The Scrimba Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How to stand out as a new developer (and ask amazing questions) with Dan Moore from FusionAuth Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

What do you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out? If you are a new developer (we’re not using “junior developer” here - listen along to find out why!), there are skills you have, skills you can transfer from somewhere else, and skills you don’t even know you need. You probably also have a lot of assumptions… and not too many people who can tell you whether they’re true. Dan wants to change that!

Who is Dan Moore? He is the author of Letters to a New Developer - a blog and book of advice he wishes he had gotten at the beginning of his career. Dan is a developer with twenty years of experience, currently working as a Solutions Architect at FusionAuth.

Links

Guest
Host
- Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
Episode links
- Dan’s book of letters to a new developer

Overcoming interview nerves - how this Scrimba student recovered from failure to become a Junior Developer Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

Scrimba student Serhan almost canceled his interview at Microsoft because he was nervous. Even though it turned out to be an unsuccessful interview, overcoming that initial hurdle set everything into motion for Serhan. The worse thing that could happen had already happened. Turns out, being rejected from a company wasn't that bad.

After that, Serhan was much calmer in interviews now and was offered a job much sooner than he expected! We think the same could happen to you if you adapt Serhan's mindset when teaching yourself to code and applying for Junior Developer jobs.

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
Serhan's transition from Economics to code (01:07)
How Serhan taught himself to code (01:59)
The most frustrating thing about learning to code (03:14)
The importance of community when learning to code (05:41)
How Serhan got an interview at Microsoft (06:42)
Recovering from a rejection by Microsoft 😪 (10:16)
Serhan started doing interviews to get used to hearing "no" (10:36)
How Serhan ensured a constant pipeline of job interviews (15:14)
What Serhan learned from a consultation with a recruiter (19:19)
Serhan got two job offers and finally found success 🎉 (22:32)

Links

Guest
- Connect with Serhan on LinkedIn
- Serhan is Serhan#6676 in the Scrimba Discord community (join)

What a good developer resume looks like and how to write one - learnings from an Uber Engineering Manager Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

Your resume determines if you will be called in for an interview or not. It’s an advertisement targeted towards your future boss and it can make or break your application. Yet, most programmers fail to write a good resume! In this episode, you will learn to increases the chances that your resume makes it to the “yes” pile according to an actual Hiring Manager.

Who is Gergely? Gergely is the author of The Tech Resume Inside Out - a highly-rated book about what the hiring process look like inside companies and how to make sure your resume stands out. Before that, he worked as an Engineering Manager at Uber for 3 years.

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
Most resumes suck so Gergely wrote The Tech Resume Inside Out (01:27)
Remember: Your resume is a sales tool (07:52)
Create a master resume template (14:26)
The problem with using LinkedIn as your resume (15:20)
How hiring funnels work from the inside out(18:35)
Myth-busting Application Tracking Systems (26:20)
Avoid photos on your resume (35:22)
Why resumes should look plain Jane (35:25)
References available upon request? Obviously (36:34)
Internships and Computer Science degrees (36:48)
Employment travel visa options for new programmers are few for a reason (39:12)
The dreaded reference check (41:29)

Links

Guest
Host
- Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
Episode links
- Gergely's book on writing a tech resume

Lessons learned from 400 unsuccessful job applications - how Scrimba student Gandev finally found success Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

With every rejection, Gandev felt more determined than ever. It didn't matter to him that no one had replied positively yet because he was only really testing the waters - applying to jobs before he was ready in order to see what he could learn about job-hunting while simultaneously skilling up on Scrimba. In the end, Gandev learned the key to his success was to connect with the people behind the jobs. In this episode, you are will learn how to do the same.

Who is Gandev? Gandev is a Scrimba community member and Frontend Career Path graduate with a tenacious attitude. He was recently hired as a Junior Frontend Developer at a London-based web development agency, and joins the podcast to share exactly how he got there.

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
Gandevs immensely productive Scrimba schedule (01:45)
Recovering from failures and finding your drive (08:07)
What Gandev learned applying to 400 jobs (13:57)
How to make your own luck by connecting with Senior developers and recruiters (17:22)
How to assure employers you will pull your weight (22:53)

Links

Follow Alex Booker (host) on Twitter

How to work with recruiters according to Senior Recruiter Taylor Desseyn Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

For every sucky recruiter conflating Java and JavaScript (oh boy), there is a recruiter like Taylor Desseyn ready to listen to your goals, craft your resume, and help you land your first Junior Developer job. Yes, even new programers are eligible to work with a recruiter! In this episode, Taylor breaks it down step-by-step.

Who is Taylor? Taylor is a Senior Recruiter who has been recruiting since 2011 and has helped place more than 450 people land their dream jobs. He joins us today to share his best advice on how to connect with and utilize recruiters in general.

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
Recruiting is inherently broken (01:52)
Differentiate between agency and internal recruiters (04:11)
How to connect with agency recruiters even if you are a Junior (05:38)
You wouldn't wait to go to the gym until you're in shape... (09:37)
3 rules to write an impressive cold message (10:10)
LinkedIn is where it's at but do not discount Twitter and Polywork (14:57)
How to stand out on LinkedIn (17:50)
The tenants of a standout resume (21:37)

Links

Follow the guest
- Follow Taylor Desseyn on Twiitter
- TaylorDesseyn.com
Follow the host
- Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
Links mentioned in the episode

How to remember everything you learn with Ali Spittel from Amazon Web Services Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

Ali has helped hundreds of new developers learn to code through her work as a lead bootcamp instructor and author. She’s an equally talented developer and teacher and In this episode, shares techniques and tips to help you better understand what you’re learning and make it stick once and for all!

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
How Ali got her first Junior Developer job (01:31)
What Ali learned helping new programmers as a Lead Instructor at General Assembly (06:16)
What you can learn from successful bootcamp students (07:51)
How to know if you're ready to apply to jobs (11:28)
Ali's experience as a hiring manager (11:39)
Is the first programming language the hardest to learn? (15:38)
How to remember everything you learn (21:34)
How to escape tutorial hell (22:23)
Should you hustle non-stop or take breaks? (28:15)
Focused vs. diffused thinking (30:13)
How Ali schedules time to learn on the job (31:16)
Ali's progression to a Senior role and what Juniors should know about Seniors (33:39)

Links

How to get started in Developer Relations according to Head of Developer Relations Phil Leggetter Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

The demand for Developer Relations candidates has never been greater. Yet, employers are struggling to fill this unique role. In this episode, Phil Legetter (Head of Developer Relations at PostHog), teaches you what Developer Relation is, the versatile roles within Developer Relations, and what experience you need to succeed. As an experienced Hiring Manager himsself, Phil also shares his experience hiring from the inside out.

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
What Developer Relations is (02:30)
Can introverts work in Developer Relations? (10:23)
How much and what kind of experience do you need? (13:12)
Phil cares less about your education and more about your public contributions - very encouraging for self-taught developers (15:10)
What did the Developer Relations hiring process look like at an enterprise company? (16:35)
How long does Phil spend reviewing each resume? (18:21)
Does LinkedIn easy apply ever work? (20:57)
How do companies decide on the X in "X years of experience required" (21:20)
Tell us about a memorable candidate (25:08)

Links

Developer First/Developer Plus
Roles within Developer Relations
Phil covers many of the activities within DevRel in his older post around Defining DevRel
Phil and PostHog's Developer Educator role that he updated the requirements for following the interview 😀

From Air Conditioning Technician to Junior Developer in 6 months Aug 17, 2021

Show notes

Meet Dan (35) from Australia 🇦🇺🦘. After working as an Air Conditioning Technician for 9 years, Dan enrolled in Scrimba's Frontend Developer Career Path to become a hireable web developer. 6 months later, here we are!

Success found Dan much quicker than he expected - not because he was the absolute best coder (Dan admits he stumbled through the technical interview) but instead because Dan successfully demonstrated his teachability and potential. Now Dan is earning to learn. If you follow Dan's advice, you could too!

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
How Dan became a Junior Developer in 7 months (01:32)
How Dan managed to stand out to an employer and get a callback (06:45)
Dan assumed his test questions were JavaScript but they were actually PHP 😧 (09:44)
Instead of idly waiting for a decision Dan improved his skills (14:06)
Dan continued to follow-up and sell himself after the interview (15:57)
Dan think he stumbled through the on-site interview but the employer reassured him (17:07)
Dan got the job 🎉 (19:06)
How Dan's experience talking to customers surprisingly helped him land a a Junior Developer job (20:16)

Links

A screenshot of the cover letter that earned Dan his interview
Dan wrote about his whole experience in more detail here: Changed career from HVAC-R tech to junior web dev at 35. Here’s my story...
Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter

Tom's portfolio earns him six figures a year Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

Tom Hirst's inbox is full to the brim. It's practically spilling with emails from companies and clients inquiring to work with him! This demand comes from Tom's effective personal website and earns him six figures a year as a freelance WordPress developer.

Whether you are a would-be freelancer or aspiring Junior developer, Tom believes you should build a personal website, niche down to scale up and - above all else - put yourself out there (even if you're an introvert like him!) In this episode, Tom shows you how.

Timestamps

Introduction (00:00)
Why you need a personal website in 2021 (01:47)
How to get your personal website off the ground without getting side-tracked (04:02)
A quick quick introduction to SEO and Domain Authority (05:51)
"Specialisation at the beginning of your career is one of the smartest things you can do" (10:42)
The discipline of specialisation (12:38)
How to start freelancing like Tom (15:04)
Putting yourself out there as an introvert (17:29)
UpWork: Yay or nay? (17:44)
How to increase an employers confidence in you when you don't have much experience yet (20:19)
Should you work on the cheap to get your foot in the door? (21:32)
Building equity in yourself (24:39)
Avoiding troublesome employers and manipulative clients (25:20)
Tom wrote a book and it's free (27:21)
Pricing yourself relative to the competition (28:58)

Links

Ace the job interview with Cassidy Williams from Netlify Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

There are two sides to every story, and a job interview can seem very different depending on whether you’re the interviewee or the interviewer. Cassidy Williams (Director of Developer Experience at Netlify and teacher here at Scrimba) has experienced both. She joins us today to share her experience and prove the interview process isn't as scary as it may seem.

Contents

Introduction (00:00)
What does Cassidy do at Netlify? (01:51)
How Cassidy stays super productive (and how you can too) (03:58)
How to "kill two birds with one scone" (07:31)
Why you should learn and work in public (11:21)
"The difference between a developer and a senior developer is that the senior developer says, 'I don't know' more." (13:50)
How to start your career in tech (17:30)
Why rejection is not a reflection of you or your ability (21:48)
Should you apply to lots of companies or a few specific ones? (25:48)
Small companies or big companies? (29:23)
Cassidy's cool sister's (Cammi Williams) experience working at Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook (30:10)
The importance of friendship in the developer community (34:00)
Networking doesn't have to be gross 😷 - think about it like relationship-building (37:37)

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