How To Become Industry Ready

Introduction

Getting a job after studies is more complex than an experienced person, isn't it? More or less, it is true but not for all freshers! But then where is the gap? Why do only a few of them quickly get multiple job offers, and others are not? This article describes how a fresher can be Industry ready and become the best fit for them.

Let's talk about gaps.

Are you a fresher? You must have a bunch of questions to fill this gap. After visiting several colleges, I realized that there are severe gaps between college studies to industry expectations and that's what the pain point is. Even after having good knowledge, sometimes people are not shortlisted for face-to-face interviews. Let's find and kill those gaps!

If you are a fresher and can take care of these points, you will be an achiever. These are -

Communication
Choice of profile
Confidence
Tech Knowledge
Tech profile

1. Communication

Communication is not only a language but a tool to express yourself. You may be speaking English but if you are not able to explain and express yourself, this won't be done. Here are my quick tips to strengthen your communication.

a. Read

Read the contents as much as you can. This could be anything of your choice e.g. Newspapers, Novels, Magazines, etc. You may be facing issues initially, but believe me, once you start pushing yourself into this, it will become a practice and slowly you will start loving it. Install any online dictionary (e.g. WordWeb dictionary) on your device to get the meaning of unknown words. This helps a lot!

b. Write

Try writing content. Blogs are the perfect example to start. Later you can move to mediocre-length articles. Easy huh? Yes, because you are a tech person and already have enough knowledge to share. The best is to write 'now' and read 'later'. You will make changes to your own content. Take help from the tools like Grammarly and similar apps to correct and beautify your sentences. You are improving here.

c. Speak

Start speaking in a small group. If you don't find a group create your own with your family and friends. Take any topic, keep some bullet points in your mind, and try explaining them. This will surely improve your public-facing quality and confidence.

2. Choice of profile

Do you think is there any right profile for your career? Actually yes and no. Any profile is good if you have an interest in it. The point is - Do what you love!

Find the passion in you, and check when you are happier. The happiest profile is your love and passion. Get it and make a deep dive. Possible profiles could be -

Developer: If you are good in analytical and programming skills.
QA: If you know how to break it.
UI/UX: If you are creative and artistic.
Database: When you love to be a backbone of a system.
Business Analysts: If you are high on understanding processes and problems on the tech side and have less interest in coding.
Digital Marketing: When you know the pulse of current web demand.
... may more: If you are curious, find more.

3. Boost your confidence

Out to win! Most of the time in face-to-face interviews, people are shy and lost the opportunity to prove themselves. But this can be fixed too. Open up yourself and dare to speak. Some exercise -

Attend public conferences
Check out nearby meetups and conferences, register yourself, and must attend (https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/chapters/). Observe and learn how speakers are talking. Their body language, expressions, pause, and ... everything. You will grasp at least some of them :).
Participate in discussion
Engage yourself in small chit-chat to a great discussion. This will dissolve all your fear and hesitation.
Talk in large audiences
At this moment, instead of only attending as an audience, try to become a speaker. The more you speak (LIVE), the more you will be comfortable and confident.

4. Tech Knowledge

Jack of all and master of one! Yes, I changed this phrase. Get experts in one tech stack and have at least average knowledge of the rest of them. (There is no harm if you be a master of all :D) Is it really tough to be updated with the latest techs? Not at all, follow the below steps and become updated -

Subscribe to tech portals
Check out the available official website and subscribe to them (e.g. Microsoft) and get periodic updates. Along with this, you can also subscribe/purchase courses from C# Corner, Udemy, YouTube, Coursera, Pluralsight, etc. These are great, quick, and handy portals.
Participate in tech forums
Choose to reply in different tech forums (e.g. https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/forums/). This will increase the knowledge of solving a problem in different ways.
Create PoC (Proof of Concept)
Anything you are learning, implement it as soon as possible. This will engrave the learning in your mind. Also, PoCs will help you to build your profile (will talk about this soon)

5. Tech profile

The first and far most thing is your appearance whether it is physical or digital. You can wear a decent outfit to look good but how you can show your digital appearance? Not a big deal, create your profile on C# Corner, LinkedIn, and GitHub. C# Corner and GitHub profiles will showcase your technical knowledge, whereas LinkedIn will help you to build a strong network. Having profiles on these portals will help knowing more about yourself. 30-60 mins of face-to-face interviews are not enough to know a person but exploring profiles on these portals is the factor in taking a decision.

Bonus Tip

Company's expectations of an employee

Do you really know what is the companies' expectations from a fresher? To be very honest, companies' expectation from a fresher is not that much but if you are a fresher and recently got a job, keep these things in your mind -

Full Stack Developer: Try being a full stack rather than the only front end, back end, or database resource. Later you can focus on any specific stream.
Self-Starter: Don't sit idle. If you don't have enough work, ask your lead/manager. Prepare a list of your doubts and start working on them.
Self-Motivated: Put yourself in auto-learning mode, if you have questions, learn yourself. Give yourself a deadline and complete it within the time without fail.
Contribute to a solution: Include yourself in a brainstorming session and suggest a solution(s). Your lead/manager will count this.
Responsible & Accountable: If you are owning your own actions - this is accountability rather than blaming anyone else. If you are playing your duty well and responding, completing the task - this is a responsibility. This relates to a specific role and process.

Conclusion

Becoming industry ready is an achievable goal with the right effort, skill, and mindset. Focus on developing the necessary skills, building a strong professional network, and preparing for interviews. Keep learning and growing, and never stop seeking new opportunities to gain experience and showcase your skills. Never forget, the key to becoming industry ready for freshers is persistence, dedication, and continuous improvement. I believe this article will help for sure, with that said I wish you all the best for your hard efforts to get your dream job!