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Advice for New Coding Bootcamp Graduates

My best advice is to build a lot of things. Build portfolio projects. Build simple apps. Build a tool that scratches your own itch and publish it online.

By building things, you'll not only sharpen your skills, but you'll show tentative employers what you can do.

The first job is the hardest to get. Then after that, you'll quickly realize that there's an extreme shortage of developers. The ratio of supply to demand is such that you may end up moving on from each of your first few jobs rather quickly.

Network. Go to meetups, speak at meetups, and get to know other developers in the community. Join dev-focused Slack groups and online communities as well.

Consider teaming up with a recruiter. Technical recruiters can sometimes be troublesome to deal with, but they're always trying to find people to fill developer roles. Cold-call technical recruiters in your area and ask to set up a face-to-face meeting. Bring your résumé and laptop to share your portfolio projects.

Push code frequently to your GitHub account. Consider putting everything you make there, even if it's a work-in-progress or a simple exercise.

Listen to developer podcasts on your commute or while exercising. syntax.fm and "This Developers Life" are some of my personal favorites.

Create a Twitter account if you don't have one. Follow prolific developers. Every community and industry has a social media platform where they’re most active. For the developer community, that platform is Twitter.

Blog. Purchase a domain name if you haven't yet. If the .com for your name is still available, grab it.

Have your résumé and a portfolio ready to go. Share them with recruiters and other developers in your area. Reach out for advice on layout and formatting.

Make business cards. Take them to meetups and when you're out and about. I once randomly met a hiring manager in line at a Starbucks.

Consider using one consistent profile picture across all social media platforms.

@dgelok
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dgelok commented May 14, 2020

Brilliant. Thank you!

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