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I worked for an IT-company as a software developer for 3 years. Even though my position was software developer, my work didn't included any hands on coding or programming. I left the job for maternity and want to join back. I had good knowledge of java,c,c++,sql..

But its very rusty now and I have doubts if I am still comparable to other candidates out there. I need to know what preparation should I do for getting a job. Also what should I prepare for interview?

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    You said you worked for 3 years, but how long of a gap is there? The answer would be very different if it were 6 months, or 20 years.
    – さりげない告白
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 7:59
  • "my work didn't included any hands on coding or programming" What kind of tasks did your work include? Would you rather pursue a new job as a software developer or one more aligned with the actual experience you've had on that job? (be that project management, testing/QA, systems engineer, technical pre-sales engineer, etc.?) Or are you willing to take a job in any software-related position, including software developer, even though you didn't do much coding in your previous job?
    – filbranden
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 12:29
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    I recommend looking into a returnship if you have trouble landing a role: forbes.com/sites/jasonwingard/2019/02/13/…
    – jcmack
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 23:38
  • There needs to be a lot more information in this question. A "software developer" who doesn't do hands on coding or programming doesn't match any definition of "software development" I know of. Development skills have a very limited shelf-life. Three years of ??? followed by an unknown amount of not developing sounds like a train wreck.
    – Julie in Austin
    Commented Jun 17, 2019 at 21:16
  • You really need to include in your question how big of a gap it was and what your job entailed. It’s hard to provide specific guidance without those details. As someone else said, the guidance is wildly different if the gap was 6 months (not a problem at all) vs 20 years (you’d likely need to go back to school or take some other major step to reboot your career). The question isn’t answerable without more detail.
    – bob
    Commented Jul 9, 2023 at 13:36

2 Answers 2

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Update your resume, polish your skills.

Your resume doesn't need to mention that you were on maternity. Leave that to the interviews.

As for your skills, you should practice these and brush up on the things you don't feel confident on. Do as much practice and preparation as you can before going into interviews. Make sure you can still implement all your knowledge before you even start interviewing because you could be losing out on potential jobs.

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    Contributing to open source projects can be a great way to get back in the practice and mindset.
    – Borgh
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 7:00
  • Contributing to open source projects is great if you get paid for it, but a mugs game otherwise. And too many have weird attitudes to female contributors.
    – gnasher729
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 13:14
  • Update your resume, polish your skills, AND START INTERVIEWING FOR JOBS YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE.
    – Randy Zeitman
    Commented Jun 8, 2019 at 6:41
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I'd suggest three things:

  1. Practice the skills, take some online courses or join coding bootcamps.
  2. Update your CV, contact the recruiters for openings in the domain.
  3. Attend the interviews.
    • If you crack the interview, good.
    • If you don't succeeded, go back to step 1.

There is no silver bullet, and this is same for you or for anyone else looking for a new job. Keep trying, gather information and knowledge from the failure cases and work on them to improve yourself.

Best of luck.

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  • Both this and @twyxz answer are spot on, plus also looking at open source projects and I would additionally suggest getting comfortable with Git. Frameworks and libraries might have changed slightly, but I don't think any of your skillset has changed. Some minor updates to tools, maybe. Depends on how long you spent on maternity, of course.
    – Justin
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 7:49
  • I'd just answer to arrange your interviews such that you interview to your dream jobs after you have a few "practice" interviews first. It take one or two of them to warm up - and you'll learn about what to study based on the kinds of questions you are asked.
    – dan.m was user2321368
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 13:27
  • Another big thing is to just be honest. If I am interviewing a candidate for a developer position and ask a question I am much happier if they tell me that they don't know the answer than if they lie and try to make up an answer. Especially where skills are concerned any lies will be evident within the first couple weeks on the job, so they are not worth it.
    – dmoore1181
    Commented Jun 7, 2019 at 14:21

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