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Discussion on: How do I get experience when I have no experience?

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tiffanywismer profile image
Tiffany Wismer

Thanks, very encouraging!

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erebos-manannan profile image
Erebos Manannán

Oh, and for more specific advice on what to put to those personal projects:

  • Make sure the repository is readable, has a README for what it is, how to use it, possibly a deployed demo URL hosted on GitHub Pages, or some small server on the cloud, depending on what you're working on. If it's a desktop application, provide releases for Windows + OSX.
  • Spend extra attention to code quality, good readability, maybe even a bit excessive amount of comments, great unit test coverage (and really do have unit tests whenever possible for these), if necessary use the Wiki for documentation, have API documentation set up with e.g. RAML. Do all the different kinds of things like that, that you would love for a very mature production system to have.
  • Prefer a smaller project done to the best of your abilities, even tiny, over a larger project that is substandard for you. Ability to deliver good quality is more impressive than ability to deliver a large mess.
  • If you know what company you're specifically looking to work with, make a project using the technologies they use. Check their job listings, open source repositories, etc. to find out what they use.
  • If you've got wider interests, try to make a few different kinds of projects. Again smaller with more variety is better than one larger thing in just one field you know.
  • Try to think of some kind of tool/thing that would be of actual benefit to you and implement that, you'll find it easier to get motivation to doing it and to tell people about it in interviews and such.