What Should I Learn Before Even Trying to Apply for an “Entry / Junior” Position?

In recent years, I’ve noticed a clear trend: more and more candidates come to interviews expecting the employer to teach them everything. Unfortunately, that’s not quite true. In times when even a single internship position in a large company can attract twenty applicants, such candidates simply won’t stand out — and most likely won’t even be invited for an interview.

So, what skills should a beginner programmer develop to be selected?

Learn to Use Programming Tools

When writing my growth story, I mentioned that some of the most important skills were invisible to the naked eye. For example, I learned to type quickly without looking at the keyboard when I was around sixteen, experimenting with an American accounting program designed to teach fast typing. Another great example is precise communication, which I learned from my math teacher: mathematical language must be short, exact, structured, and clear.

The same applies to programming. A good programmer knows their development environment (IDE) and can use keyboard shortcuts efficiently. Even now, I often see developers who rely on the mouse to move lines of code, jump between sections, or reach the end of a line. It may seem like a small thing, but mastering your IDE’s shortcuts is a remarkably time-saving skill that every senior developer has.

In addition to working with your development tool, you should also know how to find and fix errors in your code. That’s where debugging tools come in — for example, in the PHP environment, xDebug is almost essential. I’m often surprised to meet even experienced (especially freelance) developers who don’t use it daily. It’s an invaluable skill that saves a tremendous amount of time and frustration.

It’s also important to understand the basic functions of the command line, which are present in nearly every programming environment. Development tools often rely on it — for launching a language or framework in developer mode, tracking project progress, or managing time and builds.

Finally, one tool no modern developer can do without is GIT version control. When I ask about Git, many developers know only what it’s generally used for and can recall a few commands like commit, push, or pull. But the key is understanding its principles — such as the feature-branch workflow and how to resolve merge conflicts.

Choose One Programming Environment and Build Basic Knowledge

Sooner or later, you’ll have to answer one important question: which path do you want to take? Do you want to become a web developer, work on large enterprise systems, or build mobile apps?

To be honest, web technologies are the simplest and fastest to learn. They offer a wide range of tools and relatively straightforward language structures. As a beginner, I would start here — you won’t need to worry about devices, complex build processes, or difficult environment setups.

But the real question is whether you already have a foundation of basic knowledge. Knowing the terms and definitions is not enough. Even for an entry-level position, an employer will likely check whether you’ve built something — not just if you understand the theory. They may ask what challenges you’ve faced while coding or when and why a specific solution should be used.

You won’t be able to answer these questions without trying it yourself. Watching online tutorials is not enough. You need to build, experiment, test, and make mistakes. This will not only help you create real examples to include in your CV but also give you practical experience. Even better — create something useful and use it yourself. That’s how motivation appears, and real learning begins.

Summary

The best way to enter the job market faster is to independently gain at least basic knowledge of one programming language — whether that’s PHP, C#, or another — and learn how to apply it in practice.

If you don’t yet have time to fully master a language, at least understand the ecosystem around it: the tools, related languages, common developer challenges, and terminology. In other words, the minimum requirement is to gain contextual understanding of your chosen field.

All these skills will help not only when applying for a job but also once you start working in a company. Remember, the goal is not just to get hired — but to stay in the job and continue growing after the probation period.

Even if some of these steps seem time-consuming just for landing a job, they will prove extremely valuable once you start working with a mentor or senior developer. You’ll be able to ask better questions, understand explanations faster, and progress much more confidently in your career.