How I hacked myself a job as a Software Developer in Europe from India.
Unlike my usual technical posts, this one’s about my experience landing a job in Europe from Bangalore without a master’s degree. During the lockdown(covid), I felt inspired to share my journey as a three-year experienced software engineer. After a lot of procrastination, here it is
Masters Plan
Many software engineers dream of working abroad, experiencing different cultures, and traveling. Like most in my field, I planned to pursue my Master’s degree in the USA. I started studying for the GRE during my third year of engineering and prepared well for the exam. But, In my fourth year I got a job through campus placement. Once I landed a job, my priorities shifted, and I decided to work for a year or two before considering pursuing a Master’s degree.
The JOB —( year 2013)
I had got placed in two multinational companies through campus placements. I finished my engineering and while I was waiting for my joining date I got an interview with one of the startups in Bangalore called Raremile Technologies. Although I hadn’t ever heard about this company before, I attended the interview and landed an offer there. I was in a dilemma whether to join an unknown startup or a multinational company. I made up my mind to join the startup with slightly less salary than the multinational ones I had offer from. Joining this startup was one of the best thing I did in my career.
Joining the startup was the best decision I made in my career.
I joined the company and I was put in a product team as a second member in building a search engine product for e-commerce websites. Working here exposed me to a wide range of technologies and tasks. I gained experience in developing, deploying, and managing both front-end and back-end systems, as well as databases and more. This is the kind of opportunities you might gain working at a startup. My career advanced rapidly, and I became a core team member due to being among the initial few team members tasked with building the product
My Masters plan started to fade as I gained more experience and felt that I could learn anything with a click of button. But advantage with Masters in US is you get to work there as well. Many of us opt for a Master’s degree more for the opportunities it brings rather than a passion for further academic pursuits.
Three years passed and I loved my job…
JOB — 2 — (year 2016)
After three years at the startup, I began to feel that my role had become monotonous, prompting me to consider making a switch. I attended few interviews and landed a job at Thoughtworks. My decision to join this company was mainly for 2 reasons — bigger company with structured process and an opportunity to work with seasoned professional and learn from them. I quit my job, took a month’s break, booked a solo trip to Himalayas. After a 15-day trip exploring Kasol, Manali, and other parts of Himachal Pradesh, I returned and began my second job at Thoughtworks.
Transitioning to Thoughtworks proved to be an eye-opening experience. Unlike my first job, Thoughtworks had established processes for everything, including Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment (CD), Test-Driven Development (TDD), and pair programming. I did work with very smart and talented people from whom I absorbed a wealth of knowledge. I am highlighting these experiences because they significantly contributed to my preparation for what lay ahead.
Hack begins — (year 2016)
Two months into my second job, I started thinking about the greener pasture(working abroad, always being my dream). I felt confident in my experience and knowledge of various technologies, prompting me to consider applying for a job abroad.
That idea struck me one night, and the very next day I prepared my resume and added every skill I had experience in.
Next step was to look for a job, I started with LinkedIn and every possible job website I could find. Being an Indian origin, since the visa process is a major hurdle to get into the US, along with applying jobs in the US, I prioritised jobs in Europe, Singapore and Australia
I focused on wide range of roles — frontend, backend, fullstack (I had good experience with all the stacks) while applying for jobs.
As I started applying for few, one of them responded back with a rejection. This was an eye opener for me because somebody did check my profile and rejected me. There was a hope that somebody was reading my resume. Next thing that I did was the ultimate hack.
I made up my mind that I will be applying for every job that is present out there. I started with 10 every day and increasing to 15 to 20 jobs everyday. Trust me, applying for job many a times is a tedious process(you will need lots of energy filling up huge forms).
Probably in a month’s time I had applied for more than 150 to 200 companies.
I had received response from only 4 or 5 companies amongst all of those applications. But there came this one special mail that altered the course of my future. Attaching the screenshot of the same.
This was from Accenture, Ireland (to be honest I did not know where Ireland was in the map :P). They were launching something called the Center for Innovation, a hub dedicated to exploring fascinating technologies, distinct from their consultancy group. Initially I thought this was another rejection and I replied that I will be waiting for their call in September. I did not have any hopes about it, anyhow I pursued applying for other jobs meanwhile.
Then came the second mail within two months after the first mail as promised by the recruiter. Take a look at it below:).
My excitement grew after this and immediately replied back that I was ready for the chat. The interaction with recruiter went well and I was promoted to next round. After two rounds of technical interviews and one HR round within a span of two months, I was offered a job. I could not believe it for a moment that I was offered a job in Ireland (Europe). They offered a relocation bonus, they were taking care of visas and work permits. All I had to do was to say yes and I obviously did. I spent a lot of time researching and asking about job opportunities, salaries, safety, and other details about Ireland. The visa and permit process took close to three months.
Moving to Dublin — Ireland (February 2017)
Year 2017 , I got engaged (believe me or not I took the same approach for my fiancee, she landed a job at the same company in Ireland and was offered a similar role) just before moving to Ireland. I moved to Ireland on 24th February and I have never regretted my decision. I have worked at multiple companies in Ireland and currenlty I work for Twilio as a Staff Software Engineer in Dublin, Ireland and I hold a PR. I have travelled to many countries in Europe and around the world.
This was my journey to Europe from India. Lot of things have changed now and it is much easier to find a job abroad if you really want to work abroad. You really do not have to spend money studying abroad if all you want is a job and do not want a masters degree(I do not have anything against masters and I still repent not pursuing my Masters after my college). Things in India has changed a lot as well, with lot of startups and more roles from big companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google. I might think twice leaving India right now than the timeI made that decision.
Only thing I did different was applying for jobs wherever possible and preparing a good resume.
Hope you enjoyed reading my journey so far.
You can connect with me on Linkedin or on Twitter.
Based on lot of people enquiring me about my preparations, interviews etc I have created whatsapp group, where I post openings abroad or referrals, interview preparation methods, resume building etc, feel free to join there .
Whatsapp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Lej1TPFwrec1EKqALcOsc9
Jobs Abroad Info: https://mallik91.notion.site/Jobs-Abroad-Info-Mallikarjuna-998a25457c894a55918a482c4d521d97
If you like to get in touch with me 1:1 please check here.
