The firm I started at was tiny, just me and 2 other guys. I found a list of website development companies in my local area and sent emails to all of them, askin

The firm I started at was tiny, just me and 2 other guys. I found a list of website development companies in my local area and sent emails to all of them, asking if they were taking anyone on. Only got a reply back from one of them, went to the interview and completed their little test quickly so they took me on. I was paid very little for my efforts, mind, but without that job I don't think I would have gotten my current one (where I'm working alongside university graduates for a decent salary). I think something that definitely worked in my favour is that I brought along my laptop and showed them a design of a website I had been working on.