21 | Getting Your First Dev Job

In this episode, Amy and James talk about the interview process and how to land your first job in development, covering topics like what to expect, whiteboard interviews, questions to ask, are portfolios important, and tips and tricks.

Sponsors

Vercel

Vercel combines the best developer experience with an obsessive focus on end-user performance. Their platform enables frontend teams to do their best work. It is the best place to deploy any frontend app. Start by deploying with zero configuration to their global edge network. Scale dynamically to millions of pages without breaking a sweat.

For more information, visit Vercel.com

ZEAL is hiring!

ZEAL is a computer software agency that delivers “the world’s most zealous” and custom solutions. The company plans and develops web and mobile applications that consistently help clients draw in customers, foster engagement, scale technologies, and ensure delivery.

ZEAL believes that a business is “only as strong as” its team and cares about culture, values, a transparent process, leveling up, giving back, and providing excellent equipment. The company has staffers distributed throughout the United States, and as it continues to grow, ZEAL looks for collaborative, object-oriented, and organized individuals to apply for open roles.

For more information visit softwareresidency.com/careers

DatoCMS

DatoCMS is a complete and performant headless CMS built to offer the best developer experience and user-friendliness in the market. It features a rich, CDN-powered GraphQL API (with real-time updates!), a super-flexible way to handle dynamic layouts and structured content, and best-in-class image/video support, with progressive/LQIP image loading out-of-the-box."

For more information, visit datocms.com

Show Notes

• 0:00 Introduction
• 0:47 Sponsor: ZEAL
• 4:30 Learning Resources
  • Wes Bos
  • Scott Tolinski at Level Up Tutorials
  • Udemy
  • Colt Steele Bootcamp
• 9:56 Pay attention to what you enjoy most
  • Thoughts on niching down
• 12:52 Sponsor: DatoCMS
• 13:45 Be active in the community
  • Code Connector Group
  • Kyla Gregory on Twitter
  • Learn Build Teach Discord Community
• 17:50 Learning and Building in Public
  • Episode 20 - Learning and Building in Public
• 19:39 What to Expect in an Interview
  • Behavioral Questions
  • Come up with 3 Projects or Experiences to Answer
  • Ask what to expect in the interview process
  • Oliver Jumpertz on Twitter
    • Answering "What's your greatest weakness?"
  • Confidence within the Interview
• 23:00 Whiteboarding
• 26:59 Talking through how you think
  • Blogging
  • YouTube Channel
• 29:31 Do research on the company you're interviewing with
  • Know the basics of what the product is or what the company does
• 30:06 Come with questions prepared!
  • Team Structure?
  • Built-in support system and mentors
  • Career paths and opportunities for growth within the company
• 32:26 Grab Bag Questions
• 32:42 "What would you like to see from a candidate?"
• 36:50 "Are portfolios important?"
  • James Cox
• 40:38 Sponsor: Vercel
• 41:52 "Am I ready for a real developer role?"
  • Ask for feedback
• 47:11 Picks and Plugs
• 47:29 Amy's Pick: Collapsible Wagon
• 49:02 Amy's Plug - SelfTeach.me on Twitch
  • Monday through Friday, 9-10 am CST
• 50:23 James's Pick: Fear Street on Netflix
• 51:00 James's Plug: James Q Quick on Twitch
  • jqqmemes.com