Many developers (including myself) find great jobs without ever having one.
My initial response:
of COURSE you find great jobs without one. You're a tenured, published, working developer. I am not.
Being significantly employed, with a well-viewed blog and twitter, puts you in the top 10% of developers world wide. Take a moment to recognize that you are in a different category of employability, in that you can likely find work in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the applications and make actual demands of the position.
That is out of perspective of a the vast majority of regular devs just trying to find a job.
I think the main point of your post is the "minimize risk" section, with the "two biggest factors". This is the best reason to simply use a template, with some kind of Gatsby-like. Get the site running and accurate, and then call it a day. For a regular dev, It would be a benefit to have an un-offensive portfolio site in addition to the other profiles you mention.
I've been hunting for "a while" and there's way too much of this "if I can do it, anyone can do it!" type of mentality among that 10%.
Thanks for counting me to the top 10% ☺️ But my Twitter isn't popular at all and my blog not well visited. Somehow this post took off though...
To be fair, I get what you mean. With my experience alone I have much higher chances to get a new job quickly than someone new to the industry. And a blog might help as well. (Hopefully that's still true in the current situation since I'll need a job soon 😃)
But I didn't start out like this. I had a hard time getting my first jobs as well. Recruiters weren't very interested. I failed interviews. And even in that situation I didn't need a portfolio website. So my point is that it's not mandatory to have one. And devs often just spend way too much time on something that nobody might not even look at.
But thanks a lot for your feedback and especially the point that many content creators have a "if I can do it, anyone can do it!" type of mentality. I'm surely guilty of that and I'll keep it in mind for the future
I appreciate your offer. Even the act of asking can be very helpful.
I wouldn't say I'm "struggling". I put out applications and either I get interviews or I don't. Eventually I won't have to do that anymore.
As a graduate of Lambda School, a "job hunt support staff" is part of the deal. Questions, suggestions for tweaks, all of that, can be handled. That's not to say that it isn't a pain in the ass, cuz it is 🤣 but at least I have a path for dealing with it.
However, the REAL problem with job hunting is the psych effects of which most people are completely unaware.
My original post is based on being weary of the over the top positivity. It is an unfounded euphoria that, as the application process reaches higher counts of sent resumes, will run out of steam and quickly lead the unaware to unexpected depths.
The worst it gets in daily life is having to play the same level in a video game "a bunch" of times before you get to success. But there is always a visible path. If it takes 20 attempts to clear, each attempt reveals some new information that the player can use on the next attempt.
The job hunt is literally screaming into the void. Send an application and get clear and absolute nothing. Having nothing to work with is insanely frustrating and most people are simply not prepared for that stark reality. Creating baseless hype to power application churn doesn't help.
Optimism is healthy: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The forced smile "Anyone can do it!" can be a worse path that meets the eye.
My own personal philosophy is Objectivity. Understand and accept the highs and lows. Know where you've been, know where you want to go, know the statistically best path to take, and work for the future.
Might sound kinda sterile, but today I see that perhaps I have no more or less of an opportunity than I did yesterday . . . What am I going to do about it? Work a project or 2 and tick those chances in my favor just a little bit more for tomorrow.
Your post says:
My initial response:
Being significantly employed, with a well-viewed blog and twitter, puts you in the top 10% of developers world wide. Take a moment to recognize that you are in a different category of employability, in that you can likely find work in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the applications and make actual demands of the position.
That is out of perspective of a the vast majority of regular devs just trying to find a job.
I think the main point of your post is the "minimize risk" section, with the "two biggest factors". This is the best reason to simply use a template, with some kind of Gatsby-like. Get the site running and accurate, and then call it a day. For a regular dev, It would be a benefit to have an un-offensive portfolio site in addition to the other profiles you mention.
I've been hunting for "a while" and there's way too much of this "if I can do it, anyone can do it!" type of mentality among that 10%.
Thanks for counting me to the top 10% ☺️ But my Twitter isn't popular at all and my blog not well visited. Somehow this post took off though...
To be fair, I get what you mean. With my experience alone I have much higher chances to get a new job quickly than someone new to the industry. And a blog might help as well. (Hopefully that's still true in the current situation since I'll need a job soon 😃)
But I didn't start out like this. I had a hard time getting my first jobs as well. Recruiters weren't very interested. I failed interviews. And even in that situation I didn't need a portfolio website. So my point is that it's not mandatory to have one. And devs often just spend way too much time on something that nobody might not even look at.
But thanks a lot for your feedback and especially the point that many content creators have a "if I can do it, anyone can do it!" type of mentality. I'm surely guilty of that and I'll keep it in mind for the future
I forgot: you're saying you struggle with the job hunt, right? Can you tell me what's the problem and how you approach the application process?
I appreciate your offer. Even the act of asking can be very helpful.
I wouldn't say I'm "struggling". I put out applications and either I get interviews or I don't. Eventually I won't have to do that anymore.
As a graduate of Lambda School, a "job hunt support staff" is part of the deal. Questions, suggestions for tweaks, all of that, can be handled. That's not to say that it isn't a pain in the ass, cuz it is 🤣 but at least I have a path for dealing with it.
However, the REAL problem with job hunting is the psych effects of which most people are completely unaware.
My original post is based on being weary of the over the top positivity. It is an unfounded euphoria that, as the application process reaches higher counts of sent resumes, will run out of steam and quickly lead the unaware to unexpected depths.
The worst it gets in daily life is having to play the same level in a video game "a bunch" of times before you get to success. But there is always a visible path. If it takes 20 attempts to clear, each attempt reveals some new information that the player can use on the next attempt.
The job hunt is literally screaming into the void. Send an application and get clear and absolute nothing. Having nothing to work with is insanely frustrating and most people are simply not prepared for that stark reality. Creating baseless hype to power application churn doesn't help.
Optimism is healthy: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The forced smile "Anyone can do it!" can be a worse path that meets the eye.
My own personal philosophy is Objectivity. Understand and accept the highs and lows. Know where you've been, know where you want to go, know the statistically best path to take, and work for the future.
Might sound kinda sterile, but today I see that perhaps I have no more or less of an opportunity than I did yesterday . . . What am I going to do about it? Work a project or 2 and tick those chances in my favor just a little bit more for tomorrow.
Thanks again for asking.
Makes a lot of sense and it's nothing but the truth. Thanks.