When I first started applying for developer roles, I did not feel ready. My knowledge of programming and understanding of the industry felt horribly incomplete. But tutorials weren’t teaching me anything anymore. I was stuck in limbo. So, without a clear picture of what I should do next, I took a stab at getting what I truly wanted: my first dev job.
I applied on some job boards thinking it was a shot in the dark. Lo and behold, I got some responses. In a couple of months I started getting interviews. And not long after that, my first job.
So often I see self taught developers ask “How do I know when I’m ready to start applying for jobs?”. Odds are, by the time you start asking that question, you’re ready. But you likely won’t feel ready. As a result, I’ve watched brilliant self taught devs and bootcamp grads continue to waste time at jobs they hate or give up on their dream altogether.
This question of “How do I know I’m ready?” is so prevalent, I want to give it an answer. This is NOT an end all be all measurement of someone’s skill. Rather, a guide to point people in the right direction when the path forward is unclear.
So, without further ado, below is a checklist for determining if you are ready to start applying for your first job as a developer:
Step One: You can come up with something, and make it all on your own.
This can be as simple as “a website” or as complicated as “my own blogging platform”. The key here is doing it all on your own, sans tutorial. To be clear, that does not mean avoiding Google. In the real world, you won’t be expected to know everything. This is an exercise in problem solving and learning how to figure things out on your own.
Step Two: You can put it on the internet (or app store, or wherever users would be expected to interact with it).
The end game of most technology is to create something others can use. You created a tip calculator? Great! But if I can’t access it in a restaurant, what good is it? Hiring managers want people they know can deliver. Additionally, the life of a developer is more than writing code. You will have to manage deployments, testing, chasing down bugs in production, and other skills you are unlikely to learn in a tutorial. Best to start practicing these now as they only get more complicated on the job.
Step Three: Rinse and Repeat the above steps at least 2 more times.
To expand your learning, each project should be significantly different than the last. I suggest starting small and working your way up to more complex projects. Say your first project was a website with HTML and CSS. Create another website for your second project, but write your CSS using SASS. Was your first project a blogging platform? Perhaps make your second project a discussion board.
At this point, you’ve created and delivered a minimum of three projects. You’ve learned the basics and practiced them in the real world. By owning projects from start to launch, you have knowledge of the project lifecycle. Your foundation is solid and your education is well rounded.
Now is the time to start applying.
You may think the more portfolio projects the better. But once you reach five, your learning will plateau. Still feel like you’re missing something? Honestly, that knowledge only comes from on the job experience. The only path to “leveling up” at this stage is practicing your skills in a real production environment.
Go forth and apply. You’ll likely be surprised by how much more you learn just by interviewing.
Speaking of which, applying and interviewing in tech can be a whole skill in and of itself. If you’re looking for help, check out my resource GetADevJob.io for beginner focused career stories, tips, and tricks.
Top comments (11)
Great article :)
I've found from being on both sides of the recruitment fence that a lot of companies (disclaimer: my experience is mostly digital-agency-based) are willing to take a risk on developers who have not quite "cut their teeth" on major projects yet but show the incentive and motivation to get their hands dirty and learn new processes etc.
From the company's point of view, especially ones who already have an active and often experienced set of developers, taking on a junior dev can be a really good thing - it gives their middleweight developers the chance to mentor and teach, and it introduces a new set of eyes to the team that is not afraid of asking what are often quite valuable questions.
It also catches developers in that awesome cocoon moment (before they become an experienced development butterfly) and they get to bed in with a company's processes and technologies as their cornerstone tech.
I guess my point is that I definitely agree that it's always worth keeping an eye out of dev jobs, as often the company will get just as much (if not more) from your application than you will!
Yes! Passion and a good attitude go farther than hard skills. I try to tell my mentees this all the time but it always takes a while to sink in.
I remember I applied my first job without even knowing how to git.
This is my advise: get experience as quickly as possible.
💯💯💯
Great read, incredible post.
Personally I don't think we are ever ready. And personally that's what is so cool about it!
Yes. Sometimes it is overwhelming, sometimes it's just to much to learn, in all my years I have never spent a day I did not learn something new and constantly feel that I don't know enough, seems that I am always at the start of the never ending road.
Yesterday Typescript was the thing, today Reason seems to be the thing, wonder what will be tomorrow!
So in my opinion the moment you realise that you are ready for a dev job, is exactly what you said, that it is when you start questioning the same thing.
I believe that introverts and or people that lack self confidence ( me :p ) might get it worst because they know they don't know everything and might scare them. What I feel today is that, THAT is what defines a "senior" from a "junior" (hate labels...), that you know that you don't know everything but will find out if needed.
Love what you said about "junior" and "senior". Totally agree!
Great article Allison!
I would like to add that new developers who may not be so confident in their abilities should maybe apply to junior positions. This seems obvious, but if you have a passion for development, a will to learn, and you are able to express that comfortably in an interview many companies will consider you because they know the can build you up. This has happened to me twice in my career and each time has been successful. A mentor and mentee relationship is common in these positions and will increase the developer's confidence significantly.
Agreed. Also, even if a company doesn't have a "junior" position open, if you build up a rapport with them you might be able to create your own position.
I was discouraged early on because I heard similar advice before I finished college - everyone said I needed to "come up with projects and build them". The building them wasn't the hard part, it was the coming up with them. I'm probably not the only software developer who does terribly with a completely open-ended assignment like "just build something" due to what may be a lack of creativity, or I don't know what, but I found it to really frustrate and almost turn me away from being a developer altogether.
I found my first development job with no personal projects to show, but I did have some algorithms and problems I had solved on HackerRank and the project I had to do for my Junior-Senior years capstone project. I was able to do a sufficient job at the coding assignment they gave me, so that was in my favor (I showed I could do projects, just not find inspiration myself). I found my second software development job with only the small amount of experience from the first job (I moved cities) and the other educational projects I mentioned.
I realize you said this isn't a "be all end all" list to getting software development jobs, but I wanted to put myself out there as an example to those who may be in the same position I was in about a year and a half ago when I started seeking my first software job out of college because reading this probably would have discouraged me. You don't NEED a fancy, dynamic self-built blog and resume page and a set of other projects that you've built and released on the Android/Apple stores. If you can demonstrate that you have the skills they need - especially soft skills like communication - your potential employer will likely overlook your "lacking" project portfolio.
Great post Allison. Thanks. It’s probably the best post I’ve read on the subject.
Hey thanks! I'm glad to hear this content is useful 😊