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Career change: I've been an informatics teacher for a few years now and I'd like to apply for some programming opportunities. Do you think I'll make a strong candidate or is this silly?
Thank you so much for your question!
Yes, I do think you'd make a strong candidate for programming jobs.
I think your hesitations about feeling silly come from your expectations, and will change based on the companies you apply for.
The key to a strong job search is understanding your skill set, where your knowledge lays, and what are your strengths before applying for a job. Try and reflect whether you truly have the skills for the role.
If you feel comfortable we can schedule a chat about the state of IT recruiting and what are the most requested technologies.
Good luck for your job search! :)
How can I build the best CV?
The best way to make a CV is:
1 - Take some time to analyze the job to which you want to apply;
2 - In your CV make sure to showcase the experience that you have that matches the job posting;
3- Place your experience in chronological order (from the most recent to the oldest);
4- Don't forget to refer courses that you did, that value you job application;
5 - Put Your (true) level of English, or any another language that you can speak;
6 - Use a smart portrait of yourself;
7 - When formatting the CV: it should be easy to read and "straight to the point", because normally the person who will receive the CV will only be able to spend about 1 minute to look at it at first.
If you want extra help building your CV, we can chat about it, no strings attached! :)
How can I make sure I’m at a good outsourcing company?
What a GREAT Question! The best answer IMHO would be: "It depends... What do you want?" While the questions might be the same for everyone, the answer depends a lot on who you are, your motivations, technologies, experience, what drives you, etc... Depending on that, you should look for one type of company or another...

BUT... I believe there can be an answer which would incite a meta-analytic approach, that should be taken into account always. Do you know that saying atributed to Voltaire which goes by "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."? Well, this is exactly how I'd advise anyone to judge a company. A company that is really interested in providing you the best experience will always start by asking you questions instead of stating how good they are at this or that, what they do, their prizes, their managers, their clients etc...

A company who uses the strategy "we we we we we we we", would be excluded from my list in a snap of a finger. Look for companies that ask about YOU, putting YOU in the beggining of the equation.
So, have you taken a moment to think about what YOU want? We can exchange some thoughts!
How can I prepare for an interview?
The list of common things you can do to prepare for an interview is already pretty known.
Read about the company, prepare on the subjects you might be asked about during the conversation, dress acordingly to the company standard (that can be more or less formal depending on the companies), read all the books about job interviews (actually don't, at least not all of them!).
The great question is, what else can you do to be fully prepared? Advice number 1: relax, yes you will be evaluated by the person who is interviewing you but you are also evaluating their side. "Is this the company you want to work for, is this the right project for you, will the salary, career progression and personal development be the ones you are looking for?".

Another important advice is to never pretend to be someone you are not. This includes, straight up lying (which is a big NO as you will probably get caught eventually), and trying to agree with everything that is told or questioned about you with no second thoughts. Yes, sometimes if you don't pretend a little bit you won't get the job, but if you pretend to be something you are not, the chances are you'll probably end up getting a job you never wanted, in a company you never aimed for and having to go through all the process again in a couple of months.

Can we help you prepare for your next interview or maybe find the perfect match between your goals and the next step in your career? Drop me a line! I'm happy to have a chat about it with you.
I just finished my tech degree, what now?
Stay calm, everything will go well!
Find a place where you can reflect on your life journey to this day. Ask yourself about: "Which subjects did I enjoy most in my course? What got me in the mood to learn and explore? What subjects did I find less appealing? What was the project that pleased me the most? If I had to choose a technology to work with every day, what would it be? And the workplace and company culture? Do I imagine myself in a more relaxed or more "formal" office?"
These are some thoughts that can help you find a professional path. If you need some extra help you can count on me. At KWAN we're happy to help you out with some career coaching, so you can discover and map out where your next career step might be. You deserve to feel happy and professionally fulfilled. :)