Landing your dream tech job

I can't speak about landing your dream job, but I can offer insight on landing your dream tech job. I love what I do.  I have for a while.  However, there are some key things that happened to me along the way that helped me land the best job I have ever had... Sorry ShareBuilder, you were #1 for a while.  This post, like many of mine, is going to be raw and unedited.  So feel free to comment, troll, or do whatever you do on the internet. I'm writing this to provide some insight of my journey in the tech world.

You can't land a dream job you don't know about

You need to figure out what makes a dream job for you.  For me, I thought it was the technology... or the project... or the money.  However, for me, those are contributing factors for sure.  However, the dream job for me has to have the best people. Now, what does that mean? They need to be crazy smart, excited about what we are building, and not take themselves too seriously. I have all of that now.  In addition to that, I love to know that EVERY day I get to contribute to make someone's life a little easier.  Not, as soon as I..., but everyday. That joy is unparalleled to me. I've been at it for almost a month now and it is amazing. My point in this section is figure out what your dream job means to you. It probably isn't the same for everyone.  Be selfish, think of what would that be for you.  What industry?  What technology? What makes a fun team for you? How do you like to start your day? How do you like to end your day?

Interview... A LOT

I tried to interview every six months to make sure my skills are sharp, I know the market, and what interviews are like.  So many people I have met are "stuck" in a job because they are terrified of an interview.  Those are the people that confuse me the most.  YOU HAVE A JOB ALREADY?!  What are you afraid of? The worst thing that can happen is you get a better job offer and you need to decide.  The easier option is you don't get an offer and you gain interviewing experience. It's a win-win! Go interview.  Practice only gets you so far, it really does help to do a real interview and you may even get the job.

Don't think what you know is easy

I have learned ADA, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript (node.js), SQL, and now Python.  I know how to run cron jobs, deploy to 3 different cloud platforms, and dockerize damn near anything.  However, I still KNOW there is so much to learn.  That doesn't mean what I've learned is easy or worthless. It all has a cumulative effect.  I learned so much at each job and then wonder why... and now I know.  I need it all at some point in my current job.

Create projects all the time

Your projects don't need to be perfect, they just need to help you. I have gone through tutorials so much I created one (for firebase here). I have written code all the time whether it be for some hackathon, a teaching event, or just because I"m curious.   My github is riddled with repos of projects. I got ready to get ready to build something so often that I am really good at starting from zero to a running app.

Details matter

Writing code is often the easy part, but the details are what make you stand out.  Details like UX and Design.  Details like a deployment process to multiple environments.  Details like unit tests that demonstrate your code base.  The MOST important detail that is often overlooked is good documentation to help someone use your repo from zero to running.  Consider Mac vs Windows too.  rimraf matters, cross-env matters.

After you have done all of that, you have defined what you want, what you are looking for, written many projects, are comfortable writing code on a daily basis, have gone on multiple interviews, and probably got rejected about 4-5 times... Then you are ready for your real interview for your dream job.  Also, don't think your dream job is at Google or Amazon.  It may be around the corner at some quiet start-up that has hired some amazing people and need you to fill their gaps in tech.

You can't wake up and get your dream job.  You need to work.  You need to practice/train at development.  It is a skill, an art, and something that takes time.  You need to practice your craft. So go practice and build something amazing

Thanks for stopping by!