ManagerJS Professional Web Development Talk

So, you're bad at interviewing? You freak out when you have to code in front of a recruiter? Tyler tells you about a young man with just that problem, and seven techniques you can use to deal with performance crushing stress.

Outline and transcript available for free at ManagerJS.com.

Students are going back to class. Don't get too caught up. The career fairs are coming! 

No matter what else you do, make sure you show up and talk to employers. Listen for a summary of the career fair tips just posted on the blog.

Within a half-hour of publishing Dan Crews' story about getting into development I got a question from a management grad looking to switch careers into web development. He gave me permission to share his question and my answer. This cast adds some color that is hard to convey in words alone.

See the question and answer at ManagerJS.com

The paths into software development are many and you can't predict exactly how it will work out for you. Dan Crews is a hiring manager, web developer, and GraphQL architect today, but his start was non-traditional. 

Dan shares how he got into web development and what he looks for now that he is on the hiring side of the interview.

How awesome do I need to be at coding before I get an entry level job or internship? 

Candidates are often under prepared. I'll tell you how to fix that.

Will degrees and code academies prepare me for my first interview? 

Not likely. Or at least, not likely without doing some extra that the class isn't going to make you do. I'll tell you what that is.

The headlines for this cast are:

Yes, you need to be able to code to get a coding job, even entry level or internship.

To prepare:

1. Write Every-day Code Every Day

2. Study Theory and Opinion 

3. Be prepared to Demonstrate Skill

4. Optionally Study Tricky Code

ManagerJS explains what he's all about: helping students and web developers be successful professionals. Learn more about the format and content that you can expect from ManagerJS.

TRANSCRIPT:

How do you become a successful coding professional? I can help you.

I've been a professional coder since 2003 and in 2013 moved into management. Now I work with and hire web developers to work in an established technology company on Utah's Silicon Slopes, in Lehi.

I interview about 50 candidates each year, from students to senior engineers. It has taken me years to develop my system for identifying the best candidates. And my team is awesome!

I recruit in colleges up and down the Wasatch front. From Brigham Young University in Provo to BYU-Idaho in Rexburg and colleges in between: the University of Utah, UVU, Utah State, Weber. 

I meet hundreds of students at career fairs, each year. I love being a part of their first steps in their careers. 

Interviews and fair booths are fine, but my favorite part of recruiting trips are the last half of classroom visits or information sessions. Introductions are out of the way. We've covered the details of the job and general information. Now people start asking fun questions, and if they ask right-- they uncover really fun stories and wisdom from the recruiting team. 

That's what you can expect here: candid advice, and stories that stand out—from other hiring managers, current developers, students, and myself. 

Sometimes it will be in interview format — I will record a conversation and present it here for you. Sometimes it will be a confessional from myself based on past experiences — some of them recent, some of them years past.

Always the goal is to present the candid view of what it is really like to be a professional. And what it takes to be successful.

I'm Tyler Peterson, this is ManagerJS. I hope you enjoy what you're learning. God bless. And I look forward to working with you someday.