Another week and another success story from Industry Connect!  We are proud to announce we’ve just helped Misty find her first job in software development. A former teacher, Misty is now a C# developer thanks to joining Industry Connect.

But it wasn’t always this easy for Misty. Like many immigrants to New Zealand, she had a hard time finding her first job in software development. “Before I came here, I graduated from University and I applied for many jobs,” Misty explains.  “I looked for about three months and it was very hard for me to find a job here.”

“Firstly, because I don’t have any experience in New Zealand, and secondly, what I learned in university is quite different from the commercial projects here.”

It’s a familiar story we hear often here at Industry Connect. Without experience in New Zealand, it’s very difficult to find your first job in software development. It doesn’t matter if you’ve many years’ experience in another country, experience here is what counts.

Luckily, Misty found us. “After I came to Industry Connect, I learned many of the latest skills like C#. Before I came here I knew nothing about that.” She explains.

And it’s not just new programming skills Misty picked up here. “Besides the skills, I also learned how to communicate with others. Because at university, we just finished assignments by ourselves, so you don’t have the opportunity to communicate how to do the task. After I came here, I actually made many friends, so thank you guys.”

But there’s even more unexpected help from Industry Connect. “Ray helped me a lot with writing my CV,” Misty says. “Before that I wrote my CV myself, and I wrote many things in it. It was about three pages long, and I know now employers don’t have time to read it. Ray told me to create my own domain and use my own domain email. After I did that, I got many replies!”

If Misty could give some advice to others who are in the same situation she was 6 months ago, what would she say? “I think if you want to get your first job in software development, you must come to Industry Connect,” she says. “It gives you many commercial experiences, and also make you feel confident and helps you to know how to answer any interview questions.”

Thank you to Misty for her time, and good luck in her new job from everyone here at Industry Connect!

If you would like to know more about our job-ready programs, then click here, or if you’d like to ask us anything, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our friendly and experienced staff will be only too happy to help.