Why I’m finally getting job interviews as a Junior Developer.

Junior Dev Diaries gives beginners, learners, and people working in their first developer jobs a space to share their experiences and knowledge. Join us.

I know you are eager to get your first job as a professional developer, and I perfectly understand your situation, because I am in the same boat. However, I recently experienced an important change in my life where something I considered impossible is happening: I am getting job interviews without even looking for them.

I’m going to share the three things that have been key to me getting to the point I’m at now:

1. Love what you do.

This could be a generic answer but, if you don’t like what you are doing, how do you think a development team going to rely on you? Companies are looking for people that feel real passion for their work, in order to incorporate them into an environment based on one single thing: programming.

If you don’t like programming, this is not work for you. Simple as that!

I know there are a lot of people forcing themselves to do tedious work just because they need to make a living — you can find this everywhere. If you consider writing code tedious and boring, however, you are not going to be the right candidate. This is going to be part of your daily work so don’t fool yourself.

2. Write a lot of code (I mean a lot).

Another simple answer on the face of it, but sometimes forgotten by many new developers. You have to write code, and you have to do it constantly. Keep in mind that you can’t know everything, that’s impossible. Even many senior developers are constantly looking for help throughout the internet almost every day. However, the only possible way to become a developer is by writing your own programs.

I have seen many junior developers from universities or similar places and they haven’t touched much code or they haven’t write a program by themselves. There is no secret, you need to write code. You can use platforms like Udemy, Youtube, Coursera in order to get your hands dirty by watching videos of people developing programs, and then replicating what they are doing by yourself once you understand the code.

Ultimately, the success of your development skills depends on the time you spend writing code. So If you are able to write your own programs (and they don’t have to be professional things, just personal projects) you can consider yourself a developer and you will be ready for the next step.

3. Be conscious of your image.

Several months ago I was applying for jobs but I couldn’t get any interviews. Then I came to the conclusion that I was probably doing something wrong and maybe I needed to change my strategy in order to increase my fortunes.

What would be the next logic step after dealing with the fact of finding if you like programming and writing your own code? Show that knowledge to the world.

If you don’t follow this step, the previous two could be all for nothing. I was making this error for a long time. I knew I really enjoyed programming and I had my own personal projects, but nobody knew about it. So I decided that I had to publish all my knowledge in places where interested people could find me. I opened a profile on Indeed and LinkedIn, and after that I made a resume including all my projects and skills. Importantly, I also built my own identity by writing articles and making videos. Now, recruiters would be able to discover my profile, and at the same time it was an opportunity for me to show that I really love what I am doing.

I frequently use youtube to upload my own videos talking about programming and then I just have to share those videos in my personal resume.

GitHub is also one of your best allies. For any real beginners, GitHub is a website where you can publish your own code so others can see it. If you want to become a developer someday, it would be a plus if you have a place where others can find you code, and GitHub is the most popular place to do such a thing.

A profile filled with interesting things made by you will always be better than a generic resume without anything personal.

You have to work hard to build your own profile with your own knowledge, but once you do, you will be more interesting to people out there looking for people like you.

Conclusion

There’s no ultimate secret to becoming an interesting candidate, but I’m sure I wouldn’t be getting the interviews I am now without the these three factors: 1) love what you do, 2) write as much code as possible, and 3) shout about yourself.

You have to put great effort in to show what you are capable of, and make sure that everybody can see your potential. You have to make your own path, step by step, and always keep in mind:

Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well. ― Theodore Roosevelt

Junior Dev Diaries gives beginners, learners, and people working in their first developer jobs a space to share their experiences and knowledge. Join us.