Career Stuff - Networking

Today, as I am writing this article, it is December 15, 2020. I finished my Software Engineering Bootcamp on November 18th 2020.

On this day, December 15, 2020, I received my first job offer as a Software Developer. I also presented a proposal to a freelance client and it is looking like we are going to move forward on that project. The two jobs together equal well over a fulltime jobs worth of hours/pay.

Getting the first Software Job is incredibly daunting, especially for those of us who did not get a degree in computer science. A degree tends to set you up for internships through your college career in which you can move into a fulltime job post graduation. A bootcamp grad has to basically market themselves and say, 'Hey, I know my professional experience is incredibly limited but I am worth your time."

So, this blog will be a rather lengthy reflection on what did and did not work for me on the road to getting a job less than a month after graduation.

1. Start early - Why? Because you have the time. Start well before graduation of bootcamp, if you attended bootcamp, and if you did not attend bootcamp and have not started, start now with building up your LinkedIn and portfolio. Overall this whole process took somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-3 months. Again I started about a month into my bootcamp. Chip away at things slowly over the course of time.

2. Build business class projects - Why? This comes as advice from the folks over at (Coder Foundry)[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsMVKf4Dj5UTg_EhSJSb74cl_Qe2mJSAT]. When you are building projects to demonstrate to potential employers (which is another big point the guys at Coder Foundry drive home, take over the interview and demonstrate your work!), build projects that solve some sort of business issue.

   Even if these projects have been built before, build them. Put your own twist/magic to the project and talk about it!

   You do not have to reinvent the wheel, just showcase your skills. Building projects helps you understand what you are doing.

3. Blog - Why? Because if you are going to write about it you have to know what you are talking about at some level. You do not have to know the in’s and out’s of what you are sharing, you just have to talk about it, because you did in fact build it or work on it or solve a problem.

   Talk about the things you have done, not the things you haven’t. Talk about the things you are learning, not things you haven’t heard of.

   Talking about it helps you and will eventually help others. Did you build a project? Talk about it. Talk about the bugs you had to solve. Talk about wierd fixes to the issues. Tweet it. Share your blog on social media’s.

4. Make your stuff look good - Why? Because, for those who are applying for Software Developer roles, the general premise is, “If it looks good, the code behind it must be good.” You can build a killer website with HTML and CSS. Just make it look good. If you are not very design oriented, thats ok. One tip/question that helps me when thinking of making a clean website with good UI/UX is, “What makes sense?” Example, my portfolio. If you go to it, here (*you are on my current portfolio, the previous one has been taken down*), you land on a page that cannot help but get your attention. My name is flying at your face and you instantly have a toy to play with on the background. What is the goal of a portfolio? Grab someones attention. If you can do that, they will most-likely stay on your portfolio and check out the rest of it.

   This was actually a compliment I received in my interview.

   So what grabs your attention? Mine was something interactive and animated.

5. Be bold in your asks to potential employers - Why? They do not know you exist until they know you exists🤔 Message CEO’s/CTO’s on LinkedIn if you are connected to them. Even if you are not, message them or other employees/recruiters telling them you would like to be apart of their company and include links to your work. Again, they do not know what they do not know. At worst, you won’t be hired 🤷‍♂️ I messaged a CEO and he got me an answer, via a recruiter, that I had been waiting 3 weeks for.

6. Networking - Why? I think I may have sent in 60+ applications. I did not keep track. The more I counted my applications, the more discouraged/disappointed I would get. You start to attach your value to your application or the amount of applications you have sent. Where do you find your worth? Introspection is good and can be very helpful for situations like this. Me? My wife and I remind ourselves that as Christians, our value and worth is found in what God says of us. Be rooted deeper than a career or a what others think of you or even what you think of yourself. What I think of myself changes daily so its very shaky grounds for security.

7. Apply to jobs you want - Why? Seems pretty intuitive. Where do you want to work? Apply there and move on to number 8 below.

8. Connect to people in the companies you want to work - Why? First, refer back to number 5. Second, if there is a company you really want to work for, even if it is a FAANG company, try to find someone in your network who works there. If you do not have someone in your network, keep applying and networking. In the meantime, move to number 9.

9. Apply everywhere & take the first job you get - Why? The reasons are many but I will keep it at 2 reasons. If you are looking to get your first job, your biggest barrier is experience. So first, take that first software job you are offered and start gaining ‘experience’ as a dev in the workplace. Second, if you just love software, then taking the first job offered to you is a no brainer and you can find them a whole host of ways. Look below for a few ideas. Connect with anyone and everyone in your sphere and put yourself out there.

10. Find local meetups - Why? Because! That’s not really a sufficient answer. Sorry. Are there unique aspects to the city you live in? Where I live startups are all over the place (more on that below). Are there any local meetups, Javascript Meetups or any other programing language meetup? What about Google Developer Groups(GDG’s)? What about any other type of tech group? I was surprised at how abundant the options are around where I live.

11. Connect to startups - Why? My First Job Offer! Startups are often hungry for developers and the talent/skills that they have. However, startups cannot usually afford to hire a fulltime person, much less a Senior Developer. So jump on with them early. Even if it is part time! Why? Because they are a startup that needs you, you need experience and in hopes that the company grows you, not only grow with the company, but the job can grow into a fulltime job. Also, a startup that is aware knows that you are still looking for a fulltime job. So keep looking and as something comes along you can take it or the startup might be at a place to offer you a increase in time and/or pay.

12. Freelance for Personal Connections - Why? Because odds are you have friends. No sarcasm intended. But you have friends and family. I realize we all have different relationships with family so this is solely intended to point you to potential clients. And by no means am I saying, 'Hey, use your family to get paid." What I am saying is that you know people who need your skills. Even if they are short, one off jobs, do it, gain work experience and grow as a developer. Kyle Prinsloo at (studywebdevelopment)[https://studywebdevelopment.com/freelancing.html] is the go to resource for freelancing as a Web Developer.

Conclusion: I’m sure I could say more. My goal in this article was to simply share many of the things that helped me, either in my thinking or in finding work as a developer. I hope some of them help you along your journey.

Till next time,

Ben Patton