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Discussion on: Worried that I won't make it as a developer

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bosepchuk profile image
Blaine Osepchuk • Edited

I think you'll be able to get a paid job after your internship but the process might not work the way you imagine.

I've done a fair amount of interviewing. Here are my thoughts:

  • do your best to make a great impression at your internship. Make friends with the senior devs, pick their brains (stroke their egos a bit if you have to) but aim to learn as much as possible and be in a position to ask for and get a good reference from at least two of them by the time you leave your internship
  • the bar isn't very high for junior front-end devs and there's such a shortage of programmers, you should be able to get hired if you give it a reasonable try
  • managers are looking a minimal level of knowledge to be considered for a junior position but your growth potential is more important
  • my advice would be to learn one system/framework/platform well instead of trying to learn a little bit about a bunch of things
  • spend time preparing for interviews (practice little coding exercises, get a friend to ask you questions, have prepared answers for the most common questions, have a portfolio of code online you can share with the interviewers--your best code)
  • no detail is too small to blow the interview (weak handshake, bad breath, crumpled clothes, late, lack of eye contact, excessive nervousness, etc.)
  • familiarize yourself with each company before the interview. Be prepared to talk about their business, how you can fit in, what you can contribute. There's an old saying that everyone's favorite topic is themselves. Well, the same is true of companies. If you can talk about their company on their terms, you'll set yourself apart from the candidates who did no research--it shows great initiative!
  • read programming books (shameless plug for my list of must read programming books). I ask every candidate who they read. If they don't have a good answer, they don't get a job (you can't claim your a great learner if you don't read anything, right?)
  • interviewing is a pretty ineffective way to identify good candidates (surveys say managers regret 50% of their hiring decisions within a year). That means you might not be selected even if you're the best candidate. AND, conversely, you might get hired even if you're not the best candidate. So keep at it. It's a numbers game.

Good luck.

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radu_p profile image
Radu Pasparuga

You gave me a lot of advice there and I'm thankful for it, I'm planning on reading one or more of the books in your article, I already am in a pretty good relation with one of their senior devs that helped me a lot during the internship and I'll keep on learning and applying for jobs until I'll finally get a chance to show my skills, thanks a lot, again!

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thobyv profile image
Thoby V ijishakin

Best interview advice.