THREAD : How To Get Your First Developer Job

If you're looking for your first dev job, this year has been particularly difficult (thanks rona ).

But these are some fundamental things you can do to improve your chances:

(please retweet, you might help someone!)

Before I dive into the tips & tricks, if you only take away one thing from this thread, it's this:

Mindset > Skills

You can learn all the technical skills,
languages & frameworks
but without the right mindset
you will struggle.

Follow @DThompsonDev to get the right mindset.

Remember, you only need ONE job.

Once you have your first job in the bag,

it'll get a lot easier to get the next one.

There are 3 steps to getting hired as a developer:

1. Research and Preparation

2. Job Application & Interview

3. Follow up

FOCUS is the key to Research and prep.

Focus 1: Pick a tech stack.

Even if you know more than one, it's better to specialise.

If you're good at it, you can mix two (e.g. frontend and backend OR frontend and design).

Focus 2: Pick a Job Role

Focus 3: Pick a location and company type

Location does matter less now, but don't forget timezones!

When you're starting out, being able to talk to your colleagues and ask for help is crucial.

Next, let's look at the application process.

Start with your customer in mind:

What are employers looking for in a prospective employee (that's you)?

You can answer these questions with your online profile,

which is shorthand for

everything you do on the internet.

But first, a small thing that many people don't think of doing...

Google yourself!

Employers will do this,
so make sure you do it first and like what you see.

Remove any embarrassing social media posts.

Alright, now let's talk about the one traditional thing most employers will ask for:

Your Resume (or CV)

What are the key elements of a good resume?

(In addition to the list below, also make sure it looks nice. Use a nice template from @canva.)

Once again, think of the "customer".

Who is going to read your resume?

Think about what they want to find out about you.

Some common mistakes I keep seeing in resumes I review.

(Btw, if you want yours reviewed for free, just DM me).

Patrick Shyu ( @techleadhd) provides a good example of a good resume in this video -

Yes, you're not as experienced as him and won't have so many things to list.

But, no one is expecting that of you.

The point is to learn how best to present yourself.

Use the "10-second narrative test" by @ramit to check if your resume makes sense.

Next up is your LinkedIn profile.

I know, I know.

You're a developer, you hate that weird site.

Park your feelings to the side. This is about starting a new career.

And every employer on the planet is on LinkedIn.

So here are some tips to make a good profile:

Next up, the Cover Letter.

I'm surprised by how many people completely ignore this piece.

Applying for a job without a good cover letter is like asking someone to marry you without even saying hi.

2 elements of a good cover letter:

WHY THIS JOB?
• Express your enthusiasm about the company and the job.
• What made you choose this particular job?

WHY SHOULD THEY PICK YOU?
• What’s in it for them?
• What are your specific skills that are perfect for this particular job?

Here's an example of a good cover letter.

It's based on an actual email I sent to Paul Joyce, CEO of @geckoboard many years ago and landed an interview straight away.

And now, everyone's favourite:

The Portfolio!

I'll be honest:

99% of portfolio look amateurish.

Please make yours look good and professional.

Don't half-ass it!

The bottomline is that Appearance Matters.

No matter how good your programming skills are,

people need to notice you

before they will even look at your code.

More and more employers will want to look at your @Github profile.

So here are some common mistakes to avoid:

In 2020, it's table stakes to have actual working versions of your projects deployed on the internet.

There are so many free hosting options now - @heroku, @vercel, @Netlify and more.

I recently highlighted a great portfolio project built by students at @FSAChicago.

There's no better way to convey to an employer that you can actually code than to show them an app they can play with. https://twitter.com/hrishio/status/1312083337020874753

One superb example of a Github portfolio is that of Anne Richardson @lortz.

Study her repos on Github - https://github.com/lortza 

Honestly, they are a work of art.

I mean she even got Ryan Gosling involved - https://sorrygirl.herokuapp.com/ 

You might be thinking:

"But Hrishi, I don't have any good ideas for real apps. Maybe I'll just build a to-do list app."

STOP. DO NOT DO THAT.

Read this epic ideas list I wrote on @freeCodeCamp https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/every-time-you-build-a-to-do-list-app-a-puppy-dies-505b54637a5d/

Here are some more tips and places to get good ideas from:

Something you may not think of as part of your developer portfolio, but is:

Writing.

WRITE. WRITE. WRITE. WRITE.

Write on your own blog.

Write on @Medium, @hashnode, @StackOverflow, @ThePracticalDev, @SubstackInc, @lrntto

"But I don't know what to write about"

Remember what my grandma used to say:

“The best time to start blogging was yesterday,

The next best time is now.”

Of course, if you have the confidence and chops, you can also do video!

You can livestream or post recorded videos on @Youtube, @Twitch, @Instagram,
@tiktok_us etc.

If you're shy, you don't even have to be on camera.

You can just screencast!

The fundamental point about building a good online profile is:

You Have To Sell Yourself.

Good employers are not looking for code monkeys.

Aim for pull, not push.

Next, let's look at how to look for jobs.

You might be making a terrible mistake at this early step

by not applying for positions because you think to yourself,

"I don't know enough."

If you wait to learn everything,

you'll be a waiting a looooong time.

Probably, forever.

Tech changes fast, there's always more to learn.

Don't talk yourself out of jobs.

Let them reject you, let them say no.

Never talk yourself out of jobs.

Ok, now where to look for jobs?

You're probably already using all the usual job boards (Indeed, SO, AngelList, LinkedIn, RemoteOK, etc.).

But here's A GREAT ONE you probably didn't know about:

The @newsycombinator Monthly Hiring Threads.

https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring

Hacker News has 3 hiring related discussions at the start of every month (1st Monday I think).

1. Who is hiring? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24651639

2. Freelancers - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24651638

3. Who wants to be hired? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24651637

The November one is coming up shortly!

You can find enough job ads if you keep looking

but wanna know the dirty secret of jobs?

Most jobs are not advertised!

I recommend shortlisting companies that you want to work for and directly emailing the CEO (or someone high up enough to have hiring power).

Even if you're responding to a job ad, it's better to reach out to people directly.

Follow these steps:

Be prepared for Rejections.

Lots of them.

You need experience to get this job.

And you need this job to get experience.

How do you break out of this catch-22?

The No.1 thing to remember:

It's a numbers game.

Keep applying, keep improving.

You will get hired.

Be flexible - you may not land your dream job in the first go.

That's ok.

Think of your first gig as a stepping stone towards your career goals.

Some tactics to get unstuck

Here's a counterintuitive tip:

Do freelance work even if you only want a permanent job.

Follow @study_web_dev for some incredible tips and resources on freelancing.

Now, let's say you've applied to a whole bunch of jobs.

And you got... nothing. nada. zilch. shoonya.

No reply, no interview, no nothing. Not even a rejection.

What should you do?

FOLLOW UP.

Following up is the most underrated secret to selling.

Almost no one does it.

But it's like free money.

Follow up till they tell you to go away.

Instead of following up, this is what most people think in their heads:

“Obviously, I’m not good enough.”

“I’m never going to be a developer.”

“What was I even thinking?”

“I should just go back to thatching roofs.”

It's not you, it's them.

People get busy.

They don't hate you.

They just forget.

So please,
for the love of God,
follow up.

Maybe you've done all the right things but you're still struggling to make any progress.

It might be time to take a step back.

Switch from selling mode to customer research mode.

Remember, this is not just one job.

You're embarking on a new career as a developer.

Put in the work and trust the process.

Take the long view.

The slides and words in this thread are from my free video course Get Your First Developer Job on @lrntto.

I go in a lot more more depth in the course, so check it out - https://learnetto.com/users/hrishio/courses/get-your-first-developer-job

Please retweet and share with someone who might find this thread useful.

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