{"id":726,"date":"2020-10-28T06:30:38","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T06:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1325565"},"modified":"2020-10-28T06:30:38","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T06:30:38","slug":"how-to-use-social-media-to-land-your-first-programming-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=726","title":{"rendered":"How to use social media to land your first programming job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article<\/a> was originally published on <\/span><\/i>.cult<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Will Johnson. .<\/span><\/i>cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Landing your first job in tech can be hard. Especially when you have no experience in the field. I\u2019ve worked in factories and call centers most of my adult life. I only learned how to code when I was 33 \u2014 this was in my free time outside of my 12-hour shift and while raising six children with my wife. I\u2019m not going to lie, it was hard. I applied to countless jobs and felt the sting of rejection time and time again. \u201cNo experience,\u201d they would say, even if I killed in the interview. I was at the bottom of the ladder and dying for a break.<\/p>\n

The traditional approach wasn\u2019t working, I had to switch it up and think outside the box. No one wanted to take a risk on me, probably because anyone can say they are \u2018hard-working\u2019 and \u2018passionate\u2019 when it comes to software development \u2014 it\u2019s not enough. I decided to show<\/i> how hard-working and passionate I really was using the power of social media.<\/p>\n

Step one was creating a Twitter account where I would begin to document my journey or \u201clearn in public\u201d as Shawn Wang once described it. I had zero followers and didn\u2019t know a single person working in tech. I started by throwing up a picture of whatever I happened to be learning at the time, then pictures of books I was reading, courses I took, meetups, podcasts and side-projects. Twitter was a living archive of my learning journey.<\/p>\n

Is it a waste of time to post about everything you learn? If you\u2019ve got no followers, no one will see, right? Wrong. The people who created the courses you take and wrote the books you read are also using Twitter (or some other social media). Tag the instructor, author, creator or website in your post \u2014 that\u2019s what I did. I\u2019d tag the author of the book I was reading, I would tag the meetup accounts and the organizers. Those creators love to see people getting value from the things they made, so you\u2019re actually doing them a huge favor.<\/p>\n

In February, I started my Twitter account and by October I had landed a job in tech and built some great relationships in the community. I\u2019d jump on calls with my new connections and learn as much as I could. One person would introduce me to another and so on, and like a snowball, my presence in the community grew and grew until eventually, I landed on a podcast (aimed at Junior developers) and was asked to speak at a conference<\/a> outside of the country.<\/p>\n

What I\u2019d inadvertently done was create a solid reputation<\/a> for myself in the community and for me, it went much further than any resume could. Doing this allowed me to create a story, a unique one where I was controlling the narrative.<\/p>\n

I was motivated by others<\/h2>\n

It wasn\u2019t just me using social media to record my learning journey\u2026 Kyle Shook<\/a>, another developer on Twitter, was always posting these really cool CSS animations. They were highly detailed and you could tell he put a lot of time and effort into making them. Well, his hard work paid off. A company saw what he was doing and contacted him<\/i> with an offer.<\/p>\n

Another tech influencer, Dhanish Gajjar<\/a> was using Instagram to post the notes he was taking, the courses he was learning from, and the problems he was solving. He also created CSS challenges for other developers to participate in. He would post something he made and would ask others to submit their version. Similar to Kyle, a company reached out to Dhanish with a job opportunity, and he still works there today.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying you should quick your job search and become an influencer. I\u2019m trying to show what a powerful and effective tool social media can be in as a developer. Most of us (especially early on) are scrambling to learn and master as much as we can, but no one can see that unless you show them. Build your learning portfolio<\/a> and see what opportunities come your way.<\/p>\n

Helping others was important<\/h2>\n

One other point: I made sure my \u2018learning in public\u2019 wasn\u2019t all about me. If I\u2019d take a course, I\u2019d help the instructor out by answering a couple of questions or directing them to a link that could help them. By helping others solve problems it would reinforce the information I\u2019d learnt, it was win-win.<\/p>\n

This also showed potential employers that I was willing to help and communicate<\/a> \u2014 skills that are very important for developers, especially with the rise of remote work. Most of your communication is done via the same medium (slack, email, GitHub). So showing you\u2019re an effective communicator ahead of time gives the employer one less thing to worry about when considering you.<\/p>\n

My big break<\/h2>\n

Leading up to my first full-time job, I leveraged the network I had created as much as possible. People in my network would recommend me to employers and even act as my reference, through this I got a few freelance clients which allowed me to prove my skills. Then as I mentioned earlier, my big break finally came after six years laboring in factories.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say one thing worked more than the other \u2014 it was the compounding effect of everything: the network, the hustle, the friends, the learning. And it doesn\u2019t just end when you get a job, it will help you with your next one and everything else you want to accomplish in your career.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry about trying to be or look perfect. I know Instagram is full of developers who have amazing desks and take beautiful pictures. But that\u2019s not important, all you<\/i> need is your phone a couple of minutes to post, don\u2019t think so much about it, the most important thing is to just start. You never know who is watching but some great things can happen when you put yourself out there, and everyone is rooting for you whether it feels that way or not. We want to see you win and reach your goals and celebrate your progress.<\/p>\n

Recap:<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re not having any luck with the traditional job search, use social media to showcase your hard work and ingratiate yourself in the community. The relationships you build and potential opportunities are worth the effort. It was a tough long journey for me but I kept showing up every day and that\u2019s how I got my first break: a remote gig that I love. It\u2019s a complete 180\u00b0 from everything I\u2019ve done in the past, and if it\u2019s possible for me it\u2019s possible for you.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Published October 28, 2020 \u2014 06:30 UTC <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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