"I went to 10 interviews and received 8 offers," — Temirlan Kabyldybekov on starting his career in IT

Temirlan Kabylbekov, city — Almaty, CTO, @temirlan_kabylbekov

About Me

I graduated from the Russian Federal Mathematical School, participated in mathematics olympiads, then studied in Moscow as a rocket engineer, after which I retrained and started working with startups. Currently, I am a co-founder of the startup EasyTap, where I am responsible for products and company management.

About My First Job in IT

At the beginning of my career, I worked in the field of rocket engineering. However, facing reality, I realized that in this sphere, much depends on citizenship, since it is a militarized industry. As a result, I quickly retrained as an IT specialist. I worked at companies such as Mail.ru, Yandex, MegaFon, ivi, and various startups, all of this happened in Moscow, after which I returned to my homeland and became a co-founder of the startup EasyTap.

I started my career at the company GdeMaterial in Moscow in 2016, when I was 22 years old. I was a Python developer and worked on backend. 

I understood how important it is to choose the first company correctly. I had two paths: to go to a large company, such as Yandex or Mail.ru, or to choose a small company with close interaction with the founders. In small companies, people with experience from large corporations often work, which provides an excellent opportunity for learning. Even at university, around 18-19 years old, I realized that working in such an environment is a fast way to absorb their knowledge and experience. It is not necessary to work at Yandex; it is enough to interact with someone who has worked there, but have the opportunity to work closely with them. From this age, I began communicating with older colleagues who were five years older than me. We played football and participated in various activities. In my circle of acquaintances was Alim Uderbekov, who is now developing a new startup in California. I aimed to be near him and asked him to become my mentor. He helped me get a job at his startup, where I learned a lot.

The best way to prepare for an interview is to watch videos on YouTube. Already in 2015, recordings of live coding and live interviews were available, which demonstrated how people pass interviews in real conditions. I also found a list of typical questions on Habr and prepared for them. I understood that the requirements for juniors are not too high: it is important to show knowledge of the subject area and demonstrate motivation. Thanks to my motivation and willingness to learn even for a small salary, I got my first job. For example, the current problem for juniors is that they want to immediately receive a good salary without investing in their education. My first salary was 10,000 rubles, which is approximately equivalent to 125,000 tenge taking into account inflation.

Juniors are usually hired not only for professional skills but also for personal qualities. Therefore, it is important to develop in other areas, be a leader where possible: in sports, communication with friends, organizing events and meetings.

Difficulties

I started preparing for job hunting in advance, two to three years in advance, so I did not have extensive searches.

Rejections and failures are part of the journey, which I especially felt when looking for my second job. I went to 10 interviews and received 8 offers, with the first two rejections occurring at the beginning. Therefore, it is important to build a job search strategy gradually: do not try to immediately get into your dream company. At the beginning, it is worth trying your strength in companies with easier entry, and then move on to those where there is an optimal balance between interest and salary. This approach helps to gradually gain experience and confidence, which in the future facilitates salary negotiations. Do not start with interviews at your dream company.

During onboarding in the first month, it is important to ask many questions. No one expects outstanding results during this period, but silence can create the impression that you know everything. The longer you delay asking questions, the more expectations your colleagues will have of you. It is important to find a balance: ask questions to get maximum information, but avoid simple or meaningless questions. This will help create the impression of an interested and thoughtful employee.

I do not believe that a job can be found only through the HR department. Therefore, it is important to prepare in advance and not delay this process. If you are looking for a job only through platforms like HeadHunter, you need to have either outstanding achievements or rely on luck. Otherwise, there is a high chance of getting a position that does not meet your expectations.

3 Tips to Help You Find a Job in IT

1. Start looking for a job in advance. Attend conferences, expand your network, write directly to founders or managers, meet with HR and ask how they select people.

2. Find a senior mentor on services like h.careers or locally and work with him on your portfolio. If you have no money, try to negotiate; perhaps you can help him for free in other of his affairs.

3. Carefully choose your first job. It is important to find your mentor and leader to copy. Specifically, to copy, turning off your ego. At the first job, you learn, and you can earn money later. Do not be afraid to quit and find something else that you like.