<h3>Can you describe your journey to your current position?</h3><p><em>Rachel Cohen: I used to be a reporter and attended a software engineering bootcamp to make a career change. After I graduated and started my job search, I was interested in potentially staying in the journalism world with an engineering job at a media company. I tried to be very deliberate in the process - before I applied, I both wanted to make sure a media company was proactively using technology and to speak directly to someone at the company because I felt my backstory was likely more compelling in person than on a resume that someone might skim. It really was incredible timing when I got the email about the PowerToFly event with Dow Jones because I had been trying to gather more information about them just then. I had previously attended PowerToFly events and enjoyed them, so I was confident this event would be valuable. It was indeed a great opportunity to get a feel for the company's culture and solidify my interest in applying there, and it was also the perfect opportunity to tell my story in person to a hiring manager there. That conversation started the process that eventually led to my hire. Pretty cool how it all worked out!</em></p><h3>What was the most valuable thing you learned on your journey to this new role that you'd like to share with others?</h3><p><em>RC: Job searching, especially that search for your first software engineering role, is a learning process. The letdowns and the rejections along the way - as discouraging as they feel in the moment - are experiences that will make you better at every aspect, and in turn, better-positioned to land a position that's the right fit.</em></p><h3>How did the hiring process differ with Dow Jones over other companies?</h3><p><em>RC: What I appreciated about the hiring process was how the engineers who ran the interviews created a supportive atmosphere. One moment that sticks out came during an onsite coding challenge. While looking something up online, I commented that it feels as though I can't remember anything when I'm nervous. One of my future colleagues good-naturedly responded she likes to joke that all she does all day is Google how to do things. That helped put me at ease.</em></p><h3>How did PowerToFly help you get your new role? </h3><p><em>RC: PowerToFly hosted an event with Dow Jones while I was job searching - and, in fact, at a time when I was looking to learn more about the company. It wound up being the perfect opportunity to both gain insight into Dow Jones' culture and to make a connection there. I introduced myself to an engineering manager who put me in touch with the technical recruiter, and that started the process that culminated in an accepted job offer.</em></p><h3>What excites you about your new role at Dow Jones? </h3><p><em>Rachel Cohen: I was a reporter for more than 16 years before making a career switch, and one of the inspirations for my move to coding was my long-standing fascination with using technology to do my job more efficiently. Now I work on a team that creates software for the newsrooms of The Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones publications. It's a satisfying feeling that I can relate so well to the needs of our users and see how our apps make journalists' lives easier.</em></p>
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