Latest / DevQuestions with Tim Corey / 239. How To Get A Job In Software Development

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239. How To Get A Job In Software Development · DevQuestions with Tim Corey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Getting a job in software development can be difficult, especially if you haven't worked in the industry before.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: However, there are a number of tips and tricks to improve your odds of success.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: In this episode of Dev Questions, I'm going to help you step a plan for how to get a job in software development.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: We'll walk through the seven steps you need to take to get a software development job, and we'll also talk about the three major pitfalls that most new developers fall into and how to avoid them.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Dev Questions Podcast with Tim Corey.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Software development is more than just writing code.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about the rest of it.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Specifically, let's talk about how to set a goal of getting a job in software development and then how to achieve that goal.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Back in episode 236, we talked about what your next step in your career might be.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: This episode is going to focus on getting your first job, which is the first of the four options we talked about.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there are two ways to approach getting a job in software development.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Number one is you can make the assumption about what you need to do, and you can apply for hundreds of jobs in hundreds of different locations, hoping to get lucky.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's the first option.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: Number two is you can set up a clear plan that improves your odds of success every day.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to work on number two.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: So let's start with a baseline.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: You need to be able to build applications in whatever language you're applying for if you want to get a job in that industry.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care how many certificates you have, I don't care what your degree is in, I don't care how many design patterns you know.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: If you can't build a fully working application on your own, you aren't ready a paid developer.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, okay, so now that we're on the same page, let's talk through the steps to get a job as a software developer.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: For the sake of example, I'm gonna assume you want to be a C sharp developer.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's it'll work for all the different um development jobs, but we're gonna focus in on just saying C sharp is easier.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, number one, get a real-world focused training plan in C sharp.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning there's lots of training out there for C sharp.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: There's lots of different ways to get training in C sharp, but you don't want to just learn trivia.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to just pass tests.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: You want to be able to learn how do I build real-world C sharp applications?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what you want your training to focus on.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Number two, you want to build at least one real application.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this application should be small, not huge.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Please don't do huge.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: What's going to happen if you try and do huge is you'll never finish it.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And what good is that if it's an unfinished application?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Build something tiny, but build it completely.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Show off to yourself first that you can build something completely.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Start to finish, you know, start off with file new project, and with a deployed working application that does something.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter if the thing it does already exists somewhere else in the industry.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to be totally different than everybody else.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Just build something that works.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Number three, build an outcomes-focused resume.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: So you have hopefully some level of training in C Sharp.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: You have built at least one application that's a real application of some type, along with a lot of practice applications, hopefully.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: But you've got some progress, and hopefully you've got some type of interaction somewhere in the software development community, whether it's getting certificates completion from courses or maybe even certifications.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's not really good certifications for C sharp, but maybe some peripheral things, maybe a degree, maybe just an internship or working at a regular company like Sonic, the drive-thru or something like that.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: But you've got some pieces to put together into a resume.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: So now build an outcomes-focused resume.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, it's being light on software development jobs because you're looking for your first job.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: But build an outcomes-focused resume.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you worked at the drive-thru, talk about how you were more efficient at the drive-thru.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Talk about the things that you learned or the ways that you moved up in the organization.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Talk about how you made your job more efficient in some way.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And don't just say, made my job more efficient.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's not measurable.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Say things like, I was able to reduce the drive-through time down to one minute and 10 seconds when the goal was one minute and 30 seconds.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: And before I started, we were at one minute and 45 seconds.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So you're talking about specific, measurable things you did.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now, how is that applied to being a software developer?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you're talking about saying, I am a good employee.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: You're saying, I get results.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: I focus on making my boss happy, they hired me.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: At the very least, you want to focus on outcomes in your resume.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is true for all resumes at all times.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you also want to put in that resume your application in some way.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where the next step comes in, create a portfolio.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Create a portfolio that shows off what you can do.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because especially when you're first starting off, but really in all of software development, everyone can say, I'm a C developer.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone can say, I know these technologies.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: They can even put years behind them and say, I've worked on SQL for five years, I worked on C Sharp for eight years, and never have actually had a job.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: They can do that, but talk is cheap.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: And employers look at that and look at it and say, you know what?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: I don't trust it because I can't see the results.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: So when you create a portfolio, you say, here's the results.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: So you say, I know SQL well and I know how to build performance C applications with a full CICD process that are able to work on the web and deploy to mobile devices as well.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds great.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: But if you show it off in your portfolio and say, and here's how I did that, well, then all of a sudden you are showing the employer that I back up what I can do.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: I can actually do what I say I can do.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: So now your outcomes-focused resume, part of it is saying, hey, look at that portfolio piece.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, there's an outcome.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I can point to that even though I've never had a job.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: So that's number four is create a portfolio.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Number five is start building your professional network.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: Now you can do this at any time, but I really like the idea of being intentional about it and being uh focused on it once you have something to show.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because people that come in and say, I want to be a developer, they're pretty common.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so when people meet you and you say, I want to be a developer, they're like, Cool, you're the eighth person this week I've talked to like that.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: But if you say, I'm working to becoming a on becoming a developer, and here's what I'm building, and you talk about now all of a sudden you're interesting because you're building something.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And now you can have a conversation about what you're building and get some advice on that, something specific, not just, should I learn if statements in C sharp?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, you should.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's not time yet to network.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: But after you have a portfolio that started with at least one application in there that's a real world application, small, um, you can start building a professional network.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Start going to meetups and to uh development days and other types of events where developers are going to be.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Meet people, talk to them, start building relationships.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Not just, I want a job, can you help me?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: But just learn their names, learn who they are, learn where they work, learn about their jobs.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, start to build your network because the next step is to start applying.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: And at that point, when you have a conversation with people you already know, say, hey, you know, I've I've done a lot of training and I think I'm ready to become a developer.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: I've kind of proven that I can build applications on my own.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: And now it's time that I want to see if I can get a job.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: I've started to apply.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: And they might say, hey, my company has an opening for a junior developer.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: That might start paying off.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not just randomly sending your resume out, but people are saying, This person I know.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: But start applying number six, and you want to customize your resume.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: We talked before about that.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Customize your resume to the places you're applying, even though your resume is light.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: You still want to make sure those keywords match up well to get past that first round.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Now, number seven, and here's where the real magic happens, because people often stop at number six and they just apply everywhere, and that's where they kind of sit is I just apply to 100 places a week.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's not probably good enough.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Number seven is you repeat steps one and two, which is more real-world training and building more apps.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Repeat steps one and two until you have at least three solid applications.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: You've already started applying, but now you're improving your skills.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're doing more and showing off more.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Now, step number eight is add a secondary skill that's relevant and then follow steps one and two.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: So learn SQL or Git or GitHub Actions or Azure or Docker.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Learn what your secondary skills after you have at least three full projects that show off your C sharp skills and that prove that you can do a lot in C sharp, not just the basics.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then add that secondary skill.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: But again, real world training and then practice and show it off.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: So your progress isn't just about I get far enough and then I apply.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Your progress is I get far enough, I do the things I need to do, I start applying, but I also keep working.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Because you want to keep improving yourself.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: You should qualify for jobs that you didn't qualify for three months ago.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: So just make sure that you're adding depth to those skills, but your qualifications should continue to improve over time, which means that yes, you're applying for jobs now that three months from now you'll be even better of a fit for.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: But you have to start applying sometime.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: You can't wait until you're perfect.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: So start early, but then keep going back and keep improving those skills.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there's three pitfalls that I see that for developers that are applying for their first software job.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about those three pitfalls.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Number one is no visible experience.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: You might say, well, Tim, I can't get experience until you get a job.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's not true.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is why I say have a portfolio.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is why I say volunteer places.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is why I say if you can get a tiny little job or a tiny little thing that you can do for someone, you know, tiny, then do that.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, build a little application for a one-person company, or volunteer your animal shelter and build them something, or just build portfolio apps, but show off what you can do.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: So when a when a new developer puts a resume in front of me and that resume has no visible experience, I don't know how to evaluate you.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you're a great C sharp developer who's just, you know, just learning, but you're really good at it.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Or if you're a person who has read the hello world docs and feels like, yeah, I can do that.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: I can't tell, so you need to show.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: And how you show is by portfolio.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's by having some type of proof that you can do what you say you can do.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Number two of the pitfalls is too many technologies are listed to be believable.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I see this a lot.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: So brand new developer, you have no experience, or maybe one job under your belt, and you say, I know C sharp, I know SQL, I know JavaScript, I know HTML and CSS, I know Angular React, and I know Azure.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: And no, you don't.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Just no, no, you don't.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's too much based upon your limited amount of time.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you have done demo projects in all of those things.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's different from actually knowing how to do it in a real world environment.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's a vast difference.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so my C sharp master course, it's 70 plus hours of content.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And it's gonna get longer when I'm read when I redo it soon.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's 70 plus hours of content, which should take you about two to 300 hours with practice to even get through the C sharp master course.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's just C sharp.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, 300 hours of training, how long is it gonna take?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: At six hours a week, it's gonna take you a year.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: So when you tell me that you've been studying for a year and a half or two years and you have eight different skills, no, that's too many technologies listed to be believable.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm when I look at that, I say, you know what?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: They're just listing things they built demos in.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if you can prove it, that's different.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: If you can show me your experience, cool.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're just telling me, I'm not believing you.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Number three is the third pitfall is chasing after what everyone else is doing.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: This is a a big problem in our industry right now, is that people say, oh, well, React is super popular.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: React is the way to go.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then every new developer adds React.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, guess what?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, that market is super saturated right now, especially with brand new developers.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: People who we don't know if they can do what they say they can do or not because they can't show us, and they've all gone through the same training and they're at that same level of barely experience at all.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, who wants to be in a pool of thousands of people for one job when you have the same level of experience as everybody else?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: How do you stand out in that way?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, first of all, show off what you can do, show off you can do it better than everybody else.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: But chasing after what everyone else is doing is not the way to be successful as a new developer.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, focus on what you're going to be good at and then put more depth into that.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Get deeper into that rather than trying to add one more tech and one more tech and one more tech.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Because shiny things sound great.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: But the reality is that you're not actually job ready just because you went through some tutorials on it.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, have some depth in the language that you're going to focus on.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I encourage you if you're learning C Sharp, spend lots of time in just C sharp, not the flashy UIs, not the UI project types even.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: Learn console app so you can just get something out the door and then learn a lot about C sharp itself.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Learn about events, learn about object-oriented programming, learn about async and await, and learn about these things that help you write really good applications that have nothing to do with the UI.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: And then learn the UIs.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: But don't go crazy.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Don't say, okay, now that I've learned some of C sharp, I'm going to learn about React because that doesn't pair well.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, there are some jobs that ask for C sharp and React.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: You're not ready for that yet.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, learn one of these C sharp UIs.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Because you still have to learn HTML, CSS and some JavaScript and learn about the web itself.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Adding in deeper JavaScript and then React and then NPM and all the libraries and third-party apps, that's that's probably too much for getting any depth.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Get depth first.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so those three pitfalls.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Not having any visible experience, having too many technologies listed, your resume to be believable.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then number three, chasing after what everyone else is doing.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: So avoid those three pitfalls.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Follow after the plan I gave you.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's going to help you the most.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: So if you work it consistently, you'll be improving your odds of success every single day.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not about just doing that one magical thing that makes you more successful.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's about putting in the time.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's about getting better every single day.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Not by a lot, by a little bit.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Don't leave getting a job up to random chance or luck.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Just blasting your resume out there and hoping that someone takes a chance on you, that's not a good successful strategy plan.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, follow this plan, improve over time, and make sure you're being consistent in moving forward.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: And as always, I am Tim Corey.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us for this episode of Dev Questions.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you're ready to learn to think and code like a professional developer, head over to IamtimCorey.com and enroll in a course.