Direction of Web Development in relation to Jobs

[bs_in_cs]

@mawburn

Most of the time technical employers will just list out a whole bunch of stuff to see what they can get. They don’t really expect you to know 6 different frameworks in 3 different languages and have 6yrs experience in something that’s only 3yrs old. They are looking for someone who can fill a role they have and that’s the stuff they use.

Thank you a ton. This is good to know and takes away a lot of the pressure! Those AD’s were starting to look a little too intimidating when I think about it. Why do they put all those requirements in there if that’s really not what they are looking for? Or are they just setting the bar high hoping to find someone in an off chance with a photographic memory?

[bs_in_cs]

@WolfShade

The downside to using URLs is that, after you’ve gone from that project, other developers can be called in to modify or even replace all the work that you did. I found that out the hard way. A project that I was pretty proud of had changed, drastically, about six months after I had finished that contract… so most of the work I did was not there. Screencaps are (essentially) proof that your work did exist.

Yeah, this totally happened to me a while back as well, not fun. Was my first interview after coming back into web development. Didn’t check the website before I went in which I totally should have done. It was a walk-in interview, so I went down to the office and they asked me to pull up some of the work I had previously done (on the big screen projector via a laptop) only to find that 2 of the websites were completely different. Pretty embarrassing, but a good experience so to speak.

@ParkinT

*Yes, return to the place where you had the interview. Don’t stress over getting to see the interviewer again in person (many people will say they are too busy to see you if a receptionist announces your unscheduled visit), because the fact that you took the time and effort to come by in person will impress EVERYONE in that office who saw you or heard the story from their coworkers.

Looks like this is where we separate the men and women from the boys and girls. As nervous as it may seem it does make good sense and something I will definitely be doing after my next interview. Thank you for this.

@ParkinT

Among all this ‘positive’ advice I want to offer one very important caution that has not yet been mentioned.BEFORE you go to each interview, check out your name in Google. I cannot count how many “on the fence” job candidates we decided against because they had some “social network” activity that was a bit questionable. On the flip side, I have been told one thing that weighed heavily in my favor (during interviews) is the evidence on Google that I am very active in the Global Development community (Open Source commits, Technical Articles, Volunteer activities). If an interviewer does not bring this up do not be fooled into thinking they have not already performed a Google Search on your name!

Good point and so true, I know if I was doing the interview this is a place where I would spend a lot of time. As for myself not too worried as I try to keep pretty low key about things online. Nevertheless I’ll be doing a couple of searches to see what comes up as one never knows.

@markbrown4

In six years I doubt there will be anything that shakes the web development industry considerably. HTML, CSS and JavaScript will still being used heavily and expertise with them will still be sought after.

This is really good to know. Hopefully it won’t become too automated or too easy with higher level languages such as coffeescript, sort of like the jQuery javascript relationship, but then again even knowing jQuery a person probably still needs to know javascript to be fully successful.

[cpradio]

@bs_in_cs

Which person do you think should be addressed with the thank you note, the secretary who setup the interview, the interviewers themselves, or the both (as sometimes you do not have the information of the person who interviewed you and getting that information off the internet i’m thinking might seem needy, not sure)?

The interviewers (preferably the supervisor/manager, if he/she is in the interview too)

@bs_in_cs

Is this preferable to bullet points, or just a matter of preference?

You can utilize a bit of both really. The point is to stop focusing on making a list of what you know and talk about what you’ve done. So after you talk about the project, you can add the following (but only highlight the top 3, don’t make long lists)

This project focused on the following technologies:

• .NET (C#)
• MVC Framework
• NUnit

Although, I’d prefer to read it in the story format like so: This project utilized the following technologies; .NET, MVC, and NUnit (and you can list more than 3 this way). But that is solely my preference.

[HAWK]

@bs_in_cs

What was it that you offered them to make them say “yes, we want to hire this person” ? Was it the positive attitude, portfolio, or just a culmination of different things?

I didn’t have a portfolio as I’d never done any work in the field, so it was about work ethic, confidence, and attitude I suppose. If you approach anything with a ‘I’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a go’ attitude I think people pick up on that.

I really hope something works out for you soon.

[mawburn]

Why do they put all those requirements in there if that’s really not what they are looking for? Or are they just setting the bar high hoping to find someone in an off chance with a photographic memory?

Could be a number of different reasons.

I just Googled for an answer and came across this pretty nice article. It explains it better than I could.

Job requirements are mostly fiction and you should ignore them

This is pretty much exactly what I said earlier, lol:

“It’s a list of things that they need, then things that they want to use in the future or are thinking about using. They put in everything that’s in their environment, every sort of technology.”

Also:

Things like relationships, confidence, less definite skills, and proper presentation of experience make a difference and often can help candidates overcome a perceived shortage in qualifications.

The confidence thing is real though. At my current job, I literally thought I was interviewing for a MS C# ASP.Net position and it turned out the recruiter had sent me the wrong job listing and the job was Java on an IBM stack.

But, I showed confidence in my skills and my ability to perform and was offered the job 2 days later at a higher salary than what I was expecting. I was honestly not expecting to hear back from them and didn’t think I did very well at all, so it was a pretty nice surprise.

[cpradio]

@mawburn

But, I showed confidence in my skills and my ability to perform and was offered the job 2 days later at a higher salary than what I was expecting. I was honestly not expecting to hear back from them and didn’t think I did very well at all, so it was a pretty nice surprise.

lol, I thought I was the only one who had that happened to them. I went to what I thought was a PHP shop, they were a .NET C# shop and was offered the job as well So definitely a true statement. Confidence in your current abilities, acknowledging your current limitations, and your ability to show you are continuously learning will get you very far.

[bs_in_cs]

@cpradio

Although, I’d prefer to read it in the story format like so: This project utilized the following technologies; .NET, MVC, and NUnit (and you can list more than 3 this way). But that is solely my preference.

This is definitely much better than what I’ve currently got on my resume. The story board format just makes it seam much more cohesive. Thanks again for the tip. Now my resume can undergo some new renovations, lol

@HAWK

If you approach anything with a ‘I’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a go’ attitude I think people pick up on that.

I really hope something works out for you soon.

Thanks HAWK, this really makes a lot of sense. It is clear to me now why I haven’t landed a position. Pretty sure if I run with all the advice from everyone here including yourself something will definitely work out. Thanks again.

@mawburn

I just Googled for an answer and came across this pretty nice article. It explains it better than I could.

http://qz.com/255565/job-requirements-are-mostly-fiction-and-you-should-ignore-them/

Nice find! That article along with everything that has been said really makes me see just how wrong my approach was. Would never have thought that was how HR handled their hiring but at least now i’m actually able to get some sleep knowing the core of the problem rather than wondering what went wrong, lol.

@mawburn

But, I showed confidence in my skills and my ability to perform and was offered the job 2 days later at a higher salary than what I was expecting. I was honestly not expecting to hear back from them and didn’t think I did very well at all, so it was a pretty nice surprise.

Definitely something else I will start working on immediately. During an interview those requirements were just running through my mind the whole time and I just had the feeling of being on my heels in my responses rather than the balls of my feet. Totally a different approach. I mean I always knew you needed to be confident just didn’t know how much or how much it weighed during the interview. Thank you again for this advice.

[sg707]

Has the industry changed for CS degree graduates? I remember my first interview where we just talked about my experience in college and how the weather was. This was all it took to sign my first job.

Do not back away from JavaScript!!! The demand for this skill will keep on increasing until there is alternative technology. I don’t see this happening for another 10 years. As of now, back-end programming is becoming more dumber by making the front-end smarter. There is massive shortage of JavaScript developers and it’s rare to see a developer who consider themselves as ‘full stack’ aka a guy who can do front-end and back-end. As of today, AngularJS is probably the most popular framework but there is other frameworks like ExtJS (my favorite tool). If you create a sample project using AngularJS or ExtJS then you should have a very good chance of getting hired.