Our mission here at The Muse is simple: to help you find your dream job. So, there’s nothing we love more than hearing about it when you do!
Today we chatted with Jay Lee, who recently started his first post-grad job as a Software Engineer at NextCapital, writing high-quality code to help clients successfully manage their financial futures. He helps to ensure that the interaction between NextCapital’s software and its users is as seamless and friendly as possible.
Read below to learn more about Lee’s story, then check out NextCapital’s offices and see how you can land a great new job of your own.
Tell us about yourself!
I’m originally from South Korea and recently graduated from Brigham Young University, Idaho Campus, with a bachelor’s in computer science.
Now, I work at NextCapital in Chicago, and I’m really glad I was able to find a job that gives me the chance to do what I love to do while being able to explore a new city at the same time. What I do for work, where I live, and the culture are all new to me, but I love them.
What were you doing before you landed your new job?
I started my job hunt six months before graduation, and it took me about a year to get my first job. Even though I had interviews with many small and big companies—and had completed three successful internships—I had a hard time landing a job that I wanted, sometimes because the position did not really fit me and sometimes because the company didn’t want to sponsor a visa.
After graduation, I had an internship with Intel Security. During this internship, I started the interview process with NextCapital. I believed the position was a fit for me: what the company does interested me, and I had great time talking to people who I read about on The Muse profile. The whole interview process was very pleasant, and they offered me the job a few weeks later.
What were you looking for in a job?
I like to help people, and I love to challenge my intelligence. So, I was looking for a job in which I could both contribute to people’s everyday lives and use my knowledge and reasoning skills to do so.
In addition, flexibility and good culture were important to me, as I believe both are key to enjoying the work life. The companies I interned with had those, and I wanted to continue working in a similar environment.
This job caught my attention because it provided me with the opportunity to code all day, as well as the freedom to determine how I would solve problems.
Learn More About NextCapital
What’s your favorite part so far about working at this company?
What I really love about working at NextCapital so far is the collaboration among my co-workers and the ownership they take over their work. Rather than one individual or a few people taking all the responsibility, NextCapital employees understand their role within the company and solve problems together, as a team. When I am facing a hard problem, I don’t hesitate to ask my colleagues to help me crack it.
Is there anything you did during your application process that helped you stand out and land the job?
Before the interview, I read through the company’s profile on The Muse and watched the interview videos of employees. It helped me understand what the company does and also made me feel more comfortable when I had some of the same people in the videos interviewing me! This, on top of reading Muse articles about interview techniques and practices, was a great way to prepare for my interview.
I also spent a lot of time learning the language that is used in the code challenge by practicing with examples I found on the internet. I believe this helped me not only to land the job, but to be able to carry out my tasks now that I have the position.