From Technodom to Meta: How a Kazakhstani developer built a career in IT

Alan Seksenalı began his career at Technodom while still studying, and a few years later received an offer from Meta and moved to London. In an interview with The Tech, he shares how he entered IT without experience, went through dozens of rejections, and reached an international level.

Alan Seksenalı, City — London, Software Engineer at Meta, Instagram, LinkedIn

About Me

I am a programmer and have been working in this field for five years. I graduated from Nazarbayev University in 2022 with a degree in Computer Science.

I have always been interested in programming and how modern technologies work — websites, apps, phones, computers, and everything we interact with daily. Even in school, I started learning a bit of programming and gradually came to understand that this was the direction I wanted to pursue.

It is important to me to create something new that can benefit people — both individual users and society as a whole. This became one of the key factors in choosing my profession: the opportunity to combine meaningful work with enjoyment of the process.

Therefore, when applying to university, I consciously chose Computer Science, understanding that through this field I could develop and move toward the goals I had set for myself.

About My First IT Job

I started my career at Technodom. At that time, they had an outdated website written in old technologies. The company assembled a team to completely rewrite it in about a year and subsequently maintain both the website and the applications.

We implemented this project and launched it into production. This was my first full-fledged work experience where I learned a lot, because essentially everything was created from scratch — at that time, there wasn’t even a ready-made MVP.

I found this job through Telegram: I responded to a mailing list in one of the channels and connected with a recruiter. Then I was invited for an interview, where the technical interview was conducted by the company’s CTO. The interview went well, and I was hired as a junior developer on a full-time basis while still studying — this was in the second half of my third year.

Later, I received an offer from adjoe, an AdTech startup in Germany that focuses on app monetization, particularly for games. Their task is to help developers attract users and increase engagement, for example, through ad integrations and affiliate app networks where users receive rewards for installations and activity.

At the company, I worked in a team responsible for implementing the ad layer into applications. The system also included content personalization algorithms — apps were not selected randomly but depended on the user’s age, gender, and region. For example, older audiences might see calmer games like Sudoku, while younger audiences would see more dynamic ones.

I found this job through LinkedIn: I applied for the vacancy and went through several stages of interviews that matched my technical stack. The company also provided relocation sponsorship, which allowed me to obtain a Blue Card visa for Germany, move to Hamburg, and start working there.

I worked at the startup for about two years. During this time, the company grew approximately sixfold. After about a year and a half, I decided I wanted to try working in a corporation, as I already had startup experience, and the next step for me was Meta.

The transition to Meta became possible thanks to a referral from a friend. After that, I went through the standard selection process: communication with a recruiter, screening interview, then stages on algorithms and data structures, system design, and a behavioral interview. After successfully passing all stages, I received an offer. The preparation for the interviews took about a month. The main focus was on practice: algorithms, data structures, and system design cases.

Before moving to London, I lived in Germany, in Hamburg. The move was related to the fact that I saw more prospects and opportunities for further development in London.

Education provided a solid academic foundation that helped me enter the profession and adapt faster. It also played a role in employment, since companies at Meta’s level pay attention to the university and the candidate’s background. Among personal qualities, I would note responsibility: I always strive to complete tasks — both in terms of quality and deadlines.

Challenges

There were difficulties, mainly due to the lack of IT experience. At this stage, it was not easy to enter the industry, as most companies consider candidates with experience. There were also offers for unpaid positions, which created additional difficulties in finding the first job.

The second difficulty was that I was still a student. For employers, this is sometimes perceived as a risk, as there is a possibility that the person might leave at any moment due to studies or other commitments.

Overall, these were the main factors that complicated the process, but all of this is solvable.

During the search for my first job, I did not dwell on rejections and simply continued applying. I understood that I could not quickly change the lack of experience, so the only thing left to do was to increase the number of applications.

Later, I slightly adjusted my strategy and started applying more actively for internships, as it is easier to get into them, and after their completion, full-time offers are often made. This was a backup option, but in the end, I managed to find my first job directly.

Rejections mainly occurred at the CV review and screening stage — sometimes even without getting in touch with the recruiter. In such cases, there was nothing left to do but improve the resume and adapt it to specific vacancies, since the IT field is dynamic and it is important to regularly update experience and skills.

If a rejection occurred after an interview, I analyzed my mistakes: I figured out where I answered poorly and what could be improved, and then systematically worked on it. To put it in numbers, there were approximately 50 rejections over all this time.

The main difficulty for beginners — the lack of experience — is the primary barrier when looking for the first job. The second is combining work with studies, if the person is still a student. The third is the interviews themselves, which can be stressful at the start.

This is solved by practice: mock interviews with friends or classmates, where you take turns asking each other questions and answering in the format of a real interview. This helps get used to the format and significantly reduces stress levels during actual interviews.

3 Tips to Help You Find a Job in IT

You need to work hard and constantly learn. This is a dynamic field where you cannot stay at one level of knowledge — it is important to regularly develop and update your skills.

As soon as you gain confidence, just start applying everywhere and do not be ashamed of it. No one will judge you for this. You need to try a lot: apply, apply, and apply again — eventually, there will definitely be results. The main thing is not to give up. At some point, you might have the thought: “I don’t know anything, maybe I should stop.” This is a trap that you need to get through and not stop.

It is also important to work on your mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes — only those who do nothing make no mistakes. This is a normal part of the learning process. It is important to analyze them and draw systematic conclusions.

Also, discipline is critically important. It is much more important than short-term motivation. Motivation can be unstable: today you have energy and a goal, tomorrow — laziness and procrastination. These are normal states, but it is important not to succumb to them. Discipline helps you move forward even without motivation.

If you take all these factors into account, the result is primarily a matter of time.

Overall, under current conditions, you can find a decent job at any time if you continue to act systematically and do not stop.