Wanna Be a Dev? You Need Rhino Skin
Tom Petty said it first. And best
Lying in bed last night smarting from my latest job rejection, Tom Petty’s words popped into my head. “You need rhino skin | If you’re gonna pretend | You’re not hurt by this world.” He was singing about love. Or the music industry. But he may as well have been singing about landing your first development job.
Two-and-a-half years into my journey to become a front-end developer, I’ve learned more languages, frameworks, concepts, workarounds, software and shortcuts than I can list. My bookmarked folders alone — not counting the thousands of pages saved within them — are up to 31 topics ranging from algorithms to Yarn (the package manager, not the stuff you crochet with). But there are thousands of tools out there, and I still only know a fraction of what there is to know. If you’re just getting started or pondering a career switch to front-end, full-stack, or back-end development, here’s some potentially useful advice.
Don’t rely solely* on recruiters
I remember a guy in my full-stack program who’d been a recruiter say he’d decided to stop finding other people dev jobs and get one himself. I don’t know if he ever succeeded, but I do know there are countless recruiters out there with little to no knowledge of the skills needed for the roles they get paid to fill. That’s like finding someone to fill Spanish speaking roles who’s never counted to ten in Espanol. Or a chef placing nuclear physicists in science-y jobs. On what planet does it make sense to talk to people about coding skills when you don’t know your .net from fishnets?
And don’t get me started on the ghosting! I’ve put aside a lack of knowledge to talk to numerous recruiters because that’s just the way a lot of companies find developers now, and I’ve made good on my end of the deal over and over. Updating and reformatting resumes. Removing personal info and replacing it with “represented by firm X.” Altering and reorganizing my LinkedIn. Taking tests. Interviewing. Writing thank yous. Anxiously waiting. For every good-faith effort I’ve made, I can cite an example of a recruiter ghosting me somewhere in the process. When I read finger-wagging LinkedIn posts admonishing applicants to show up for interviews, I laugh out loud. Seriously. Recruiters, know thyself. Look inward. Own your piece of that problem.
*Upon re-reading this I realized I need an update. As with any professional field, recruiters span the spectrum from don’t waste your time to commit their number to memory. A good analogy from my personal experience was being my grandmother’s caregiver for nine years. I’m not a medical professional. But I listened when her doctors told my why they switched medicines and what symptoms fell under “be concerned” vs. “get her to the hospital stat.” That knowledge enabled me to be a successful advocate for Grandma. Look for that commitment and attention to detail in your recruiter, too. Be mutually respectful. It probably won’t save your life, but it may help you land a job.
Be prepared — for anything
Another pro tip for new developers is to have a portfolio. And a Github repo. And link those portfolio examples to that Github repo. Check, check and check. But guess what? I also have Google Analytics installed on my personal website so I can see my traffic, and hits seldom correspond with my interviews. I’m supposed to know everything I can about the company — often with a day’s notice — but interviewers don’t bother to look at my work examples or even read my resume.
How do I know? Because I get the feedback “you didn’t have skill X they wanted.” Fair enough. But if anyone — the recruiter, the interviewer, an intern with nothing to do — had bothered to look at the company’s wishlist and the skillset I submitted side by side they’d have known that before the interview was ever set up. Everyone’s time would’ve been saved. And what about including those coveted skills in the job description? There’s a novel idea! I’m super honest about what I know and don’t know — I turn down interviews straight away when I realize I’m not qualified, and there’s no padding or exaggeration in my resume or my portfolio. So when I get the “you just don’t have the skills they want” follow-up, I just shake my head.
Go down swingin’
The same Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album that features Rhino Skin has another gem: Swingin’. It’s another song about love, or life, or whatever you want it to be about. For me, the lyrics “She went down swingin’” translate perfectly: don’t give up. No matter how ill-informed the recruiters. No matter how dismissive the interviewers. Find good mentors. Build your own network. Keep learning and growing. Never give up. Go down swingin’. Good luck.