Latest / The Career Change Podcast with Fexingo: Switching Fields, Bootcamps, and Reskilling / How Bootcamp Grads Can Use Side Projects to Land a Job
Transcript
- Lucas: If you are a bootcamp grad and you have sent out a hundred applications with zero interviews, the most common piece of advice you hear is, 'build a portfolio.' But that advice is too vague to be useful. So let's talk about what a good side project actually looks like in 2026. Luna: Exactly. The bar has moved. A simple calculator app isn't going to cut it anymore. Lucas: Right. Hiring managers now expect projects that show real-world thinking—something that solves a problem they recognize. I talked to a recruiter at a mid-size fintech in Austin a few weeks ago. She told me the single project that caught her attention this year was a Chrome extension that automated personal budget tracking. Not revolutionary tech—basic JavaScript, a simple UI—but the candidate had interviewed five friends about how they manage money and built the features around their actual pain points. Luna: So research first, code second. That's a recurring theme. Lucas: That is exactly the theme. And the research phase is what most bootcamp grads skip. They pick a project from a tutorial or a generic idea like a weather app or a to-do list. Those projects don't tell a story. A great side project tells a story about a problem you cared enough to investigate. Luna: What's the first step then, if you're starting from scratch? Lucas: Start with a domain you have some exposure to. If you previously worked in retail, think about inventory or scheduling pain points. If you were in hospitality, think about booking systems or guest feedback. The goal is to pick a problem where you already have some intuition, so you can ask the right questions. Luna: And then validate it before you write a single line of code. Lucas: Yes. Talk to at least five people who have that problem. Record what they say—not just what they ask for, but the emotions behind it. One of the candidates I mentioned earlier found that people were embarrassed about overspending, so his extension added a gentle weekly summary rather than real-time alerts. That insight came from conversation, not a database. Luna: That emotional layer makes the project stand out in a pile of technical demos. Lucas: It does. And then the build—you don't need a polished production app. An MVP that works for one or two real users is more impressive than a full-featured prototype that nobody ever touched. Put it on a live URL, show a demo video, and include a link to a GitHub repo with a solid README. Luna: Speaking of READMEs—do hiring managers actually read those? Lucas: The good ones do. They look for clear instructions on how to run it, but more importantly, they look for a section that explains why you built it and what you learned. Treat the README as the cover letter of your project. I've seen projects where the README included a link to a short blog post walking through the design decisions. That is gold. Luna: Alright, so you have a validated project with a good README. Then what? Lucas: Then you put it on your resume, but not just as a bullet point. Write a one-line summary that includes the problem and the outcome. For example: 'Built a Chrome extension used by 12 people to reduce budgeting anxiety by surfacing weekly spending patterns.' That is specific and quantifiable. Luna: And that goes at the top of your resume, above work experience? Lucas: If you have no relevant work history, yes. Put a 'Projects' section right below your summary. Make it the first thing a recruiter sees. And on LinkedIn, create a featured post with a demo video and a tagline that makes someone want to click. Luna: And of course, you'll get asked about it in interviews. Lucas: Absolutely. So you need to be ready to talk through your choices. Why that problem? Why that tech stack? What would you do differently? The candidate with the budgeting extension had a great answer for that. He said he'd add bank API integration next, because users wanted automatic transaction importing. That shows forward thinking. Luna: So the project becomes the centerpiece of the interview conversation. Lucas: Yes. And honestly, part of the reason we can dig into this level of detail is that the show is listener-supported. A small group of you chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that directly funds the research and time we put into episodes like this. Luna: Yeah, it's not a huge number, but it makes a real difference in keeping the show ad-free and focused on practical advice. Lucas: So if you've gotten value from any of our episodes, including this one, that's the way to keep it going. Back to the process—once you have the project ready and documented, the next step is getting it in front of the right people. Don't just spam the apply button. Use the project to start conversations. Luna: How exactly do you start a conversation with it? Lucas: Search for companies that work in the same space as your project. If you built a tool for restaurant scheduling, look for restaurant tech startups. Then find the engineering manager or a senior developer on LinkedIn. Send them a short message: 'I built a scheduling tool for restaurants and I am curious how your team approaches shift planning. Would you be open to a 10-minute chat?' That gets you a warm introduction instead of a cold application. Luna: You're essentially using the project as a networking asset. Lucas: Exactly. And even if that conversation doesn't lead to a job, you gain insider knowledge about what the industry cares about. You can iterate on the project based on that feedback. That candidate from the fintech? He had three such conversations before he applied, and one of them eventually referred him. Luna: So the project isn't just for the resume—it's for building relationships. Lucas: Right. And also, don't underestimate the power of contributing to open source. If your side project is a small utility, consider open-sourcing it. Then you can point to issues, pull requests, and community engagement. That signals you can work with others. Luna: What about the risk of spending too much time on a project and not enough on applications? Lucas: That is a real risk. I'd say set a time box. Spend two weeks on research and MVP. Then one week on documentation and outreach. If after those three weeks you aren't getting any traction, you can either pivot the idea or move on. The key is to produce something concrete that you can show in that window. Luna: Three weeks. That sounds manageable even if you're working a day job. Lucas: It is. And there are tools now that speed up the process. Low-code platforms can help you prototype a UI quickly. ChatGPT can help you write the README or blog post draft. But the core idea and the research must be your own. Luna: So the project itself doesn't need to be technically complex. It needs to be well-researched and well-told. Lucas: Exactly. I have a friend who transitioned from hospitality to a junior product role at a hotel tech company. Her side project was a simple dashboard that aggregated reviews from three platforms. She built it in a weekend using a no-code tool and then wrote a blog post about the patterns she saw in guest complaints. That blog post got shared internally at the company she later joined. Luna: That's a great example. She didn't need to build a scalable system. She just demonstrated curiosity and communication. Lucas: And that's what employers in 2026 are hungry for. Technical skill can be taught. But proactive problem-finding? That's harder to find. Luna: So to wrap up, the formula is: pick a real problem in a domain you know, validate it with people, build a minimal solution, document the process, use it to start conversations, and always be ready to discuss your choices. Lucas: That's the playbook. If you follow that, even if the project itself doesn't get you hired, the skills you exercise—research, empathy, communication—will make you a stronger candidate in every interview. Luna: And if you want more practical breakdowns like this, you know where to find us. Lucas: Exactly. We'll talk to you next time.