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How I Got Hired at DEV (and Every Other Tech Job)

Jacob Herrington (he/him) on November 01, 2019

On tech jobs There has never been a better time to join the tech industry. These days we have all kinds of resources for self-teaching (...
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Nick Spinazze

This is fantastic, @jacobherrington .

To everyone else reading this, speaking as a former coworker of Jacobs, I can also attest that this is completely factually accurate with one exception.

His claim that he knows "more about Star Wars than 90% of the population" is a huge understatement. Do not get him started on the merits of "The Last Jedi".

In all seriousness, this article contains excellent advice for anyone trying to enter into this industry from someone I have seen, first hand, go to great lengths to create more diversity in the tech field.

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Jacob Herrington (he/him) • Edited

lol thanks

for those wondering, i think TLJ might be as bad as TPM. 🙊 this is coming from someone who loves TFA, Rogue One, and Solo.

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Fulton Browne

Man, come on, I love TLJ.

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

🙊🙊🙊🙊🙊🙊🙊

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Garberchov

TLJ was better than the rest of the prequels at least, and was better than TPM and Attack of The Clones(By a slim margin)

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Jared

Thank you for sharing!

I'm sorry to hear about the ROTC path, but I'd say it worked out. Life is funny sometimes.

I definitely agree that networking is the key to success in life, no matter the industry. All(most) of my freelance work has been through contacts. Besides, it's nice to ping ideas off like-minded people. Especially with the galaxy of options in web development these days haha

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Some things end up better than you expect them.

I find most freelancers have that same experience and it kind of translates to those looking for fulltime jobs too.

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Miguel Bolivar

Thanks for sharing this Jacob. And just wow! I really like your story, it kinda' relates to how was/is mine, I'd love to talk with you about it hehe, but the key thing here is that you made the point and I'm sure that connects with many other folks stories. Networking is super important as mentioned, following down that path, I think people wouldn't take or apply to jobs, openings or opportunities will come along as they move forward. Really cool reading this 🚀

Un saludo 👋 🧙‍♂️

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Always happy to answer a DM, I'd love to hear your story. 😁

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Tulsi Prasad

I love your article and your story of persistence and attitude of helping people. I am damn sure your story will inspire a hell bunch of people and can't thank you enough ever regarding all that you've done for people in this community. This is the essence of a huge inclusive community like DEV. Thanks, man ✌

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Tulsi Prasad

Also, I would love to know your story as in what happened in college and why did you choose to drop out rather than finishing off your college and how did that jumpstart/affect your career? (u can send a link if you already have one 😛)

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Ty

A real story like this is so much more valuable than a list of "5 tips to hack your linkedin portfolio". Thanks for sharing with authenticity!

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Hey, I'm glad you find it valuable!

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Tori Crawford

When I first started looking for a job the networking aspect scared me the most. My thought towards cold-calling/emailing was that I was bothering whoever I was trying to contact. It took a long time for me to be comfortable with it, so I find your tenacity amazing.

The craziest thing to me now is how much I enjoy receiving cold emails or DM's asking for my advice or help. Now I always think to myself "maybe this person enjoys helping others like I do" which gives me incentive and confidence to press send.

Anyways, great post!! I'm really excited to listen to your podcast on my commute now!

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Glad to hear that!

I'm the same way, I love being able to help people, so I hope that others have the same response. 😁

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Frank Sierra

This, is loooong. But it's worth every second reading it.

Very enlightening I would dare to say, at least for me.

I've experienced some of what you said, since I started to become more involved with the community here in my city/country.

I have meet a lot of interesting people and got some nice opportunities from that.

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Andrew Brown 🇨🇦 • Edited

Great Article 👍👍👍

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

I always say yes when people ask me to coffee (or at least do a call), even if I have to schedule it weeks ahead because if people hadn't done that for me, I wouldn't be where I am.

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Andrew Brown 🇨🇦 • Edited

❤️❤️❤️

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Which is kinda the premise of this article, but I get what you mean.

That's the point Kent made about my podcast, having that conversation once with a microphone means he can answer those questions asynchronously for a lot of people.

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Snehdeep Singh

Thank You Jacob!

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lizziekardon

You are such a boss, Jacob!!!

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Lol thanks

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Obed Osei Frimpong

Thank you, Jacob! I am benefiting a lot from your podcast. Thank you.

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

Wow, that's great!!

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Eli-pixel

This is great!

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

No, you're great!

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Jacob Herrington (he/him)

That has been true for me, I'm glad you found some value in it!