In a job field that has become increasingly competitive in recent years, it is necessary to understand how to stand out in a way that provides the best opportunity for you to land a position for which you are ideally suited and also provides room for professional development and advancement.
With so many aspiring software developers entering the job market, a polished and finely tuned resume is no longer enough. Companies are not just looking for professionals capable of creating innovative software testing tools; they are also seeking passionate software developers willing to contribute to a company culture that emphasizes creativity and collaboration.
Since software development is attracting so many talented professionals, standing out has taken on a great deal of importance. Taking advantage of the nine strategies that follow ought to help shine a light on your unique skill set as you seek a new job opportunity as a software developer. Douglas Knight New Canaan discusses.
- Create and Communicate a Unique Personal Brand
Although personal branding is most often associated with the world of celebrity and professional athletics, it has become clear that jobseekers also benefit from cultivating an immediately recognizable brand.
To be clear, this does not mean you should engage in shameless self-promotion; it is simply best to determine how to showcase your areas of expertise in a way that catches the attention of industry peers. Several of the strategies that follow discuss different personal branding methods that you can apply as you search for a new career opportunity.
- Showcase Your Development Skills
During the course of a job interview, you will surely have the opportunity to discuss your development skills and how you have applied them in completing previous projects. This assumes, of course, that you land the interview in the first place.
As you begin to survey the job market, make sure that you have taken steps to showcase your development skills so that potential employers are aware of what you can bring to their company long before the interview process begins.
- Stay Active on Social Media
Employers understand that their staff will be most productive if it is composed of professionals who are truly passionate about the work they do each day. One of the best methods for determining an individual’s passion for software development involves a quick review of the job candidate’s social media accounts. This brief review will show a history of posts and conversations regarding topics relevant to software development.
Make a point to be active on social media and make every effort to be helpful and positive throughout every interaction. This will ensure you are viewed not only as an expert, but also as someone willing to share their expertise with others.
- Work on a Personal Open-Source Project
Working on and completing an open-source project is one of the best strategies for standing out in a crowded job market, particularly since potential employers love to see real-world evidence backing up any claims made about an applicant’s software development skills. A personal open-source code project offers additional benefits, as it demonstrates your passion for development and your ability to work autonomously while producing outstanding code.
- Contribute Your Insight and Expertise to Publications
Given the size and strength of the field as it currently stands, there is ample opportunity to showcase your knowledge and expertise — as well as your willingness to share that knowledge in the service of others — by publishing articles and contributing to online forums.
- Actively Network by Attending Events, Meet-Ups, and Conferences
Curating a professional network is increasingly done through digital means, but there is still reason to engage in face-to-face networking strategies. This includes any events, meet-ups, or conferences in which software development is a central topic of discussion.
- Exercise Caution, But Not to Excess
As you enter the job market, it is certainly valuable to do so with a great deal of confidence in your specific software development skills. It is also critical to ensure that confidence does not become hubris, as the crowded nature of the field means that most professionals must pay their dues before they are able to ascend the professional ranks. It is therefore necessary to carefully evaluate each opportunity so that you do not pass up a great option while holding out for the perfect option.
- Develop Interview Skills
Interviewing requires experience, so work diligently on building and improving on these skills in much the same way as you work on improving your development skills. Practice is essential, and you will find that you feel much more at ease during an interview if the process seems that much more familiar.
- Tailor Your Resume for Each Specific Opportunity
Far too many jobseekers send out a single version of their resume and hope that employers will be able to see how the applicant’s skills align with an open position. It is your responsibility to tell the employer which skills you possess and why those skills make you ideally suited to the open position, so take the time to tailor your resume in a way that guarantees each employer quickly understands what it is you bring to the table and why you should be hired over other worthy candidates.
