Should I start applying?

[OcelotCardinal]

Over the last year I have learnt the following technologies.

Languages: JavaScript
Front-end: React, Bootstrap, Html & Css
Back-end: Express, Node, MongoDB, Mongoose, Firebase
Libraries & Tools: Vite, Postman, Git

I have created three projects. One is the movie app using an API, the other is an API I built myself with Express, and the last is a full stack social media application which is about 70% complete.

I’ve applied to about ~30 jobs over the past week but have been ghosted or received rejection emails.

One recruiter did contact me via phone and they said I was a bit too junior for the position she was advertising for but she said she would call me back if she found anything. She also added me on LinkedIn.

I did email an employer for a more senior position asking if he had any possible open spaces for a junior web dev. He emailed back and said he did not have any positions for a junior developer but that I seemed to be heading in the right direction, and that after a year of experience he’d be open to taking it further.

I’ve also registered on Upwork as a freelancer, and sent about ~10 proposals, so not much, but have not got anything back as of yet.

I also have just registered to study a software engineering degree at university. It is part time so will not prohibit my job search.

If I were tasked to build an ecommerce site, or a landing page for a business client, I’d feel confident in knowing I can get the task done. Probably not in the best way, but I know I could get it done. To advance I feel I need the experience in a work environment to learn from, alongside my own practice and the books I read.

I’ve downloaded some books on PHP, MySQL, Git, TypeScript, and Redux. I see a lot of jobs around my area demanding PHP and SQL on top of the tech I’ve already learned.

Admittedly, my GitHub profile is a little weak, though from my understanding the employer usually hands out tests anyway? I may link my GitHub if it’s allowed.

Does my experience sound like enough to begin applying for work? Should I learn PHP & MySQL first, or some other technologies? Please advise.

[OcelotCardinal]

My post cannot be edited anymore. I’ll add my GitHub link here.

morganbanet (Alex Morgan) (github.com)

I’ll also include my resume, page 1.

[OcelotCardinal]

Page 2 of my resume.

I need to take out the testing related skills as I ended up not finding out too much about them. I also have other experience but it’s retail and warehouse, so too unrelated to include on here?

[DanielHuebschmann]

Hey Alex,

best get a portfolio website and work on living demos of your apps. They don’t have to be finished, apps are works in progress anyway. You are already adding read.me files to your projects, good move. Keep the portfolio design simple. I always point to the portfolio of Lee Robinson, one of the leading devs of Next.js https://leerob.io/ That’s enough for a developer.

After that, consider working with AI model training and implementation, try out PyTorch or TensorFlow. AI will the hot thing in the next years. The job postings for AI product designers are on the rise for example, so will very likely be the postings for the people that can train and program AIs. Python isn’t too hard to get into.

To answer your question: Keep applying, even if the job isn’t around the corner, you will build your network that can lead to referrals later. Regarding your resume: We have people with more experience on here that will be a better help.

[OcelotCardinal]

Thank you for the reply. I’ll start working on the portfolio by the end of today or tomorrow.

I actually started with learning Python last November, with a bit of Django. I’ve heard about PyToch and the Uni course I applied to actually includes an optional section on algorithms and AI which I’m planning to take.

In the meantime while working on my portfolio and studying, I’ll keep applying. I’ll look more into AI soon.

Thanks again, your help is much appreciated.

[DanielHuebschmann]

That’s a plan! My suggestion boils down to: You will have a lot of competition for junior web developer jobs, anything extra you can bring into the team will raise your chances.

If ML/AI isn’t it, another valuable skill is developing and managing databases. Find that extra skill by trying things out and researching.

[JeremyLT]

I’m not sold on skills lists, but if you must add it, keep it from eating up so much space. I’d also try to condense your bullets so your CV fits on 1 pagee

[OcelotCardinal]

Thanks for the reply.

What is the reason for not liking skills lists? I suppose when applying to developer jobs you’re probably going to be applying to postings that list the skills required, so I could see why it may be redundant perhaps? Is it common for employers not to like skills lists?

I don’t have any previous experience in the developer industry, so I’m not sure about removing the skills section, but I’ll look into it more. I’ll also work on condensing it down to one page. It does look off with all that space on the second. Thanks again!

[JeremyLT]

How can the reader tell the difference between ‘I did a tutorial’ skills and ‘I did several complex original projects’ skills?

[OcelotCardinal]

Do you mean people who put tech down on their CV without actually studying it, and have only come across it once?

I try and make sure not to include tech I’m not comfortable with using on my own or have not studied enough. I definitely don’t include something if I’ve only come across it once. But I get from an employers point of view, they won’t know this.

[JeremyLT]

Right, and the list still hides that you are less good at some of those things than others. It can be a handy way to get some keywords in your CV, but it doesn’t communicate much about how well you have those skills down.

[OcelotCardinal]

I ended up making a new resume which looks a little bit more mature, at least in my opinion.

I removed the skills section as recommended, and contained it to one page. At the minute I have kept the education section on this new one up top (obviously I haven’t started the Uni course yet). I can move it to the end if it would be better?

Thanks again for your help,

[JeremyLT]

I’m not a CV expert, but I’m a pretty big fan of trying to structure my bullets on my CV as action-impact or action-impact-result

CD0919-Bullet-Statements-508.pdf

[OcelotCardinal]

Thanks, I’ll take a look at it soon.