Six tips from our Admissions team to help you through the application process.
The application process for our full and part time software development courses isn’t complicated, but with limited places on each cohort, it can get competitive.
To help you craft the perfect application form, we asked our admission team to tell us what helps them decide who to invite for interview.
1. Try some coding first
Our courses are aimed at career changers and novices, meaning you don’t need to know a huge amount about coding before you start it.
However, we need to see that you’ve explored coding enough to show us that you know that this is the career for you.
There are lots of online resources out there, some popular resources include Codecademy, Khan Academy, Udemy and EdX. Start with a language like Python, it’s the first one we teach on the course because of how versatile and popular it is in a wide variety of different contexts, not just web development. HTML and CSS are good start too, but don’t forget they’re not true programming languages.
You could also come along to one of our software development taster sessions, not only will you get to learn how to code but you’ll also get to experience how we deliver lessons.
2. Show you have a positive attitude
Attitude goes a long way towards your success on this course. It’s going to be hard, so you need to demonstrate you’re committed to learning to code and eager to start a new career in the tech sector.
Tell us what excites you about learning to code, why do you really want to do it? Don’t come up with cliché phrases like ‘It’s the future’ – there’s a future in lots of careers, why this one?
3. Demonstrate problem solving skills and a drive for lifelong learning
Being a programmer is all about lifelong learning and being able to undergo some self-tuition. Do you love learning and researching new ways to do things?
You also need good problem solving skills. Do you like to break things and figure out how to put them back together? Are you the kind of person who will come across a problem and go away and hunt down the answer?
You may not find the solution, but you can come back and say, ‘I’ve looked at A, B and C and know D, but can you help me clarify E?’ This is the kind of person we are looking for.
4. Show us you’re employable and have transferable skills
At CodeClan we don’t just teach you how to code, we also support you into employment. This is a huge part of what we do, so when we’re reviewing application forms and interviewing people we want to see that you’re the kind of person we can put in front of our employer partners.
Write about your background in your application, so we can see what transferable skills you have. You don’t need to come to an interview in a suit, we’re not that kind of organisation, but make an effort in the way that you present yourself, what you say and how you say it.
5. Come and meet us
Don’t be shy, join in and meet us! We run regular online information sessions and they’re a great way to find out more about our courses and it demonstrates that you’re serious about studying with us.
If you can’t make one of these events, get in touch with our admissions team to ask if you can have a chat or access an info session recording, we’re always happy to help out.
6. Finally… apply early!
It’s so sad when we interview great candidates and see their disappointment when we tell them their preferred course date is full.
If you’re keen to start at a particular time, get your application in early. We recommend you have a look at the course dates and apply a couple of months in advance of the deadline.
That’s not to say if you have just stumbled across us and want to join the next cohort you won’t get a place – it does happen, but be aware that our courses can fill up very quickly so apply early to avoid disappointment.
