Interviewing For A Programming Or Developing Job? Here's One Tip You Need To Know

One of Student Edge’s senior IT genies shares his advice on the best way to get a job as a programmer and developer.

Okay, you’ve completed a course or a degree in development and are ready to get into the workforce. But, let’s be honest here: so have hundreds of other students. How can you stand out from the crowd?

Well, by doing interesting personal projects. I can almost stop there, but in the interest of filling up the page let me elaborate a little.

I’ve been in the position of having to interview various people for IT roles over my time as a senior developer and a lot of the candidates tell me that they’ve created a website for family members. While this is a good start, for a developer’s role, building a website could mean almost anything. There are bucket-loads of companies like Wix , Weebly and even Godaddy offering website building tools, which anybody with basic programming skills can mould into something decent.

So, what do I mean by “personal project” then? In short, an employer needs to see that you’ve done something interesting. If you build a website from scratch using the technology I’m interested in - to achieve an idea you had or to help a community that has specific requirements (and doesn’t end with a glorified Contact Us page) - I’ll be bringing you back for a second interview. A demonstrated passion for development is what I’m looking for. I don’t really care if your idea is particularly successful; it is the initiative and enthusiasm I’m after, not necessarily business acumen.

Maybe you are not an “ideas person” but you love development and like to come work on other people’s plans. How then are you supposed to prove yourself if you can’t get a job? I’ve got two words for you: open source. There are hundreds of open source projects out there, and most of them are run by people who have good ideas but just need passionate people to help bring them to completion. These are normal people just like you; they are rarely Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, so don’t be intimidated.

“Which open source project should I help with?” you may ask. Start here. It really is that simple.

Have fun, good luck and I hope to work with you in the near future!