employee who, one might say, has modernized a university environment surrounding: the guy did not like how certain electronic services work at his university. Expressing his dissatisfaction with the administration, he offered his help in modernizing the system and the management agreed! We do not think that a first or second year student should create “Facebook”, but even if he just soars his pants at university, then such a candidate will not receive a plus sign. It’s real for us to provide employment without actual work experience, since each person is an individual.

   I was assigned for an interview: should I get ready for it and how?

   If this question is about whether you need to leaf through all the university textbooks frantically, then the answer is No. The employer is not so interested in dry theory as in live practice. No one will ask you to give a definition to a particular phenomenon, we will ask you to tell us more about your experience: how it was implemented, what is the advantage of this technology, etc.

   Judge by appearance? Is there a dress code in IT companies?

   No, we do not have requirements to the appearance of our candidates and employees of our company. However, you should not bring it to the point of absurdity - no one likes to communicate with a sloppy interlocutor.

   How to “sell yourself” successfully in the interview? Do I need to bring school diplomas and certificates with me?

   It is not necessary to bring diplomas and certificates - we trust people. We like initiative, courage, “fire in the eyes”, interest in business in our future employees. I don’t like when people lie, everyone knows that each secret becomes clear. Just be yourself, because even if a candidate manages to trick the interviewer, he won’t be able to cheat every day at work.

   What hard skills are valued in IT specialists? What about soft skills?

   It has happened that in most projects our team uses C #, therefore, if a potential developer previously worked only, for example, with Java, then he may run into difficulties. There are specialists who work only with one programming language and are not ready to switch to another. As for soft skills, our “ideal candidate” should be a non-conflict person, be able to express thoughts clearly and competently, work in a team with other employees and not be passive. In short, we love those who are more optimistic about life!

Is English so important, how to determine the level of your English and how will it be checked?

   Of course, the employer always wants to have diverse personalities in his team, not just “robots doing everything according to a given program”. English is a stepping stone in your career ladder, it will be easier for you to “rise higher”. However, the lack of a high level of language proficiency does not imply an automatic refusal to accept a candidate for work. Direct communication with our Western colleagues is carried out by more experienced employees. By the way, in order to support employees in “language shape”, we conduct free English classes right at our office, so our colleagues know not only: “London is the capital of Great Britain ...”

   What about excitement? Does HR worry when interviewing a candidate?

    HR does not worry ... well, does not worry anymore (laughs).
   You need to relax, drink anything hot before the interview, tea or cocoa, for example. Actually, I advise to visit interviews more often to gain experience. During the first interview, you will have shaking knees, but during the next one - you will feel much more confident. Before you go for an interview, you can read articles on the Internet on the subject - there are a lot of them. Think about questions you might be asked and model the answer. Do not be afraid – go for it!
  

What are the interview stages in Corpitech, which are given the most attention to?

   Usually, the interview consists of 3 stages.
   The first stage is acquaintance. We communicate on a candidate's CV: a person tells about himself, we ask questions about his biography. The second stage is a test on logical thinking. We offer a couple of tasks on logic, evaluate your capacity for reason, critical and straight thinking in stressful situations. The third stage is a technical interview. Our colleague-developer asks a couple of questions about candidate’s experience, technologies a person has been already familiar with, previous work experience.

   During the interview, you were asked to tell about yourself. What are you supposed to talk about?

   We are interested in purely "human" aspects. Where a candidate comes from, how he / she  chose his / her specialty and University, hobbies, interests, why he / she decided to look for a job, etc. We understand that people are nervous and do not leave a person alone with his thoughts and awkward silence, and ask leading questions.

   For example,  I was interviewed, they said they would call me back tomorrow and give an answer, but they didn’t. What should I do in this situation: call back and remind about myself or think about failure?

   No need to call, we remember about each candidate and will definitely give you an answer. Do not forget to check your e-mail, because we usually respond through it.

   Is specialized higher education an important selection criterion?

It would be an advantage. But if you have specialized higher education, it does not guarantee you employment - the world is not the same. Thus, if you do not have a University degree, but you have experience we need, then why not? We evaluate each candidate individually, without stereotypes and cliches.

   Humanities in IT: myth or reality?

   Of course reality, “Onliner” is full of such articles! We are still in search of some "non-technical" specialists, these vacancies can be found in the “Career " section. Among humanities, we value initiative, optimism and “fighting spirit” as much as we do in technical specialist.

   Gender balance: any preferences?

   No preferances. We are for gender equality.

  3 tips for any candidate.

1. Be yourself, relax, don't worry.
2. Take the initiative and gain experience already at university.
3. Send us your CV and become a part of our team!

You can contact Anna and ask your questions about career in Corpitech through or write via the feedback form on our website.

© Corpitech, 2019