What this Nucamp Graduate Did to Overcome Job Application Rejections

From Package Handler to Jr. Full Stack Developer, DocNetwork

“Looking back, I wish I had guidance earlier along the way to tell me exactly what I needed to learn and in which order. That’s why I joined Nucamp. I loved having the community, classmates, and instructors to go to for help.”

This is Keidus Hall, a Nucamp Full Stack Bootcamp graduate and now a Jr. Full Stack Developer at DocNetwork.

Keidus didn’t consider a career in web development until after he had already committed himself to a bachelor’s degree to pursue neuroscience.

After a year of studying, Keidus realized medical school and working in a hospital weren’t for him, but he also wasn’t sure what else to do.

He tried multiple jobs during school without success; nothing felt right.

In the search for a career he loved, he thought about what he enjoyed most and what would play to his strengths.

By his junior year of college, Keidus considered how he liked gaming and building things, so he took an intro to programming course to see if it was a viable option.

He loved learning to code; it was the first time a subject came easy to him and was fun.

After graduating college, Keidus took on a DoorDash gig to pay the bills while he taught himself to code from free online resources.

Along the way he applied for jobs, but he had been learning C++ and it narrowed his opportunities.

He switched to focusing on HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to open more possibilities.

Keidus also consistently saw job listings looking for React and Vue.js skill sets, but he had a tough time teaching the concepts to himself.

He considered joining a coding bootcamp but put it off for six months because of how incredibly expensive they were.

When Keidus eventually came across Nucamp he was skeptical of how affordable it was in comparison.

After reading many honest reviews on third-party sites his concerns subsided and he registered for the Full Stack Bootcamp.

Keidus focused his job search efforts on LinkedIn and Indeed once he graduated from Nucamp.

He received many rejections and it created an overwhelming sense of imposter syndrome that was hard to shake, but he decided to investigate the flaws to his approach.

Keidus had been applying almost exclusively to remote positions so once he started applying to local openings he started to snag interviews.

Nine months after graduating from Nucamp, Keidus earned his first job in tech as a Jr. Full Stack Web Developer at DocNetwork.

What advice do you have for people about to begin their coding job search?

“For those still looking for jobs, don't ever give up. Applying for your first developer job is a numbers game, but you can tip the scales in your favor by focusing on local job openings. Also, you may question your skills, but I promise you are better than you think.”