I want to start this article with a story. Then, we'll dig into how to stand out ...
The Story ...
In November of 2010, I left my house for an interview as a contractor with Wendy's International. I was dressed for the interview; suit and tie. I borrowed my father's car since mine wasn't reliable at the time.
I had gone about 5 blocks from home when I ran a red light. To this day, I'm not sure what distracted me.
I remember seeing three cars crossing the intersection in front of me. I swerved and felt a "ding" as the back end of my vehicle just barely touched one of the other vehicles.
I pulled into the local Kroger parking lot and parked. A few minutes later a car pulled in with an older woman in it. She got out, rather irritated, and checked out both cars.
She then glanced at me, saw the jacket and tie on a warm day and asked where I was off to, "in such a hurry."
I told her about the interview.
Her eyes softened a bit and she said her husband was a Veteran and they could afford to repair the scratch. She then told be to drive safely and have a good interview.
Still rattled, but relieved, I continued my journey.
I actually made it to the interview on time.
Walking back into Wendy's with the manager I was interviewing with I related the drive over.
We sat down, a typical interview with him behind a large desk and myself in a small, somewhat comfortable chair. Twenty minutes in, he told me that I had the job. I'll never forget what he said.
We are looking for a trainer with a skillset similar to yours. The transition of software that we are looking at will very stressful for our employees. I am going to hiring you because the professionalism you showed under the stress you had recently is exactly what we need.
I clearly stood out from the other candidates. This is **NOT SOMETHING I WOULD RECOMMEND* doing to get a position at any company.
The Question
What advice would you give me so that I can stand out from the crowd and allow me to land my first developer job.
That is a big question.
Clearly there are some things we can do to stand out when applying for a position within a company. Hopefully they won't all include life-threatening situations.
Let's dive in ...
Resume
Your resume needs to be professional.
You don't want to hear from a recruiter that it "looks like a word template." You need to make it your own.
Do some research, if you can see who has resumes out there that you can look at.
- What layouts do you like?
- Is there content that you feel has a strong impact.
Your LinkedIn content needs to be professional, as well. The nice part here is that you do not need to worry about the layout.
What I tell people is that the resume and LinkedIn profile need to align.
This means that LinkedIn can have more detail about a job and more jobs. This makes sense since the resume should be reworked to fit the position you are applying for.
For example, if you are applying for a frontend position, you don't need to include that you reworked the companies internal documentation system.
Additionally, the LinkedIn profile can show work that you did that isn't even on the resume.
But the core of what you should be looking at here is that they need to be in alignment.
For example, if the resume lists that you worked for 5-years doing Angular for company XYZ and LinkedIn says that you were a team-lead during the same time period with that company, there's a problem.
The interviewers shouldn't have to guess or figure things out.
Resume Writers
I used a resume writing company after I left my last position. They had an editor work with me to get the resume and LinkedIn aligned, just as I described above.
Additionally, they should have an understanding of the language that will and will not pass the various Machine Learning algorithms that many companies use to filter out resumes.
If this is a cost you can manage, do some research and find a good company that can help you make this content shine.
Portfolio
A portfolio is important.
For someone applying for entry level positions whether self-taught, from a bootcamp, or a college graduate, you should have something that showcases the work that you can do.
As with the resume above, you don't want something "canned." You want to showcase something that you are passionate about. Make sure that the visuals you present and the code are at the same level.
What I sometimes hear recruiters telling applicants is, "you have the same six projects on your portfolio that I see from students from every bootcamp."
If you truly want to stand out, you need to show who you are through the project and the supporting code. Your passion should be clearly visible.
Other Content
Content covers a few categories and I am opting to lump these together ...
- Articles
- Videos
- Podcasts
Writing articles is not for everyone. If they are not for you, that's fine.
They are, however, a great way to document your learning journey and to potentially help others looking for answers, just as you were.
Here, you are able to not just document a process, but showcase how you think and how you communicate.
As with articles, creating videos or podcasts are not for everyone. But if they are something that interests you, go for it. They can become a great way to show who you are.
Open Source
This is an area I cannot cover in too much detail since I have never used my contributions to open-source as a means of presenting myself to a company.
However, the basic concept is that companies can become aware of you and see the code you are producing by solving problems and helping them improve their open-source code.
You have the opportunity to demonstrate value, build trust, and gain skills in open-source.
Contributing to open-source, particularly for projects maintained by companies you are interested in can give you some insight into their teams. The speed and response to tickets and pull-request, seeing them get addressed, can become a simple decision making factor.
I would recommend researching more on your own if this interests you, as I am the wrong person to ask for help.
Asking Questions
When you are speaking with a recruiter or interviewing with someone, make sure you know the company; their ...
- Core values
- Culture
- Leadership
- Mission
- Work
Knowing these, you should be able to ask questions ...
- Can you tell me what your company core value, "do the right thing, not the right now thing" means? Can you give me an example?
- Can you describe the culture of your company?
- How are employees valued by the leadership of the company? Do any specific examples stand out?
- What is the companies mission and what does that mean to me working on one of your teams?
- Can you describe the work I would expect to see?
... you should be able to add to this list.
These questions show interest.
I grew up with the mentality that you did not question elders. By extension when I interviewed with someone older than me over the years I asked no questions.
I realize now that this was completely the wrong move.
What I needed to be doing is asking questions and showing interest in the company ... even if my research had answered the questions already.
Would you hire someone with no questions, or someone asking questions to learn more about what the company does and how they operate?
Answering Questions
There is really no right or wrong when it comes to answering questions. Be honest and up front.
A few basic rules that I try to live by ...
- Be authentic and clear.
- Don't be afraid to stop and think.
- Don't let your answer be a constant stream of thought.
Remember, if you have the skill and can speak to that skill, say so. If you do not have the skill, tell them and indicate that you are willing to learn, if that's actually the case.
Applying
You should not be just applying for a job. Pushing resumes on a job board is a tough numbers game.
Engage with the company through their recruiters or hiring managers. To stand out, make it personal ... so that you can show yourself and your passion.
Take your time and learn about ...
- The company (their core values, culture, leadership, and mission)
- The work
- The team you would be working on
- The languages and tools they use
Doing your research is important. I've mentioned these things previously in this article and wanted to come at it "from a different angle" to stress the importance.
Recruiters
Standing out with recruiters should not be hard.
You need to remember that they are constantly looking for people. They often have to "cold-call" using messaging, emails, or the phone.
You can stand out by simply making their lives easier by contacting them. This will often be seen in a positive light.
Remember to do good follow ups and ask about what you could do to improve as a candidate for their company.
Summary
What advice would you give me so that I can stand out from the crowd and allow me to land my first developer job.
Clearly there are some things we can do to stand out when applying for a position within a company.
- Resume and LinkedIn: They need to be professional and have good content alignment.
- Use a good resume writer company if you can.
- A portfolio is important and shouldn't be canned.
- Articles, videos, and podcasts can help you showcase who you are.
- Open Source: Here you can get insight into how various teams work and showcase what you can do for them.
- Ask Questions: Show that you are truly interested in their company.
- Answering Questions: Be authentic and clear.
- Applying: Do your research so that you can show your interest clearly.
- Recruiters: They want to hear from you.
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